HTC's blockchain phone, the Exodus 1, is getting several new applications. The tech company is adding about twenty new apps, including a personal trackers that sells your data in exchange for cryptocurrency. The company also announced a partnership with web browser Opera to allow users to make micro-payments to websites.
The HTC Exodus 1 now has access to a variety of dApps (decentralized applications). The biggest eye-catcher in this list is called Numbers, which tracks user data like walking, sleeping, driving and more. The app displays the data your phone can track, and which companies are interested in that data. The app is very transparent about which data it is collecting.
The earned cryptocurrency isn't the only benefit that sharing your data has. Potentially users can also lower their car or health insurance if positive data is recorded about their driving or walking habits. But for the moment that's something for the future, as Numbers hasn't announced any deals yet to make this happen.
The Exodus 1 has been available since December. The phone currently only supports payments on the Ethereum blockchain, but there are plans to support litecoin and bitcoin in the coming months. The next step is making each phone a node, and introducing trading on the Exodus 1.
So far the HTC phone can only be bought with ethereum or bitcoin. Starting from next month the Exodus 1 will also be available with cash. It will sell for $699 in the United States.
HTC isn't the only one with a blockchain phone. Tech company Sirin Labs launched its own phone in November, called Finney. Currently even Samsung is implementing blockchain features into its phone, signalling a trends towards decentralized services.
