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Recent rumors claim that a BlackBerry licensee is working on two BlackBerry-branded smartphones that feature secure crypto wallets. These handsets will likely be known as the BlackBerry Evolve and the BlackBerry Evolve X, and Optiemus, a BlackBerry licensee based in India, will manufacture these smartphones. Evan Blass mentions that these devices will only be available as limited edition handsets. However, aside from the name of the device and the responsible BlackBerry licensee, Blass did not share additional information about the specification and the design of the upcoming handsets.
The idea of incorporating crypto wallets into smartphones is not new, and two handsets already sport this feature. One of them is Sirin Finney Blockchain smartphone. This device features a cold storage crypto wallet which can securely store BitCoin, Dogecoin, and other popular cryptocurrencies by keeping a reserve of these cryptocurrencies offline in the phone. HTC is also developing a blockchain smartphone known as the HTC Exodus. The Taiwanese handset maker stated that it will take advantage of the TrustZone technology from the British chip designer ARM. This technology prevents individuals from accessing the digital wallet unless the use the API developed by the tech company itself. Aside from incorporating crypto wallets, both devices also feature support for payment protocols and a secure storage for personal information, although it is not clear if the Evolve and the Evolve X will also include these features.
Aside from licensing its brand to several third-party manufacturers, BlackBerry is known for its development of security software for a wide variety of devices, including Android devices, wearables, medical devices, point-of-sale terminals, and appliances. In the licensing deals that BlackBerry makes with device makers, the Canadian software firm cooperates with the manufacturer for the development of software that is compatible with the hardware of their partner’s handset. BlackBerry utilizes security keys to ensure that the hardware and software of the devices have not been tampered with, and the company also encrypts the internal storage of the devices to keep the data safe just in case the device is stolen. BlackBerry will likely use these methods to prevent malicious individuals from accessing the cryptocurrencies stored in the digital wallet.
Coming soon from BlackBerry licensee Optiemus: limited edition Evolve and Evolve X models with secure crypto wallets included.
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) October 5, 2018