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Sirin Labs Finney u1 Review - Is it a Good Choice for Crypto?

Dave Miller with Online Cloud Security

Dave Miller – Tech Enthusiast & Security Expert – November 11th, 2021

sirin labs finney u1 review for crypto

Sirin Labs Finney u1 Average Online Star Rating

3.8
3.8/5

As a crypto trader or enthusiast, being able to hold and utilize a crypto phone like the Sirin Labs Finney u1 is extremely exciting. I have been anticipating the debut of the Finney since their initial coin offering (ICO) announcement in 2017

Sirin Labs, the company behind this technology, is known for creating the safest and most exclusive devices, such as the Solarin, which sells for an average of $14,000. They’ve now chosen to create a more affordable device intended for consumers who need to store and spend cryptocurrency regularly – Finney.

In addition to being a standard, current-generation smartphone, the Sirin Labs Finney u1 includes a Bitcoin wallet, which sits above the main device as a separate and secure unit. But, even with this well-executed innovation, will the Finney u1 be able to entice the typical punter and pull bitcoin out of the digital shadows? Today, I have the honor to guide you through the cryptocurrency features, camera, and overall smartphone performance.

Pros

Cons

Table of Contents

Sirin Labs Finney Price

Sirin Labs Finney u1 front and back

Sirin Labs is the business that is developing a commercially viable blockchain smartphone. The Finney phone is now available for $900 on Sirin Labs’ website, a little discount from the $1,000 MSRP. However, it looks that this lower pricing is only available for a limited period. A 14-day money-back guarantee is included. It’ll be offered through Amazon’s Launchpad program as well. 

The gadget is not offered by carriers but it will work on most GSM networks throughout the world, including those in the United States. Sirin Labs offers a 12-month international guarantee and a 24-month warranty in Europe, which covers any defects but not accidental damage. Because this is a return service, the phone will be returned to Sirin Labs for repair in less than 14 days.

Sirin Labs is not a new company, and the Finney follows in the footsteps of the “Solarin,” which was unveiled in 2016 and was the first and most secure blockchain phone. Finney is distinguished from its predecessor in two ways: it is significantly less expensive ($899 versus over $14,000), and it includes a cold storage cryptocurrency wallet that is activated and accessible via a secondary slide-out screen. 

With a price tag of $14,000, not many people were able to get their hands on a Solarin, but it did demonstrate that Sirin Labs could provide a blockchain phone, and the Finney now brings the blockchain phone to the public.

Who is the Sirin Labs Finney u1 Phone For?

The Finney is aimed towards a very specific demographic: crypto enthusiasts. The Sirin Labs Finney is a blockchain-ready smartphone that is aimed to prepare every crypto enthusiast for a future decentralized world where cryptocurrency is used to pay for all of our services and goods. Sounds interesting, but cryptocurrency, blockchain, and everything else related to it are quite complicated and not for the fainthearted. 

The Sirin OS, which is a “fork” of Google’s Android operating system, is one of the technology’s pillars. The Sirin OS is a mobile platform that is safe enough for bitcoin storage and uses on mobile devices. The Sirin OS is designed to provide users with the same experience they get on Android smartphones.

Finney users will be able to utilize Google Play and all Android applications with ease but will benefit from the Sirin OS fork’s security. Users will be able to view and use digital assets through a familiar smartphone interface allowing Finney to begin mainstream adoption of the cryptocurrency economy and blockchain technology. 

The Sirin ecosystem includes a cold storage crypto wallet, encrypted conversations, and access to the Sirin dApp Center on the Finney. The users will also have access to cutting-edge security features like IP Address Hiding, MAC Address Randomization, and the trusted wallet display.

Design and Display

Let’s start with Finney’s striking appearance. The Finney is a 6-inch smartphone with an 18:9, 1,070-by-2,170-pixel display and a notch on top for the front camera and earpiece. The display is housed in a 74.6mm by 158mm chassis with relatively broad top and bottom bezels. 

The Finney can display video in either a horizontal or vertical direction, and the smartphone’s angular shape and flat edges make it comfortable to hold. However, because it’s a little on the large side, using the back button on the bottom-left of the touchscreen (the only method to go back through webpages) generally requires two hands.

With slightly concave steel sides and tapered glass on the top and bottom, the phone is a massive slab. The Finney’s’modern and unique’ design is inspired by contemporary sports cars, probably referring to its curved metal edges. 

Because there is no separate headphone jack, the Finney comes with a USB-C connector on its base (and a cable in the package) for charging, which may also be used with a supplied dongle to connect earbuds. When you open the nano-SIM port, you’ll see a microSD card slot, allowing you to expand the 128GB of internal storage.

The Finney’s substantial dimensions are designed to instill strength and safety, and it appears to be bulletproof. The secondary screen placed on the back, which functions as a cold storage crypto wallet, accounts for the device’s thickness (about 9.3mm). The speaker grilles on the sides have an autosport vibe to them as well (only the right-hand one has a speaker behind it). The main camera, flash unit, and fingerprint reader are all housed in Sirin Labs’ signature shield design at the back.

Sirin Labs Finney Cold Wallet

One of the primary reasons to purchase the Sirin Labs Finney Phone is to keep your crypto safe, and it does it brilliantly. Using the phone’s pop-out screen and accessing the hardware has a bit of a learning curve and is a little laborious. You may download a hot wallet to store your cryptocurrencies today if you have a smartphone; however, they are not the safest because your private keys are “stored” by a third party and they are always online. 

Sirin Labs took their wallet to a whole new level with this device; the Finney’s cold storage wallet is placed behind the phone rather than within the phone’s software, which makes the process of holding the funds much safer – to open the wallet, simply swipe it up!

Only blockchain technology is where the Finney phone truly shines. The Finney incorporates the Sirin dCenter, which curates and displays dApps in addition to the built-in wallet. This is also where the promised coin airdrops and Learn & Earn opportunities may be found. Sirin thinks that these opportunities would eventually allow the Finney to pay for itself, although you won’t make more than a few dollars in bitcoin right now. 

The Sirin Cyber Security Center is located on the Finney and contains a real-time machine-learning-powered Intrusion Protection System, app white-listing, an App Lock function for individual apps (protected through password or fingerprint), secure conversations, and secure email. There’s also a Cointelegraph app installed, which keeps you up to date on the newest blockchain and cryptocurrency news.

dCENTER

The dCENTER, which curates a collection of decentralized applications, or DApps, is the second major blockchain feature. These can be used to earn bitcoin or tokens in return for watching videos.

Using the dCentre’s ‘Decentralized Applications’ store was one of the device’s main features; using idax exchange on it was simple and a far better experience than I’m used to. With so many DEX (Decentralized Exchanges) popping up, such as the Nash and Binance Dex, it’s easy to see where this may lead. Exploring the dCentre is one of the phone’s most appealing features.

Performance, Interface, and Camera

Features

The Sirin Labs Finney is driven by a standard set of 2018 flagship phone components and runs Sirin OS, which is a “Google-certified and ultra-secure” derivative of Android 8.1. It has a Snapdragon 845 processor, 128GB of expandable storage, 6GB of RAM, a 12-megapixel back camera with an f/1.8 aperture, and an 8-megapixel front camera with an f/2.2 aperture. 

The 6-inch display has an aspect ratio of 18:9 and is surrounded by large bezels and a notch. With a capacity of 3,280mAh, the phone’s battery is fairly average. The Finney’s second touchscreen, which measures 2 inches and slides up from the device’s body like the Oppo Find X’s cameras, is the device’s most intriguing engineering feature.

The Finney’s second touchscreen, which measures two inches and slides up from the device’s body like the Oppo Find X’s cameras, is the device’s most intriguing engineering feature. This step is referred to by Sirin Labs as “warming up” the cold wallet, enabling you to safely transact with other cryptocurrency enthusiasts. The idea of integrating the device’s security state to its physical condition is a good one, but it appears to have caused Sirin to create a massive phone.

Safe Screen

The Safe Screen, a monochrome 2-inch PMOLED touchscreen monitor with a 256-by-64 resolution that pulls up from the back, immediately above the shield unit, is Finney’s prominent design feature. When the Safe Screen is slid out of view, the bitcoin wallet is activated and securely disconnected from the internet.

Crypto Converter

Sirin Finney’s built-in crypto converter is another prominent feature. It enables users to convert currencies without having to use an internet exchange. Users just choose the target cryptocurrency, the amount of cryptocurrency they wish to sell, and the network fee they want to pay to the transaction’s miners. 

The faster a transaction is completed, the higher the network cost is. The currency rates are updated every ten seconds, and Sirin, like any other exchange, takes a tiny percentage of each transaction. For the time being, the Finney accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Sirin’s own SRN token (more coins will be added in the future). To be clear, you cannot convert cryptocurrencies to legal cash such as dollars or euros using the phone.

Battery Life

I was delighted by the battery life, which is a feature that is very important to me and is frequently the deciding factor in whether or not I acquire a smartphone. The battery would last me two full days on a typical day of using the Finney (emails, calls, social media, and the occasional game/video). 

The gadget includes a 3,260mAh battery cell with Quick Charge 4.0, which allows it to charge entirely in around two hours or 50% in about 30 minutes.

Cyber Defense

The ability to add PIN or pattern protection to particular apps is one of the few user-facing custom features available. There are also a few Sirin apps preloaded, including an antivirus-like cyber defense suite, a crypto app for converting, sending, and receiving cryptocurrency, and a decentralized app store. 

Sirin began as a security company dedicated to hardening Android against assaults. When Bitcoin’s price skyrocketed in 2017, Sirin OS shifted its focus to blockchain phones, but security remained a top priority.

Closing Thoughts

The Sirin Labs Finney is an intriguing smartphone that might establish a precedent for future smartphones. With the invention of its blockchain cryptocurrency wallet smartphone, Sirin Labs has undeniably contributed to the advancement of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries. 

What remains to be seen is whether or not the phone will be lucrative for the corporation. The Sirin OS is a wonderful opportunity for the corporation, as it allows it to license the safe operating system to other mobile phone manufacturers. I can’t emphasize enough how well the Sirin Labs team achieved its goal. 

They are the first in the market to properly implement the process of securely holding cryptocurrency in a cold storage wallet, and most significantly, to make it simple for anyone to do so – all through their mobile phone! The phone costs $900 right now and if you’re a bitcoin fanatic who has to actively access and keep your coins, it’s well worth it.

**Onlinecloudsecurity.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a way for websites to earn advertising revenues by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate we earn affiliate commissions from qualifying purchases.**

Dave Miller with Online Cloud Security

Dave Miller

IT Consultant at Online Cloud Security

Dave Miller is an IT Consultant for Online Cloud Security and has over 7 years of experience in the Information Technology space. He also specializes in repairing laptops & computers. In his spare time, he loves to talk about new technologies and hosts monthly IT and Cyber Security meetings in the Houston area.

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About Online Cloud Security:

Online Cloud Security is here to recommend you the most secure devices, from laptops to smartphones, we only want to provide you with products that we have tested and used ourselves for online security. Every product that we recommend is heavily inspected and tested for security against hackers, viruses, malware, and any other intruders that may want to steal your information. 

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Online Cloud Security Logo (500x500px)

About Online Cloud Security

Online Cloud Security is here to recommend you the most secure devices, from laptops to smartphones, we only want to provide you with products that we have tested and used ourselves for online security. Every product that we recommend is heavily inspected and tested for security against hackers, viruses, malware, and any other intruders that may want to steal your information. 

Recent Posts: