Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin => Hardware wallets => Topic started by: Elwar on June 15, 2013, 04:23:56 PM



Title: Hardware wallet?
Post by: Elwar on June 15, 2013, 04:23:56 PM
They are now taking pre-orders for the Trezor bitcoin hardware wallet.

http://www.coindesk.com/trezor-now-taking-pre-orders-for-its-hardware-bitcoin-wallet/


What do you think? Would you buy one? 1 BTC for a plastic case version in November or 3 BTC for aluminum in October.


I am undecided on it. It could be one of those things that I did not know I needed until I use it, but am still unsure. I use paper wallets for long term storage and online wallets for short term spending money. A hardware wallet would be handy as a replacement for using online wallets.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: threeip on June 15, 2013, 04:38:15 PM
No (and these are just reasons why I won't);

I think it's ugly as sin.
They named it after this crap (http://www.yoogiscloset.com/louis-vuitton-monogram-canvas-porte-monnaie-tresor-wallet-18153.html?gclid=CMq5__S-5rcCFWQ6QgodpHEALg), intentionally or no.
Nothing on the site actually says what it does.
No way to know the open code released is the same code running on the hardware.
It's $300US for a RasPi/Arduino?!

Also, f'ing PREORDERS... can we just call it PRECOIN and be done with it  ???


[/rage]


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: peto on June 15, 2013, 05:21:22 PM
"trezor" means "safe" (noun) so I doubt they tried to make fake Louis Vuitton wallet. But if they did you are right it's ugly and nobody would wear it ;D


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: suryc on June 15, 2013, 05:47:45 PM
Am I missing something here? What's the point of something like this when I can just have an app on my smartphone...

I mean if it had biometric authentication or something that might be different, but this just has two buttons. It doesn't even look like you can password protect it.

edit: I watched the video, so its more clear to me now, but still seems like if you lose the trezor its like losing a paper backup of your wallet(s). If the device allowed for an additional layer of authentication, it would be better.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: bit777 on June 15, 2013, 07:51:46 PM
Looks like a very interesting gadget. As long as it is secured, it can help the community.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: bitcoinchecker on June 15, 2013, 08:14:34 PM
I really like this product.

It is a great first step towards solving one of the current big problems associated with Bitcoin i.e. user-friendly security measures

It might need a few tweaks – both technically and aesthetically – but it is a step in the right direction.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: BitcoinBarrel on June 15, 2013, 08:27:10 PM
Looks really cool I'll probably get one after you can order it now.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: moni3z on June 15, 2013, 08:38:29 PM
haven't looked into it, I want a network hardware wallet that can do safe remote transactions instead of me having to use double signed txn with an OT server. if this works over a network at all I'd be interested


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: cor on September 11, 2013, 09:12:29 PM
Hello, just came across this thread, if you already have your answers, great, if not, just for the record...

I use paper wallets for long term storage and online wallets for short term spending money. A hardware wallet would be handy as a replacement for using online wallets.

I recommend to go through the FAQ of TREZOR, there's a lot explained, especially the difference between trezor and paper backups, usb drives, yubikeys and that sort of stuff.
http://www.bitcointrezor.com/faq/#comparing-trezor


edit: I watched the video, so its more clear to me now, but still seems like if you lose the trezor its like losing a paper backup of your wallet(s). If the device allowed for an additional layer of authentication, it would be better.

Not really. Even when you lose trezor (and or your computer at the same time), you can recover the entire wallet and the trasaction history to a new trezor device.

quote from the FAQ:
"If your computer gets stolen, just plug your TREZOR to another computer and you'll get your account balance and transaction history. Might your TREZOR get lost as well, simply recover the seed from your paper backup to a new computer and then transfer it to a new wallet. "


No (and these are just reasons why I won't);

I think it's ugly as sin.
They named it after this crap (http://www.yoogiscloset.com/louis-vuitton-monogram-canvas-porte-monnaie-tresor-wallet-18153.html?gclid=CMq5__S-5rcCFWQ6QgodpHEALg), intentionally or no.
Nothing on the site actually says what it does.
No way to know the open code released is the same code running on the hardware.
It's $300US for a RasPi/Arduino?!

Also, f'ing PREORDERS... can we just call it PRECOIN and be done with it  ???


[/rage]

threeip, im sorry to hear you dont like the design. maybe you like the new design of metallics?
http://www.bitcointrezor.com/news/first-metallics-arrived
but im sure it will do exactly what it should do and thats the purpose.

LV bags are ugly as sin so the answer is NO :) we named TREZOR like that because its a slovak / czech word for a safe.

We have built the FAQ that hopefully responds to all basic questions. Might you have more, just write us an email and we'll respond or ventually add to the FAQ if its missing.

If you dont trust the code, you can review it yourself or ask somebody to do so.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: will1982 on September 11, 2013, 10:37:32 PM
Looks cool, but I think paper wallets are sufficient for now


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: btcusr on September 12, 2013, 01:43:40 AM
Yes, if $20 or less.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: Nixsy on September 12, 2013, 01:49:12 AM
No doubt if it can be put onto a raspberry pi it can be ported to android. Its a nice idea but I think the cost far outweighs the production cost and practical use.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: illpoet on September 12, 2013, 04:38:18 AM
i would be all about the treyzor for .25 btc or less.  and i agree, holy crap what is up with preorders and bitcoin?  I guess for startup companies any way to accumulate capital is ok, but for me as a consumer im really sick of laying money down for a product that i may get in 1 month or 1 year or possibly never.  I do see how the treyzor or something like it that would allow users to store/xfer bitcoins hassle free could really help in mainstream adoption.  At this point tho i have an encrypted cold wallet in a friends gun safe and another copy buried in an undisclosed location. Thats security enough for me.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: crazy_rabbit on September 12, 2013, 07:25:15 AM
No doubt if it can be put onto a raspberry pi it can be ported to android. Its a nice idea but I think the cost far outweighs the production cost and practical use.

You would be defeating the security by porting it to a device like android. The whole point is that it in itself is secure. It's not a replacement for using an online wallet however. It's intended for signing, so you would keep your 'wallet' on Armory for example and then when you go to spend money you need to plug in the trezor to sign your keys.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: p2pbucks on September 12, 2013, 07:40:51 AM
i ll buy it if no less than 10$


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: crazy_rabbit on September 12, 2013, 12:45:06 PM
i ll buy it if no less than 10$

If all you want to spend is $10, then you don't have enough money to make the security offered by a hardware wallet like trezor worthwhile. When you start holding 100K plus dollars worth of BTC on a single piece of paper, then you will understand what a hardware wallet is for AND be will to pay 2BTC for it.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: habeel on September 12, 2013, 01:56:45 PM
As someone pointed out it could be useful for people who want to hold huge amounts of BTC securely. But its about time we got a serious Bitcoin Bank who actually insures deposits.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: MoneyGod on September 12, 2013, 02:01:41 PM
I will give this to a try if its in my reach in near future


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: malevolent on September 12, 2013, 02:29:53 PM
i would be all about the treyzor for .25 btc or less.  and i agree, holy crap what is up with preorders and bitcoin?  I guess for startup companies any way to accumulate capital is ok, but for me as a consumer im really sick of laying money down for a product that i may get in 1 month or 1 year or possibly never.

That's because you're not simply a consumer but also, and most importantly, an investor.


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: manilaenvelope on September 13, 2013, 12:14:05 AM
i ll buy it if no less than 10$

It IS no less than $10.  It is MORE than $10.  Maybe you meant "I'll buy it if it's no more than $10"?


Title: Re: Hardware wallet?
Post by: manilaenvelope on September 13, 2013, 12:30:47 AM
i would be all about the treyzor for .25 btc or less.  and i agree, holy crap what is up with preorders and bitcoin?  I guess for startup companies any way to accumulate capital is ok, but for me as a consumer im really sick of laying money down for a product that i may get in 1 month or 1 year or possibly never.

That's because you're not simply a consumer but also, and most importantly, an investor.

Actually you're not an investor.  An investor gets a return on their investment.  You are simply a consumer, but the Trezor has large upfront bootstrapping costs. 

Soliciting funds for preorders is a LOT less risky for the makers of the Trezor then doing it the "traditional" way, which is taking out a loan and and paying the upfront bootstrapping and manufacturing costs with it, and finding investors and giving them equity in the company in exchange for bootstrapping funds.  It is, however, MORE risky for the consumer, because you just forked over $200+ and you're not gonna get anything for it in the near future.  Especially when dealing with bitcoin payments, the Trezor team could easily just disappear entirely.  I don't think that's probable - the guys behind it seem like good people with good intentions who want to make an honest buck.  But this has happened in the BTC community before, where someone solicits a large amount of funds then disappears.

It's also possible that they could hit a snag halfway through manufacturing.  Suppose they use two companies to produce the two parts of the product, then they combine the parts together to create the finished product.  They order 10,000 of Part A and 10,000 of Part B, but the company that makes Part B only makes 100 units before it goes out of business.  Now, the trezor guys have to find a new company to produce Part B.  But Part B costs 3x as much at this new company, and they've already reinvested the profit they've made, so they can't afford the extra costs and go out of business.  Once again, this is not a likely scenario, but just an example of the type of risk they're pushing onto the customer.

TL;DR; You have to preorder super long in advance so they can shift the risk onto you instead of having to bear the risk themselves.