Bitcoin Forum

We all know that Apple has been hostile toward accepting bitcoin-related apps for use on their devices.  Last week, they gave Coinbase the axe.
 
But what would be the ramifications if Google also followed suit?  This would essentially be the end of mobile phone wallets, requiring people to use hardware like the Trezor or paper wallets if they wanted carry their coins around with them.  This would be a huge blow to the bitcoin economy, IMO.  Surely mobile phone wallets are probably the preferred storage method for people wanting to make in-person bitcoin payments...  Does anyone know what percentage of Bitcoin users rely on mobile phone wallets? 

Does google have Bitcoin by the balls? 

Allow third-party apps to run in Android, download app to phone from website, install app. Problem solved.

ETA: I actually normally do this because Google Play is unreliable whenever I've used it (waits what seems like a completely random time to actually download the app, between immediately and 30m in some cases). It's much faster for me to grab the .apk off a site.

I wouldn't let any of my bitcoins touch my phone with a 40 foot pole, I imagine there are plenty like me too. At this point are situations when you would actually need access to bitcoins on your phone while on the go not clearly in the minority? If so, that kind of answers your question right?

Plus what Kludge already mentioned...

This^, jailbreak, and other mobile OS.

I was hoping for this thing to get some more attention
http://www.ubuntu.com/phone

That said, nobody should be trusted when it comes to cryptography. Nobody.
Independent peer reviews of open source is the only thing I would trust.

You should also be aware that mobile phones are dirty by design
http://www.osnews.com/story/27416/The_second_operating_system_hiding_in_every_mobile_phone

I won't let my coins touch windows

So what OS do you use? Mac?

I have a local wallet with a few mBTC on my phone.

What blow? I never use a mobile wallet or any other kind of Bitcoin apps in my smartphone.

We need a 100% open source phone that's repairable with standard case and screen sizes.

Have you ever spent coins in real life?  How exactly would you plan on paying for groceries with BTC?

easy there buddy

plenty of room for you in Guantanamo

This?

https://phonebloks.com/

I don't think so, read the reddit thread and the hackaday writeup, that particular implementation is doomed IMO

i wouldn't either. smartphones are easily lost and people eye them as targets to steal. the "convenience" is not worth it.

Thanks for the link!

+1 Ok I do admit to backing up my wallet.dat encrypted and then encrypted again with Truecrypt on a Windows 3.1 computer (Pentium I) and also on a 286 running MS DOS

Now seriously DRM infected/locked devices and yes this includes an Android device that is not rooted do pose a very serious threat to Bitcoin. The only solutions for mobile I can see is a rooted Android device or a device running an Operating System that has GPL v3 code deep in the OS that it is impossible to use a locked bootloader without violating the copyright license. Ubuntu phone/mobile is the most promising here. The trouble with Android that is not rooted is that manufacturer can at any time disable the option of installing outside the Android market since they and not the owner control root.

Do any companies actually prohibit installing software outside the buggy Play store? (asked in earnest -- I honestly have no idea)

I thought this thread was going to be about Google Wallet.

The Blockchain app on iOS still works really well, no axing going on there :)

The Coinbase app is apparently incredibly buggy on iOS and Android, to the point that sells show up as buys and stuff like that.  Apple doesn't allow apps of that bad of quality.

Probably has NOTHING to do with bitcoin and everything to do with crappy code.

And I don't see what's wrong with putting less than $200 on an Android Wallet for spending money.

I thought this thread was going to be about one of Google's floating data-centers packed with ASICs, towed to International waters, with solar and diesel power.

Edit: Nuclear power would be better.

There is all sorts of censorship by carriers and / or manufacturers on Android phones that are not rooted.  For example: http://www.howtogeek.com/163558/how-carriers-and-manufacturers-make-your-android-phones-software-worse/ (http://www.howtogeek.com/163558/how-carriers-and-manufacturers-make-your-android-phones-software-worse/) If one roots the phone this take control away from the manufacturer / carrier and breaks the DRM used to enforce the censorship.

Google isn't stupid.

They will be making big moves to adopt Bitcoin into their current payment and services model.

When this happens, BTC will hit $2,000 plus.

Would you carry cash in your wallet?
If so why not have a similar amount in bitcoin on your phone?
Either way if lost it is gone, although you could have a bitcoin wallet backup so if not spent it could be recovered.

Hopefully they invest in it and the price skyrockets! :o

I don't see the problem. That is what the browser is for. HTML5 and Javascript is all you need.

Google does not have the same control over application development in Android as Apple has for Iphones.

You can develop an Android app on your own PC and upload it to your phone without Google knowing anything about it.  There are apps for just about anything considered 'edgy' including Bitcoin and Bittorrent.

So the answer is no.  To alter the Android app-sphere in such a way to put Google in control would require some very serious changes to the architecture.  Google does have an 'App Store' type thing, but this only factors into how much exposure your app gets, it does not reflect on whether it's actually available to Android device owners.  There are for instance many apps with clearly violate Google's user agreements(such as Youtube video downloaders).

Android is safe for now...

Btw just noticed today a new feature on my tablet...

Android want to let Google check for problematic software...

It does let you opt out though.