Why no simple device yet?

[daviducsb]

I hope this isn't the wrong category for this question. If it is, apologies in advance.

Bitcoin apps on cell phones have been hacked and don't appear very user friendly. Am I mistaken on this?

So it appears a mobile independent, segregated bitcoin wallet with internet access would be a good idea.

Is anyone developing a bitcoin wallet device (not talking physical wallet here) that is connected,  idiot-proof and easy to use, not requiring a PhD in computer science? I hope so, because with all the merchants starting to accept BTC and the publicity BTC is generating, it seems incoherent that bitcoin in practical terms is still very difficult to use for most people, and the current solutions for that (online wallet etc tec) are not yet safe enough in most instances...

Thoughts?

[ruletheworld]

I hope this isn't the wrong category for this question. If it is, apologies in advance.

Bitcoin apps on cell phones have been hacked and don't appear very user friendly. Am I mistaken on this?

So it appears a mobile independent, segregated bitcoin wallet with internet access would be a good idea.

Is anyone developing a bitcoin wallet device (not talking physical wallet here) that is connected,  idiot-proof and easy to use, not requiring a PhD in computer science? I hope so, because with all the merchants starting to accept BTC and the publicity BTC is generating, it seems incoherent that bitcoin in practical terms is still very difficult to use for most people, and the current solutions for that (online wallet etc tec) are not yet safe enough in most instances...

Thoughts?

Trezor. http://www.bitcointrezor.com/

[daviducsb]

Holy sh*t.

This is exactly what I had in mind. I hope that when the device comes out (January 2014?), there is a lot more publicity than what there has been to date.

I like to think I am a fairly well informed bitcoiner, had never heard about it prior to now. Though admittedly I am more on the economic side than the technical side. 

Thanks for the response! I feel more secure in my BTC investment and maybe now I can go about spending some!

Hope the makers publicize it to the max when it comes out.

[daviducsb]

I'm enthusiastic but it does seem a bit pricey.

Hopefully price will drop in the future. Hope the innovators can make lots of BTC before that happens.

Bigtime BTC VC's ought to drop 200,000 of these for free in some place in the world where banking is difficult. THink MPesa x 1000.

[doof]

It doesn't take a Phd to work out why.  Getting one hardware POC built takes hundreds of thousands of $.

Design, testing, firmware written, large scale production issues, getting built in China etc.

Battery and 3g connections are a barrier to entry too.  The consumer would have to buy its own sim card and dataplan.  Users would forget to charge it.

There is a reason that you don't carry a phone and a camera around.  Consumers want less appliances for every day tasks, not more.  The phone is becoming your digital hub, and has been trending that way for 10years.

App on a phone costs a lot less in development than dedicated device.