IDEA: Mobile bitcoin, need your comments

[TimoWillemsen]

Hey everyone,

I thinking about mobile transactions using bitcoin. It seems like a good idea since it's semi-secure. I mean you carry your phone with you just like you do with your regular wallet and you can use it to make transactions. However, I'd like to see what you think of it, since I'm not aware of all the complications that can occur.

Wallet on your phone
First of all, you should have a wallet on your phone. That way the only way someone can get their hands on it, is if they get access to your phone. At the moment this seems like a good idea, but of course phones get met hackable nowadays, so it might need to be encrypted with a master password.

However, this is not safe for keyloggers, so as usual you should only have some sort of small-change wallet on your phone.

Paying
I was thinking we could use QR-codes as payment. So basically you scan the code, you get the transaction details and you use your phone to send the coins. For example the following QR code contains the following data:

http://qrcode.kaywa.com/img.php?s=5&d=%3Ctrans%3E%0D%0A%3Crec%3E1J2Rf92FW5ZmLNguegfZcWweAv6zaG91m2%3C%2Frec%3E%0D%0A%3Cam%3E200.00%3C%2Fam%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftrans%3E

Code:

<trans>
<rec>1J2Rf92FW5ZmLNguegfZcWweAv6zaG91m2</rec>
<am>200.00</am>
</trans>

Then you scan the code, confirm the transaction and the recipient gets the money.

So, please burn down this idea, and say everything that's wrong with it. I'd like to see ways this can get improved.

[bitcoinconnection]

This sound really good! I like to here more.
The I will post on my site.

 


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[TimoWillemsen]

Thanks for that. I have experience in mobile development, so I'd love to create some applications for Nokia/Iphone/Android. I think this is a good way to make it much more accessible for non-tech people. However, I don't know a lot about bitcoin at the moment, and my idea probably has hundreds of flaws.

[myrm]

I like it. A lot.

One suggestion would be to make the QRCode return a URL not an XML block. Most mobile devices will let an application register as a handler for a URL so for example if the standard was to return the following

bitcoin://<TARGET>/<AMOUNT>

Whatever application you used could register it's self and allow the transfer to take place. This could be a mobile wallet you use to hold walking around money in or even a more complicated mobile bitcoin banking setup.

[TimoWillemsen]

Myrm, thanks for that. I haven't thought about the actual implementation at all. However, that's probably the way it should be

[myrm]

There is also bitcoin-js-remote [http://tcatm.github.com/bitcoin-js-remote/] which defines a URL scheme, but I'm not sure how well that would work on a mobile device without the // - I'd guess you'd have to try it to see if you could just use the existing scheme.

[torusJKL]

I second the URL approach.
Much simpler then the XML.

[xalex]

This is a good idea i think. Although there is probably a long way to go before this will take off

[TimoWillemsen]

This is a good idea i think. Although there is probably a long way to go before this will take off

Yeha it will take some time before it's done. I want to do it well, and not create a half decent application. I recently read a IPhone app was rejected from the AppStore, which isn't too good...

Myrm, I'm going to use the bitcoin-js-remote as an example and use the same conveniences as they do. There's not use in creating another standard, so I'll adapt that indeed.

[gangstarasp]

looks like a great new add-on the evergrowing BTC buyers/sellers marketplace! IF you ever get it going id sure love to try it out!