The best new Bitcoin PROJECT from China! (Tablets and BITCOINS)

[MemoryDealers]

Yesterday Yifu Guo (bitsyn.com) and I visited a company that produces Android tablets.
We went with the intention of buying tablets, but when they asked how we wanted to use them,  it all started.

It became an intense meeting of nearly 5 hours. 
Nearly 75% of that time was spent discussing Bitcoins.
The managing director and other members of the meeting were very enthusiastic and seemed to get the big picture.
At one point,  he commented that "Bitcoin is a pandora's box."

The company is very interested in preloading ALL OF THEIR TABLETS with Bitcoin relay node software,  AND a Bitcoin wallet software.
They will then begin marketing their tablets as having this additional "Bitcoin feature" that their competitors don't.
They will market it along the lines that you can buy a tablet and become your own bank,  etc.

This company ships about 150,000 Android devices per month.
That is close to TWO MILLION tablets per year.

I think this is another huge opportunity, and giant step forward for Bitcoin.
I would suspect that with an extra 2M devices that have the Bitcoin relay node software always running in the background,
and that randomly connect to the internet from various IPs as their users use them, the Bitcoin network would become impossible to block.

Can someone with more technical knowledge chime in on the benefits of this many extra nodes?

In order for this to happen,  the Bitcoin community will need to be ready to help with the development of all the required software to do this.

Items required from us:
1) Super reliable Android Bitcion node relay software.
2) Super reliable Android Chinese Bitcoin wallet software.

[casascius]

They should consider making tablets that work as dedicated Bitcoin POS terminals for retail use.

[rjk]

This is epic on a scale that I have never imagined. Best of luck.

[cypherdoc]

well that sounds pretty cool.

but i was never aware that there is a separate "relay node software"?  isn't that just built in to the current client?

[finway]

I think preload is a good idea.

But preloading a full bitcoin node ?  I think diskspace & power-consuming will be problems.

[Kluge]

I don't own a tablet, smartphone, or even a portable DVD player. I don't even like wall-phones, and I hate the idea of paying ~$80 for a phone contract when all I'd do is use it as a super-shitty netbook.

But... I'd buy this, if only to show support.  Keep us updated!

[rjk]

well that sounds pretty cool.

but i was never aware that there is a separate "relay node software"?  isn't that just built in to the current client?

Right now they are one and the same, but there isn't any reason for them not to be separate. It just hasn't been coded. Might as well have full functionality though, IMHO.

[cypherdoc]

what did the owner mean by the "pandora's box" comment?  sounds like he got over that pretty quick.

[chunglam]

Bitcoin client on Android by Andreas Schildbach is a full client implementation, it should also include relay node functionality.

[cypherdoc]

Bitcoin client on Android by Andreas Schildbach is a full client implementation, it should also include relay node functionality.

it "should" because it doesn't or "should" b/c you think it does?

[MarketNeutral]

Amazing news.

This has real potential.
 


I understood the Pandora's Box comment to mean something along the lines of "you can't put the toothpaste back into the tube" or "the cat's out of the bag" or "what has been seen can't be unseen," implying that once bitcoin reaches a certain threshold, there's no denying it's impact. (Perhaps we've already reached that point.) Is this what he meant?

[evoorhees]

Pretty awesome

Perhaps Piuk of Blockchain.info would build his android app with a special branded skin/UI for that company...

I also think it's a given in this discussion that the app would not be a full blockchain downloading app, but rather a thin client.

Also - perhaps each tablet should come with maybe 1btc or .1btc loaded in its balance already. The company would need to hedge prices by buying the bitcoins upfront.

[chunglam]

Bitcoin client on Android by Andreas Schildbach is a full client implementation, it should also include relay node functionality.

it "should" because it doesn't or "should" b/c you think it does?

It downloaded all block chain data into phone memory, I just not sure whether it also listen and relay unconfirmed transactions(may be not due to data and power usage consideration on mobile device). Need author clarification.

[evoorhees]

I understood the Pandora's Box comment to mean something along the lines of "you can't put the toothpaste back into the tube" or "the cat's out of the bag" or "what has been seen can't be unseen," implying that once bitcoin reaches a certain threshold, there's no denying it's impact. (Perhaps we've already reached that point.) Is this what he meant?

Yeah "pandora's box" tends to mean some combination of these three things:

1) Something with huge ramifications (good or bad)
2) Something dangerous
3) Something that can't be undone

I think Bitcoin fits all three definitions

[MemoryDealers]

They should consider making tablets that work as dedicated Bitcoin POS terminals for retail use.

This is exactly the reason Yifu and I went to visit them.
Yifu is working on this,  and is pretty far along from what I understand.
We were trying to source the final hardware supplier.

Yeah "pandora's box" tends to mean some combination of these three things:

1) Something with huge ramifications (good or bad)
2) Something dangerous
3) Something that can't be undone

I think Bitcoin fits all three definitions

I think he was referring to #1 and #3 mostly,  and perhaps #2 in reference to the Chinese government.

[chunglam]

Bitcoin client on Android by Andreas Schildbach is a full client implementation, it should also include relay node functionality.

it "should" because it doesn't or "should" b/c you think it does?

It downloaded all block chain data into phone memory, I just not sure whether it also listen and relay unconfirmed transactions(may be not due to data and power usage consideration on mobile device). Need author clarification.

By the way, it is open source. We can easily turn it into a full replay node if we don't need to consider data and power usage.

[cypherdoc]

Bitcoin client on Android by Andreas Schildbach is a full client implementation, it should also include relay node functionality.

it "should" because it doesn't or "should" b/c you think it does?

It downloaded all block chain data into phone memory, I just not sure whether it also listen and relay unconfirmed transactions(may be not due to data and power usage consideration on mobile device). Need author clarification.

By the way, it is open source. We can easily turn it into a full replay node if we don't need to consider data and power usage.

btw, i do run Schildbach on my Android but assumed it was a relay node b/c it holds the whole blockchain but i truly don't know...

[casascius]

The idea of having a tablet host a whole blockchain is sort of scary in and of itself.  Bitcoin explodes in popularity, and suddenly a tablet app will be non-functional without a hard drive to hold the block chain... and the sort of low-power CPU's in tablets are likely to have a difficult time keeping up with verifying a swarm of signatures, let alone bandwidth considerations.

That said, a tablet would make a fantastic dedicated device for accepting Bitcoins at retail, perhaps using a service that hosts the blockchain.  A built-in camera could scan the QR codes off of people's self-printed Bitcoin cash and immediately request a sweep of the funds.

I think back to my visit to Meze Grill... I got bitcoins, but the dude at the counter (not the owner) has no clue how to accept them.  He knows there's a QR code he can hold up and that I can pay it, but he has no independent way to confidently know that I paid with what he has there on the countertop, and asks me to pay with Visa.  If he had some gadget on his desktop telling him "$37.51 successfully received", the same way his Visa machine does, then it wouldn't have been so difficult.  A dedicated tablet could be just the niche for that purpose.

[BitPay Business Solutions]

Awesome news Roger!!!!

[chunglam]

Full node on every mobile device is not necessary and can't tackle the problem of "Great Firewall" blocking Bitcoin transactions. Another idea is setup full Bitcoin nodes in every major city with satellite internet connectivity.