Thank you for the comprehensive list. Did some quick research and decided on trying out both circle and coinbase for convenience.
I am going to assume that if I want instant-buy USD to BTC ability and keep a low amount of bitcoin in them, the risk is worth the ease of use.
Reviews of wallets I've used in chronological order:
Coinbase: Started Feb 2014, after hearing from a friend about Mt. Gox's collapse. Wanted to get into bitcoins at its low point...
Good
+ Able to convert USD to BTC
+ Loads of features I haven't gotten around to fully appreciating
+ Good customer support
+ Also an exchange
+ Most trusted third-party wallet IMO
Bad
- Trusted third-party. It pretty obvious that Bitcoin's history of trusted third-parties makes a lot more sense when you add the prefix "un-" to the term. Let Coinbase be different.
Still in use?
YES, as one of the most trusted third-party wallet, an exchange, and loads of features I haven't gotten around to using, it's my go-to for purchasing large quantities of BTC.
Bitcoin QT: Started Feb 2014, after hearing from a friend about Mt. Gox's collapse. I might have bought a bit high, but I did my homework and concluded that I wanted to control my own private keys. Coinbase's coins lasted about 10 minutes after they were delivered and whisked away to QT.
Good
+ Full node
+ Vanilla wallet, easy to understand, simple to use
+ Non-deterministic keys
Bad
- Non-deterministic keys, no HD keys
- Full node eats up a lot of computing resources
Still in use?
YES, contributing to the network and my personal transactional security is two birds with one stone.
Mycelium: Started March 2014, wanted to trade bitcoins in person.
Good
+ Excellent, highly polished UI, simple to understand and easy to use
Bad
- Thin client with specialized servers means having to trust a relatively small set of nodes relative to the bitcoin network to relay transactions. A minor negative, nothing that would steal private keys.
Still in use?
YES, with excellent production value and ease of usage, Mycelium is my hot wallet.
Circle: Started July(?) 2014, despite all the flak that Jeremy Allaire's gotten from hyping Circle and his unpopular direction on bitcoin, Circle actually opened and I wanted to try out Coinbase's potential rival.
Good
+ The USD to BTC price has been, from my experience, always cheaper than Coinbase
+ Instantly purchase BTC via bank-linked account (Coinbase requires a Visa credit card, which I don't have)
Bad
- Not as established or feature-loaded as Coinbase
- Trusted. Third. Party.
Still in use? YES, I use them to insta-buy small quantities of BTC.
Electrum: Started July 2014. Wanted to practice offline signatures.
Good
+ SPV wallet == minimal resource footprint
+ HD wallet
+ Easy-to-use offline signature
Bad
- Thin client with specialized servers means having to trust a relatively small set of nodes relative to the bitcoin network to relay transactions. A minor negative, nothing that would steal private keys.
Still in use? NO, I've advanced to Armory. I still recommend this wallet for newbies who wants to practice offline signatures and just secure their wallets without having to play with the knobs and levers.
Bitcoin for Android: Started September 2014, after the developers implemented PIN security.
Good
+ Excellent backup security
+ SPV that uses bitcoin nodes, unlike specialized servers like the case of Electrum or Mycelium
Bad
- I had some issues during my course of usage that the developers were responsive to, and resolved them promptly. Since they were resolved, they won't be listed here.
Still in use? NO, after finding out back in November 2014 that this wallet created unencrypted backups on my phone for two months without my consent, I immediately dropped it and came back to Mycelium. The developers have since fixed this security mistake. I may come back to it later.
Armory: Started to actually use it in December 2014. I had installed Armory since the beginning of my bitcoin adoption, but avoided it due to the daunting complexity of Armory's loaded features. It wasn't until I understood more about the technicals of a bitcoin transaction that I started to remember Armory and those exact features I wanted.
Good
+ Full Node
+ Loads of technical features, from good coin control, to offline signatures, to encryption security control, Armory is for bitcoiners who knows what they're doing
+ Excellent encryption security
Bad
- UI could use some streamlining
- Full Node takes up a lot of computing resources
Still in use? YES. Armory is my favorite desktop bank by far.
