Lenovo unveils a blockchain phone (but doesn』t explain what that means)
Netizens baffled by Lenovo's S5
Chinese PC giant Lenovo is trying to save its stumblingsmartphone business -- by launching a blockchain phone.
Lenovo's Vice President Chang Cheng said at an event inBeijing that their new S5 is 「the first blockchain phone」, whereblockchain technology is used to improve payment safety. But theydidn』t explain how that worked, and said that they couldn』t revealmore.
Apart from having 「blockchain」 in its name, the S5 doesn』treally stand out from other Android phones on the market. It has a5.7-inch screen, dual 13-megapixel rear cameras, and uses aSnapdragon 625 chip. The price ranges from 999 yuan (about US$157)to 1499 yuan (about US$236) depending on storage size. The S5product page also doesn』t have any more information about how ituses blockchain.
Most seem doubtful about the phone. On microblogging platformWeibo, a poll about the phone showed that over two thirds thinkLenovo is just using a hot buzzword to hype up the phone. And someblogs say attaching blockchain to the handset is a publicitystunt.
But Lenovo isn』t even the first company in China to claim they havea blockchain phone.
Sugar Phone -- a Shenzhen-based company that brands itself as aFrench company and sells handsets covered with Swarovski gemstones,released a phone 「built on blockchain」 that supposedly lets usersmine cryptocurrency.
And earlier in March, Chinese TV-manufacturer Changhong said it wasreleasing a blockchain phone, but the product was never seen oneither Changhong』s official site or any online stores.
