Hands on Kenes Rakishev’s Finney Smartphone

As Sirin Labs, a company founded by Kenes Rakishev, Moshe Hogeg and others announced the ‘crypto smartphone’ it was enthusiasm and skepticism mixed. The crypto craze of 2017 was over. Many analysts predicted gloom and doom for the whole market. But the Finney smartphone envisioned by Kenes Rakishev and partners has seen the light and is even useful in many ways.

First samples of Israeli-Swiss startup company Sirin Labs has made its way to the reviewers. Finney smartphone, named in honor of Hal Finney and assembled at the Taiwan Foxconn factory is now available for customers for around 1100 euro. It is a smartphone for the true cryptocurrency and blockchain technology enthusiasts. But is it a ridiculous and pricey toy or a logical step into the future?

Sirin Labs Finney, a brainchild of Kenes Rakishev and his Sirin Labs partners, made a loud entrance to the market even before it was actually built in vivo. The worldwide brand ambassador was Lionel Messi himself. What we’ve got as result? Is it up to the hype?

It is definitively going counter the trend. It is bulky and heavy. It may sound strange but it is plus. It makes the Finney unique. It is second to none on the market. It’s uniquely fit in every bit and piece for the specific task in mind.

It is available in three color options – black, gray and white. The white seems to be the most attractive one, but we hadn’t put our hands on that model.

Under the hood of Kenes Rakishev Finney smartphone

Powerful and modern Qualcom Snapdragon 845 is at the heart of the phone. 8Gb of RAM and 128Gb of SD along with NFC, Bluetooth 5, USB C and all the hardware you can expect from the leader. It is more that capable to run even most demanding games but who of the target audience of the Finney actually cares about it?

The fingerprint scanner works as intended. There is no face recognition and it’s for good.

But what really makes it special is a built in all-hardware crypto wallet accessible under the Sirin OS (which is Android 8.1 modified). It is where Kenes Rakishev’s phone shines in true colors. It has dCenter built in, multistage authentication and encrypting, token conversion and so on.

If you don’t understand what is that all about, well the Finney is not your choice. For those who understands some other crypto-centric stuff is available. Cold storage and decentralized data storage. Cold storage is designed to be a crypto wallet which is autonomous from the network and thus highly secure.

The cold storage interface has a separate 2″ screen to interact with. It allows to make transactions.

Will Kenes Rakishev phone became ubiquitous?

Due to high price mark and a lot of unique targeted features Sirin Labs Finney will never be a blockbuster. It will remain a niche product. But in his niche it will be a king suitable for serious enthusiasts and professionals.