Topic: New HW wallet announced: COLDCARD Q1 (Read 806 times)

I just noticed that Coldcard announced a new firmware update for the Q model.

One point in the release notes caught my attention. It says:

I remembered that dkbit98 and the Foundation Passport representative talked about how Coldcard developed a new QR system that was different from what competitors were using and unsupported by software wallets.
Now we know that Sparrow Wallet supports this new standard. Proof of that can be found in their release notes for version 1.8.3:

Update:

Nunchuk has now become the second software wallet that I know of that supports the new BBQR encoding standard.

NVK always have the need to invent the wheel all over again, maybe he is hoping to sell more devices now, and other people can deal with new QR code system later  
If he didn't live in his small eco chamber and block all the people in social media and everywhere else, he could actually hear other developers of software wallets and actual users.
Good luck everyone who took his bait and purchased his new gigantic q1 device 
Jus sayin.

 

I believe them when they say they have plenty of backorders to process. If it's a small team doing that, it's going to take a while.

I can't comment on the build quality of their hardware. It looks good on first sight. Their decisions are questionable, though. dkbit98 mentioned that they created a unique QR code format that is not supported by other software wallets. I later saw what I believe is his source for that information. The team behind Foundation Devices made a post at the end of 2023, announcing that the new Coldcard would have that unusual QR system. It's weird business politics doing things completely different from everyone else and not using proven and well-supported formats. But it's their call, and they'll have to live with that and the aftermath.

So over a year and still not firm ETA of getting this into customers hands. Just next week for some and 'soon' for others.
I really used to like them and their products. But, I have no idea were they are going in terms of a company.

Lets see how the Q1 really is in person once it gets into peoples hands.

-Dave

Coldcard has announced that they will start shipping the Q1 preorders from next week. In their own words, they have a huge backlog of orders to go through. They have also announced that it might take several months to ship everything. So, if you ordered a Coldcard Q1, check the email connected to the purchase regularly because they will email customers when their orders are ready to be sent.

https://twitter.com/COLDCARDwallet/status/1766864339527413819

Thanks for sharing this.

I need a second HW cosigner for my multisig wallet based on Sparrow coordinator. My Passport 2 is the first cosigner  and I  considered COLDCARD Q1 as one of a number of potential second cosigner but after reading your info took this device off the list candidates. Probably will turn my look to Jade or something else.

https://x.com/zachherbert/status/1728077006745542860?s=20

I have only found two reviews of the new Q1 on YouTube. Both are by BTC Sessions. The first one is the video I already shared, where he connected his Coldcard to Nunchuk via NFC. The second one is with the Sparrow wallet, where he imports his public keys via USB. It's kind of weird to do that if it's supposed to be an airgapped signing device. I haven't seen any videos so far where anyone is using QR codes. Are you absolutely sure that no software wallets can read the QR standard that the Q1 is using? Have you seen complaints by people that would suggest that?

Done ''right'' but in reality unusable.
Everyone else is using BC-UR standard, but nvk had to invent wheel again just so he could brag in social media... ™

I don't think we need full size keyboards for any hardware wallets, they could compromise security, and think it would not work correctly.
If I wanted to bring a something like that I would just bring my laptop, it's probably easier (to use) than c0ldcard Q  

I dont expect anything from nvk, especially after very long presale period, but I guess he is living from this business.

I couldn't find the culprit behind its incompatibility with wallets that can scan animated QR codes ^{[e.g. AFAICR, Bluewallet was one of them]}... Did any of the influencers who received their Q1 ^{[or rather Q]} devices, report having issues with them?

I agree, but considering that they have a history of selling overpriced products ^{[e.g. blockclock series]}, we shouldn't expect more from them.

Oh, yeah, you are correct,  The 3^rd party portable keyboard could potentially threaten the wallet. But they could design their own attachable keyboard and sell it    bundled with wallet itself. Besides, such attachable keyboard could be sold as a spare part of the wallet because buttons have a tendency to fail passively.

That would put in jeopardy the airgapped nature of the hardware wallet. A keyboard like that could, in theory, have malware. It could log your keystrokes, save them internally, and wait for an opportunity to broadcast that data if it ever gets connected to an online device. Nowadays, it could even be equipped with its own network and either upload or download data from a connected device. Being too worried about these things isn't healthy, but neither is not caring at all.

They wanted a qwerty keyboard to be accessible at  the wallet's routine but I think, they could make it to be attachable to the wallet with the small form factor and kill two birds with one stone. Besides , users could attach to such device their own portable keyboard. What do you think about this?

The dude has a lot of them, I wouldn't be surprised if Coldcard is on that list. I never pay attention to the first minute or two of his videos and jump forward when the real content begins.

The size is too big, but I don't care about the shape of it. That is, if I wanted to buy one, its wide calculator body and the many buttons wouldn't be the thing that would stop me. Unless it's a dildo-form, I don't care.

Those are animated QRs, right? What do you mean not supported? Does that mean there is currently no popular software wallet capable of reading the QRs that the Q1 generates? Can I ask the source for this information?

I like BTCSession and he is making very good videos, but colcard and nvk are one of his sponsors 
After watching this video I can confidently say that this is one of the worst looking hardware wallets I ever saw... it's huge and wider than his smartphone 
Coldcard added BBQR code format that is not supported in any software wallets... and they say it was done right 
Paying $199 for this device without batteries and USB cable included is a waste of money.

Ben from BTCSessions has created a video review for the upcoming Coldcard Q hardware wallet. The video shows how to set up the wallet when you first get it, how to backup and recover a wallet, how to pair it to the Nunchuk mobile wallet via NFC, the process of exporting the public keys, how to receive and send transactions, etc.

You can watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNjJ0AuxgHs

The last paragraph on that image is the most important one. Although Coinkite might be deleting the data just like they say they do, their partners and 3rd-parties do things differently and probably don't take such actions. It's also worth asking how much of their work and processes is Coinkite outsourcing to 3rd-parties? Remember the Trezor hack from not that long ago. It was caused by Trezor outsourcing their customer support platform to an outside party, which then got hacked, leaking the data that it kept.

Watching this presentation I have noticed the laser-based QR scanner  implemented by  Coldcard Q1. It seems to be the innovative feature never employed by any known HW if I'm not mistaken. Laser scanner should increase reader's resolution and as a result improve device performance when pairing and signing transaction via QR code.

Probably, I will buy Q1 when available.

Don't worry, it's guaranteed to happen for next year also  

He also released a short video presentation for new Coldcard Q1 if you didn't see it already, but it's so big and ugly for a hardware wallet.
https://twitter.com/COLDCARDwallet/status/1755639690357510485

Very good point  
This is probably just email address for start, but did they really publicly say they don't retain any customer data?

Nothing is fixed in stone for coldcard.
One day they can be open source, than not anymore. 

Which was kind of the point I was making when I was too tired to put it properly.
They now have your info for over a year if you were one of the people who ordered early.

Add in another amount of time till it ships and then 120 days it's probably over a year and a 1/2 they are sitting on your info.

Using the 'ship to a PO box' or other location means that you have now had to keep that address for a while instead of going to another shipping location.

-Dave

While I like the Coldcard and their products, I would still say that it's better to use PO box or freight forwarder company if you want to protect your identity. They claim they'll delete stored data but who knows? Does anyone check? No. It's not only about Coldcard but about every company and service. They are doing regular backups, store those backups, save databases and so on. It's also a huge marketing info for them to analyze the info of their customers, including their location, who buys what, their emails, behaviors and so on. I don't say they do this but for safety reasons, it's better to assume that they do!

They mentioned in one of their replies "they have to keep it till it ships", but on an older post, they pointed to the automated data blanking happening "120 days after the shipping process has taken place"!

And a year after they started taking pre-orders
https://twitter.com/nvk/status/1755617609905566090

So still no ship date but at least it looks like they are producing something.

Still too little to late with no updates.

Also, makes you wonder if you did order one, and they are claiming they don't retain customer data for that long, how & where did they keep all the info from the orders?

-Dave

I cannot find clear information about this from Nokia directly, but just a few years ago they released a new product with this battery:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_105_(2019)

Since I've seen it in other brands' phones, too, and Foundation sells a 'Foundation Devices' branded one with their hardware wallet, I suspect that you can get them as a business customer either from Nokia directly, or from clone manufacturers, easily.

There are newer variants like the thinner BL-4C, but I don't think the 5C is going to be discontinued / unavailable any time soon.

It's definitely good enough for a hardware wallet - much better than the triple-A's (at least with the power circuitry in Passport, that is).

The ol' Nokia batteries could be worth a shout. I know the 18650s are rather thick, but I'm not the most practical when it comes to size. I'm not bothered about a bulky hardware wallet, since I won't exactly be carrying it around with me. Although, I suspect some users would, and I guess manufactures have to take that into consideration. I believe Nokia's are still being manufactured too, right? I'm not sure if they've made more sophisticated batteries these days, but it's probably the most common battery after double A's, and triple A's.

I didn't catch on that the Foundation passport used Nokia batteries, that's pretty neat. I'm glad to see hardware wallets looking to alternatives to the traditional batteries used.

Yeah, that's one of the requirements. It has to be readily changeable, and potentially salvageable from nearby devices. Like I said lithium batteries tend to have quite a long longevity, especially when they're unused. It's when you lower it, and charge it back up it goes through it's cycles.

Exactly, that's why I mentioned the Nokia BL-5C. It has been used for at least 20 years in all sorts of (Nokia) devices, such as the Nokia 3650 from 2002/2003. ^[1] This is what the Foundation Passport batch 2 hardware wallet uses.


[1] https://lpcwiki.miraheze.org/wiki/Nokia_3650

Yes, 18650 is a thick boy, Li-Po pouch would make more sense, but one that's standardized within the industry with like a three-pin connector.

I really believe that 199 dollars is just the price of coldcard q1, in fact on the site I found this sentence for shipments that quotes exactly like this "Free shipping on orders of $499 or more!" so I assume that when it will be possible to place the order, in addition to the price of q1 199dollars, the cost of shipping will also have to be added

Probably still pocketable from the size, only the thickness may get annoying. I'm mostly worried about the Alkaline batteries. From my research into the topic, they will either need a pretty sophisticated power circuit and (super?)capacitors to absorb power spikes and such, to prevent killing the battery charge in a few minutes of power-on time. Or drastically reduce power usage e.g. by killing backlight, having (AS)ICs to accelerate certain things at minimal power usage.


I would be honestly surprised if they actually run into the same issue, where only special and expensive Lithium (not Lithium-Ion) non-rechargeable AA's are required.
I'm pretty satisfied with the Nokia BL-5C battery. It holds a long time and you can get replacements very easily.

You want a camera module without IC on it and process the raw picture data in the open-source software. Instead, it seems like Q1 uses a 'self-contained' QR module with IC and software that does all the decoding and only returns the decoded data to the main SoC.

In case that Lithium batteries are needed, those are over 10 bucks a pack ^[1], every time. That adds up over time, indeed.

It is actually not cheaper than Passport, when it was in pre-order phase, too. It came with one Industrial microSD card and two microSD adapters (Lightning and USB-C).

18650 is definitely a good idea; Li-Ion and common to find anywhere. Only downside is the cylindrical and large shape. But I guess it may be possible to accommodate for it in a device with Q1's (or Passport's) thickness, especially since you only need one. However, it may be overkill in capacity compared to a Nokia BL-5C, which is also slimmer and lighter.

Even better: remove data contacts from the PCB..

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Lithium-Battery-Longest-lasting-Leak-proof/dp/B071CNQ3TG

I remember them mentioning that $199 is the full price in their podcast for now, but it will probably go up once it's out.


Given that they said they have already ordered the molds I'm assuming the size has already been decided.

Do we know if $199 is the total price, or just the cost to reserve one?

I got an email after ordering that when it's ready to ship I can add the Q1 to my cart and then add my reservation as a "discount."  And it appears no shipping or sales tax is charged yet.

Are you kidding me right now?
They showed many screenshots, so it's clear they are only working on internal and software related stuff.
Maybe they are little concerned what would people say when they see real dimensions, some would not purchase huge device that is more like small netbook.
Judging by meme posted by NVK this Coldcard Q1 is gigantic:


https://bird.trom.tf/COLDCARDwallet/status/1627472372096970753#m

It's safe to say one thing, this is going to be the BIGGEST hardware wallet in the world  

I want to have options with power, that means USB cable connection should always be there and batteries should be something like Keystone made, so you have regular and custom batteries available.

Drifting with the battery thing for a while. Makes you wonder how low you can go. Would it be possible to design a GOOD hardware wallet with decent screen and everything else.
BUT also have a 'low power' mode. Much like now have a green led for good, a red led for bad and instead of the higher power display use something like an e-ink.

The issue is the security and cpu chips. How low power can you get them. Is it possible to use some funky power setup to even run them off a single AA battery even if you have to throttle them all the way down.
Do you care if it takes 15 seconds to do something if you have to do it and the only power you could get is an old mostly dead battery?

Just pondering out loud here. Did not really think it thought that much.

-Dave

While Lithium batteries tend to hold good charge unless they're exposed to cold environments or obviously used they hold their charge decently well. 18650s aren't all that expensive these days. When you compare them to double AA's sure, they're comparatively cheaper, but if you're using your hardware wallet semi frequently, running into charge issues would be annoying. For a little extra cost, you could have two 18650's instead of three normal double A's, and you'll have a much better charge.

While 18650s are usually associated with flashlights, and battery packs I don't think they should be limited to that. The cost of them is going down, as we are developing stronger equipment that requires more mah. Therefore, double A's I can see becoming a thing of the past, and while they're brilliant for remote controls, and the like. 18650s future proof the design, and when you're storing Bitcoin for a rather long period of time having that future proof insurance is nicer to have.

Personally, I think hardware wallets should accept several different batteries. I have a DIY battery pack, that I take traveling which accepts double A's, 18650s, and 21's. If they did that, it effectively future proofs it, and allows quick access to whatever the user can get their hands on, if they require to do that in a short period of time.

They might be debating about the final size and weight themselves and they don't know yet how the final product will look like. If you look at the official specs, https://coldcard.com/docs/specs, the size and weight is yet to be determined. We only know the display size.

https://coldcard.com/docs/coldcard-q1

I don't know if you saw image I posted with Coldcard Q1 next to the model mk4 and laptop... but this is huge device, and I think we need to have a small backpack to carry this device outside.
Coldcard didn't release exact dimensions anywhere so we don't know the final looks, but that backside with batteries looks very thick like a brick.
Did anyone found exact dimension for Coldcard Q1 or maybe NVK can tell us this little ''secret''.

I can clearly see on Coinkite website that Uncle Jim's Bundle and KISB Guide Bundle are available now, and they all include USB-C cables.
They are also selling power only USB-C cables separately for $16.99  

Sales tax is just the way it is over here. And Best Buy being scummy is just the way best buy is.

As for the cable, I would like them to give you 2 cables. One with the data wires and one without. This way if your batteries are dead you always have a cable around that can power it by plugging it into anything without worry. Minor point but it would be nice.

But, lets face it. All their previous ones did not come with cables either so it's not like anything changed with that. All you got was the unit in a bag.

-Dave

Imagine using a Gameboy lookalike as your new hardware wallet? And I am not talking about the second generation pocket-sized ones, but the old brick-style consoles. I agree with dkbit98 that removing the cable is a ridiculous move and would force me to look elsewhere if I was looking to buy a hardware wallet. Not because I can't afford to buy a cable somewhere else or don't have spare ones somewhere, but because I expect to get a fully functioning device with everything that goes with it. What's next? You don't get a keyboard, but you can pay extra if you want them to install it for you?

I remember my first purchase in Best Buy in the States some 15 years ago (approx.) Didn't have much money back then, so it was a big thing for me. On top of the price displayed in the store, I also had to pay extra for taxes. Didn't know that's normal in the US back then. On top of that, they added an additional charge of $99. When I asked what that's for, they said their Geek Squad team was kind enough to install the OS on it + drivers for the graphics card, etc. I had a Carol-like fit when I heard that. I said, isn't that standard when you buy a laptop? Were you just going to give it to me with no OS installed, so I can't use if after paying for it? I didn't want to pay for it and asked the salesman to take it back and have their Geek Squad uninstall everything they put on it. After he spoke with his boss, I was told I didn't have to pay the extra $99. Jerk    

18650 are different in voltage that your classical AA batteries, plus packing more energy into the battery while increasing the cost makes little sense when you can simply buy rechargeable ones and use 4 or 6 of them to have one set always ready. Maybe it's just me, but talking about the extra cost of a few batteries and a cheap cable probably every single one of us is having laying around while discussing a device in which you plan to store thousands of $ equivalent seems a bit of a push.
As for why small producers do the cable thing, it's easy to understand, you include a good cable you have to rise the price a bit, you put in a junk one you have angry customers the cable is obviously junk, so why not get rid of all possible cable related complaints induced a bad batch and have the user decide for himself what to use.

I was quite intrigued by it due to the display and QR but what's with those dimensions, for real 4 inches wide? Hope it's not a trend and we're not going from wallets you can tuck in your pocket or hide beside flash drives to things the size of a tablet.

Yes they will fly and create so much waste and evil pollution with plane fuel burning... but I guess only usbc cables are creating waste in the world. 

Nothing, who said it has anything to do with iPhones?
Comparing smartphones that are sold in billions for decades I can somehow agree with their shitty tactics of removing chargers and cables in recent years.
But Coldcard is selling few hundred devices max, and they are already removing essential stuff for functioning of their devices.
I don't know any other hardware wallet brand that is doing this right now, so I have to criticize this stupid move.

I'm pretty sure this won't fly at all in the EU. 🤷‍♂️



ok to play the devil's advocate - you get the usb-c cable with the coldcard. What good does it do with your lightning port iphone exactly?

Dream on and read the latest news about that iPhone topic.
They are planning to introduce payment charges fee and verification for this special cables, so you won't be able to use your universal usb-c type cable  
Note that I am not a fan of iPhone at all, just trying to provide evidence that billions of people wont be able to use new coldcard device without paying extra money for new cable and new batteries.
Btw coldcard is based in Canada, that is North America, not EU.

At least in the EU apple is forced to switch to usb-c. Weather their shitty lightning through usb-c implementation will actually support data transfer on these devices - probably not because earning money through licencing lightning is too good of a deal for them - is a thing you should take up with apple.

I guess iPhone users are screwed than and they can't use new coldcard wallet, but I guess that is nothing...''only'' around billion people use iPhone devices right now... especially in North America.

I agree, especially when we have examples what happened with Foundation Passport and Keystone essential.
When you are not shipping device with batteries it's just another way to cut on production cost, that is something coldcard is trying to do with upcoming device.
It's much better strategy that Passport used in their new device, using the same rechargeable battery that was used in old Nokia phones.

We need to progress past triple A's I think, and establish a slightly better, at least bigger capacity battery. I've used 18650s for a lot of things, and they function decently well for most things. Aren't as common as your double A's, and triple A's though. However, they aren't some specialised hardware, and can be picked up relatively cheaply, and easily from a variety of places.

It's really the only standard that should exist. I'm pretty sure that Europe recently passed a law that Apple has to convert to USB-C before a specific date, and that would also apply to any other manufacturers that want to sell their product in Europe. USB-A, and mini USB ships have definitely sailed, but as soon as hardware wallets start bringing in their own special cables, they'll lose customers.

Everyone has a USB-C lying around at this point, and they allow decent data transfer, and charging speeds. So, they should be the standard. 

no, I just don't like useless parts that end up in the trash. But you do you. 🤷‍♂️


it's usb-c, it's quite the standard these days.

Oh I see... you are one of those guys who is going to ''save the planet'' by paying more money for chargers and cables, sorry but I won't fall for that scam
We are talking about brand new hardware wallet here, and I am certainly won't pay more money to Coldcard for their special cables, and I am sure they are going to sell them separately with batteries as accessories.

And they forgot many people still have microUSB cables for their phones, but I guess that doesn't matter...

I could not disagree more. Most of people already have those, probably, and even if not I don't see why you could not buy these separately. Imho there's no need to endlessly litter the planet with these when (at least in my experience) they mostly just end up in the bin.

They started doing similar strategies like smartphones that don't ship chargers in package anymore, and I can't find information if microSD cards are included or not.
I don't know any other wallet that don't ship with USB cable and I hope this won't be the new trend, but I guess everyone has some old cable from smartphones.

For anyone who wants to sea size comparison of new Coldcard Q1 with older device and laptops, I found one interesting phone they posted.
This device is very large in size and I don't think this can fit any normal pockets... just look how tiny mk4 is below



Someone asked for them to turn on device so we can see how screen will look.... they said it's impossible to turn it on right now, so it's basically just a dummy device riggt now.
I think adding additional closed source secure element is nothing more than security theater, and there is no real benefit compared to using only one secure element and main chip.

So stupid... security circus that does (almost) nothing, except increasing production cost  

I watched it after I posted but never went back and edited my post, the point that we both agree on is they are selling somthing that never mind being build or tested is still being designed.

If you are a NEW company and need the funds to launch your 1st product or perhaps even your 2nd I can deal with an early pre order. For people who have been doing it this long sorry....no.

I can see taking a few dollars as a hold my space in line deposit to attempt to gauge how many they need to build in the 1st run, but beyond that it's just a money grab.

-Dave

I think I chose the wrong set of words to portray the situation yesterday ^{[my bad]}... They might add "another" SE ^{[from a different brand]} on top of the existing ones that are present in Mk4, so it might end up having three SEs, but I also agree that they should've finalized the design first.
^{- They also mentioned the same thing (three SEs) "is also part of the process for Mk5".}

100% guess but it's probably an off the shelf part with a little bit of tweaking.
I don't know the cost of having one designed and built but I am sure taking one that exists and doing a little custom lettering on a couple of the keys has to be cheaper.



That annoys the crap out of me. You are taking pre-orders and have not finalized the design.

At this point if you are selling me something with published specs I should get what you said.

I don't care if it *might* even be better. Perhaps I wanted that SE for some reason.

-Dave

In addition to that, it comes with a higher resolution and a colored screen.

• Quote from: DaveF on February 09, 2023, 11:59:11 AM
  but the underlying hardware is the same.
  
  Last night, they mentioned in a podcast that "there's still a possibility that they might add a different brand secure element to Q1 ^[8:10]".
  

---

Personally, I think this is one of its advantages.

"Behind the batteries, there are two little cutouts to the PCB and by scraping the one that's for NFC ^{[the other one is for USB data]}, it permanently disables it ^[6:53]".

• Quote from: https://coldcard.com/docs/coldcard-q1
  Dual slots means you can keep unsigned and signed transactions on different cards. Copying files and keeping dual backups is easier now.

I was  actually talking about smartphones, I don't like what they are turning into
I could understand bigger screen if hardware wallet was designed like Keystone or like upcoming 1inch wallet that have gorilla glass protection.
Using very very large size hardware wallets I can't really understand, especially if they are thick like a brick.

Most of the people probably keep hardware wallets at home, but in some cases you need to travel and cross border with them.
My thinking is that credit card style hardware wallets is ideal for this situations, not big brick you carry in your big pocket.

Maybe, but than you would have to trust manufacturer they are telling the truth about self-destruction.
Mnay times it's just a security theater like in case with Safepal, and I remember people managed to easily bypass Cobo (now Keystone) self-destruction mechnism.

Makes you wonder if the cost and weight of a more durable screen on a device like this matters as much as on a phone.

If you have a lot of funds stored on the wallet secured by it, IMO your hardware wallet should be locked in your desk / safe / wherever and pulled out when you need to move them. And you have the seed backed up securely someplace else anyway.

If you have smaller amounts, then getting the screen broken is an annoyance since you do have it out and use it day to day, but the seed it still elsewhere.




Does anyone make their own camera modules? There was actually a discussion here a while ago about that and vulnerabilities with them.


What a lot more wallets need, and other then the keystone I don't know of any, is a 'self destruct' when taken apart so you can't attack them by taking them apart and getting to the SE. BUT the other side of that is you can't take them apart to fix them either.

-Dave

They are even repeating the exact same mistake you did with triple A batteries, and that back design for Q1 is really ugly in my opinnion.
I am almost certain we are going to see ColdCard Q2 after this, that will have similar batteries like you are using in current Passport device

Did they release any dimensions for ColdCard Q1?
It's bet if they can release how it looks when someone holds it in hand, but in their defense I would have to say that most modern smartphones are far from being small and ''pocketable''.
I don't like this direction at all, but people like big screens (that crack easy).

Admit that you came back in bitcointalk forum, after being triggered by release of new ColdCard Q1... I found your conflict really amuzing, can't wait for NVK to join the party soon and talk more about QR code scanner and device dimensions.
Speaking about code, Coldcard doens't care at all about being open source, so it' doesn't matter f they use propriety code.
In their defense again, secure element you are using in Passport is also not open source and it has security issues, that is why it was outdated by manufacturer

Looks like a calculator I had many years ago. I like that coldcard has normal batteries that you can find anywhere and replace them. I do not like sealed units that have special batteries which you would need to either break the sealed unit or send it back to the company to replace batteries. These batteries they are using will always be available and I know I can leave my hardware wallet in storage for 20 years and I will find some of these batteries if the batteries have died. NFC communication is my biggest worry I am not a fan of NFC I think it makes devices less secure and if someone gets into your house or where you are storing your hardware wallet they might not even need to physically touch it and could wave a another NFC communication device to interact with the wallet. I wish this was optional I do not even have NFC on my phone because I do not like the tech. I like that we have dual sd cards but what would be the use of having 2 sd cards in the device at the same time?

I am quite flattered by Coldcard's new direction; it certainly seems like a direct response to our 2021 Passport Founder's Edition.

One interesting thing we noticed is that it's about 4x6 inches, almost an inch thick (you can do the estimation yourself knowing the screen is 3.2 inches diagonal). I think many users will be surprised by the sheer size of the device. It's certainly not pocketable.

Additionally, I think I found the QR scanner part they are using. This means the QR scanner is essentially a standalone black box computer running proprietary code. It also means that there will be no viewfinder on the Q1 screen: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Embedded-1D-2D-Image-Barcode-Scanner_62478427468.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal_offer.d_title.2e971000ZaPAEz&s=p

I saw that article in Bitcoin Magazine this morning also, and was pleased to see Coinkite moving in the direction of QR scanners.  The price to reserve one isn't bad either, and I notice the price of the Mk4 has gone down a little bit as well.  I reckon once the Q1 is in production the price will likely go up a bit.

I'm not sure if I want to spring for yet another hardware wallet just yet, I'm developing quite a collection as it is.  Although I do think I'll keep an eye on the development of this product like and likely will buy the second generation.

Looks like a large screen calculator or gameboy with lots of buttons.

I will add useful information for future buyers:


Source link: _{https://store.coinkite.com/store/cc-q1}

Well they are both Canadian companies. You never know the engineers might have been sharing a Molson and some Timbits and decided to swap ideas.

IF and that is a big IF, the power circuit is done properly using 3 standard AAA batteries is not a big deal. Also, it still allows for USB power so even if that is bad you can still power up the device the old way too.

Lets see how the final product comes out and if they still keep the open public hardware schematics like they did with the other models.

-Dave

As saying goes, "everything new is well-forgotten old." New Coldcard Q1 and good old Nokia E61 look almost identical, except that with the former you won't be able to make a call:


Source: https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/nokia-e61

As if it justifies increasing the size of the device by four times.

I thought this was some kind of Blackberry joke first, but then I remembered it was not April 1st.
It's obvious to me they are concerned with their main competition Passport wallet, so they decided to go with this phone look direction instead of old calculator style, but having 3xAAA batteries is a big mistake in my opinion.
Similar thing with batteries was done by Keystone essentials and Passport wallet first edition, and it didn't work very well for both of them.
Good thing to see that this year is going to be very interesting for hardware wallets, now we have Coldcard Q1, and new Keystone and Trezor should also come out.

New product coming 'soon' from coldcard

https://coldcard.com/docs/coldcard-q1
https://twitter.com/COLDCARDwallet/status/1623698350481760259




Looks to be interesting. Lets see how it really turns out.
Basically a MK4 cold card with a larger screen and real keyboard and a few other features but the underlying hardware is the same.
And where the price really winds up in the end. It's $200 pre-order. Who knows if it will actually stay that way.

-Dave