Topic: Thoughts about Passport hardware wallet - page 3. (Read 2294 times)

Indeed, it's 19mm vs 24mm roughly (I measured the v1 thickness right now). Not as much as expected; looked thinner due to smaller footprint I guess.

I think it was you and dkbit98 I was thinking about, yes. Alright!

In some ways, it reminds me of the Vertu Signature series phones, so I really like its design + most of its features.

I was under the impression that Batch 2 was a lot thinner than the previous version, but it looks like I was wrong ^{[a bit strange]}.

If you're referring to me because of our previous conversation, honestly, $190 is still a lot for me ^{[due to other expenses]}, but I appreciate the kind gesture

Thanks, it does look cool in this picture. I will make sure to review and compare it; you won't miss it!
The size comparison is interesting. Thinner profile will definitely make it easier to carry in a pocket. I can't wait to get mine!
I'm thinking about grabbing one of those ambassador codes so you guys can get a $10 discount, as I saw a few interested folks who still find $200 too steep. On the other hand, it shouldn't influence my review, so I might do it after the review, maybe donate the $10 that I'd get for referring or something like that. What do you think?

New updated page was released for Passport hardware wallet Batch2 on foundation website, and I have to say that it looks amazing!  
Hands down best looking hardware wallet in my opinion, that is air-gapped and open source on both software and hardware level.
I can't wait for review and comparison with older version from one of 2500 proud owners.


https://foundationdevices.com/passport/

It does it look batch2 has grown in size compared with older version, dimensions are 1.54'' x 4.36'' x 0.76'' (39mm x 110.8mm x 19.2mm) but it became slimmer.
Comparing that with older Passport devices, nokia phone, and with few other popular hardware wallets in link below:
https://comparesizes.com/comparison/Nano-S-vs-Trezor-One-vs-Nano-X-vs-Passport-vs-Nokia-3310-vs-Passport-2/1647439742683

I am pretty sure a few $ should suffice for such a screen and should fit within a $200 Bitcoin wallet manufacturer budget.
Yeah that phone is super overpriced; they also seem to go mostly for 'minimalism' and 'low SAR' etc instead of going mainly for open-source (though that's one of its features). It's off-topic, but was the only high-end device (at least price-wise) that came to mind which has a small eInk screen.

Yep, Passport definitely has a factor of plausible deniability / concealment in plain sight built-in!

Only if you contact them and ask if they have some leftovers, but I don't understand why would you use inferior device with known issues (battery, screen scratches...)

Nobody is refusing anything about e-ink display and Foundation never mentioned them, this was just my idea and suggestion.

Try to break it and infect with malware, than post results here.
It's similar like Coldcard hardware wallet that was never hacked in this way.

I didn't know eink display are expensive, but I remember sawing this Mudita phone last year and I think it's way overpriced.
I like the idea for phone like this that is open source and with minimalist design, but it needs more work.
You can pretend to use phone and talk with Passport wallet 

Not sure if this is what you are looking, but there is a Croatian company called Inkplate that apparently designs large e-inc displays based on open-source software and hardware. Whether or not all hardware components are completely open-source is not something I can answer though. But based on the items in their shop, they only sell larger displays.

Right, makes sense. I mean I'd avoid using one in public spaces in general, just like I don't take $100 bills out of my wallet in public and wave them around. But honestly, compared to a phone or tablet screen, where someone could look from moderately far away distances, these screens are tiny. Unless you're literally within a crowd of people, I doubt anyone can see what's on that stamp-sized screen even if it had the best display technology in the world.

Regarding price, I think I could get some kind of 'referral code' which you could use to get a discount, but I thought about it before and decided against it so not to bias my opinion / review, since I'd get a very small amount ($10) in BTC as well (Ambassador Program).
I might reconsider for your guys' benefits and just give them e.g. the UA donation address to pay out to. On the other hand, they'll only pay out quarterly, and by June I really hope this war will be over... Anyhow, if you've got an idea (other charity) let me know.
Would be a price of $189 with the discount which seems totally fair to me, since e.g. much worse build quality BitBox02 costs ~$150 and Trezor Model T costs ~$240ish.

E-Ink isn't perfect (who would've thought ), and that's the reason why we don't see it on lots of consumer devices. The really good, quickly refreshing ones, with little to no artifacts, cost a lot of money and are used in high-end eBook readers. The small form-factor ones are mostly for tinkering, so even if you got the budget, it's hard to get your hands on a high-quality one in the size that Foundation would need.

Interestingly, there was a phone that popped up recently which uses an eInk and it seems like it's very very bad (Mudita) from the first reviews.

You're right, that 'bright colours and bling' aren't needed, which is why the v1 Passport had a monochrome screen. One thing to consider with Foundation is that they always try to get components without closed-source microprocessors embedded within them. It's easily possible that eInk screen modules just only come with such chips inside them, but that's now just speculation on my part. Maybe just ask them on Twitter; they seem to be very interactive and open there.

That's a good point! Maybe it will also be in their GitHub; then the chassis could be 3D printed with resin with any (single) colour one likes. It would give a basically perfectly smooth finish.

Yeah, I'm a big fan of this choice; I'll probably get two or three probably to leave in the backpack and car so to always have one handy when needed on the go.

Yes, it's not produced anymore, it was a one-time run of 1000 units. However resellers such as BTCdirect still have the v1 in stock if you prefer that. It is usually recommended to buy this sort of stuff directly from manufacturers though.

For my thoughts on this see above; if there's more interest in the topic, contact Foundation directly.

Try it! No honestly; it shouldn't. You can update the device via SD card, so there's a chance of trying to update it with a malicious firmware. However, it won't pass the cryptographic checks that the wallet performs on that firmware file, so you'd need to find an exploitable bug in the verification function (or maybe glitch the hardware during the process) to either skip the verification completely or to trick it into accepting an unsigned firmware file.

I have a number of questions:

Is it possible to buy only Passport batch2 on their website?
As I noticed, this model is not with e-ink. Foundation refused to use e-ink?

What happened to the previous version? Removed from production?

Isn't the SD slot a weak link that allows to download malware? Can attackers use it?

In general, there is a positive impression of this device. The idea of replacing AAA batteries with a rechargeable battery turned out to be good and allowed to reduce the thickness of HW. Why e-ink was removed is a question for me. The ability to customize the display would be a good idea.
I would be grateful if someone could enlighten me. Thx.

Best option for me would be using something like e-ink display like one used in ebook readers.
You don't really need bright colors and bling for bitcoin wallet, and it would spend much less power than other alternatives.
I am honestly surprised no hardware wallet used eInk display so far, except maybe some M5Stack Esp32 devices.

Great thing about Foundation Passport is they release everything as open source including software and hardware, so you could ask them for .stl files and make your own custom design.
Quality probably won't be good as one that arrives from factory, and I am not sure how easy is to disassemble everything and put it all back together.
One more good thing about new Passport batch2 is they are using standard batteries used for old Nokia phones, exact model is BL-5C 1200mAh Rechargeable Battery.
You can buy one of this batteries everywhere online or in local electronics shop for around $10 

Yes, I believe you interpret the first part correctly, but I wasn't implying that they went with an IPS screen because of its great viewing angles... I've read a few comments/blog posts in the past about users who travel with a hardware wallet and I've personally seen a couple of users that were using certain hardware wallets in a public place ^[SMH], so a screen with bad viewing angles would've been better for such users ^{[I do know such situations probably doesn't apply to most of us, but still]} and on top of that, it could've been cheaper ^{[I guess I really want its price to come down, so I can afford it]}.

I totally agree with the latter part ^{[IMO, the upcoming version justifies its premium price tag, as opposed to the previous version]}.

The v1 also came with the industrial microSD. I think I mentioned it in my review.
Comparison will come as a second review once I get mine and have some time to test it out.

I know, but honestly the old one wasn't great. It was totally fine for even daily transactions for sure, but just saying I do appreciate the upgrade! Definitely looking forward to that glass screen, let's see how it will be in real life.

I'm also pretty interested to look at the code; if they use trusted / well-known libraries and if so, which ones, or if it's all in-house, etc....

I don't understand; you mean 'screen protector' in the sense of that it doesn't have great viewing angles so people can't peer from the side? I don't see this as an issue on such a small screen (having used it) and you don't even notice the bad viewing angles at all. So I don't think the reason for going IPS was to make it readable from a shallow angle of view, moreso for just a better image. I'm not sure it's easy enough to see on pictures or online videos, but the v1 screen was pretty dim and in general the image was a bit weird. Not sure how to describe it really. It looks like this image here, which appears to be a render from their website, but this gradient from a grey to a light grey / white background is there as well as the small little squiggly lines all over the screen (zoom in).


No idea. Don't think the app or code are released yet; when they are, I'll try with the v1.

Honestly, absolute must-have for me and I think anyone else that's running their own node.

Interesting! I mean I think I'll get accustomed to it. I just tend to prefer more plain, low-key designs; in general from a company perspective, it's also a less risky choice. In the end it comes down to the features, usability and security to be honest.

This is one of the few things I actually don't like about it... It's overkill and considering what the nature of the product in question is, I would've preferred a TN screen instead ^{[in a way, it could've acted as a privacy screen protector]}.

Does anybody know if the highlighted part means their app ^[Envoy] comes with a built-in TX accelerator or it's just a feature like RBF and CPFP?

Me gusta

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For what it's worth, I really like the design of their Batch 2!

I am checking it right now and it looks cool to me, only one thing I don't like is they kept old 608a secure element that has some small security issues, compared to improved 608b version.
They said this issues are not affecting anything related with functions of hardware wallet, but I think they had problem with supply chain and 608b version is out of stock.

It's interesting they are shipping wallet together with Industrial-grade microSD card (much better than regular SD cards) and adapters for iOS and Android.
Included battery and power cable are normal thing, but I am interested to hear review and comparison with older device.

IPS is much better for eyes and it's better than regular display, but you probably won't use hardware wallet non-stop.
Whats more important is ultra-hard glass on top of screen so it should be much better than in old device and harder to scratch... still better to get some protection cover.
I see they released new Envoy app that is also open source, but I would prefer to use well known wallets instead, and wait to see if Envoy has some big bugs.

Hey, the version 2 was revealed earlier today!
https://twitter.com/FOUNDATIONdvcs/status/1501943486450323457/



It looks fine to me. A bit aggressive / flashy honestly, but I think I can live with it.
Would have preferred the old design 1:1 just thinner. Especially since with the thinner size and better battery, I might use this as a real daily-driver, so any inconspicuousness would have been appreciated.

IPS screen sounds good; also interesting they give you a microSD adapter for both types of phone OSes as well as seemingly put in a lot of work into a phone app so that you can set the wallet up and even update it completely without computer.

While this seems unnecessary for most of us here, it's actually going to be great for many people who just don't own a computer. It's not even really about money, but I do know people who simply don't need and wouldn't use a PC; they have e.g. an iPad to watch movies in bed and a phone for everyday usage. They don't sit in forums for hours, write code or long essays, so they don't need a PC.
I am also not sure why you would use the SD over QR for transactions, when using a phone, but I guess it's cool that they include that adapter so you can update the wallet with your phone. It might even come in handy if you're traveling light and want to install a critical security update quickly.

One more preview image posted for upcoming Passport hardware wallet batch2, and this time we are checking it from the inside and looking at pcb.
Passport is using the same micro processor model STM32H753 ARM Cortex, and usb-c port is used only for power charging of lithium ion battery.
I couldn't identify from posted images if they are still using old ATECC608A secure element or they switched to something new, maybe updated version ATECC608B.
Packaging is also updated, but I am not interested in that honestly speaking.


https://twitter.com/FOUNDATIONdvcs/status/1501707701910450181

Oh that's cool, definitely going to check it tomorrow! I wasn't aware of the fact Square was making so much hardware already. Competition is the best way for development / progress.

Cool, thanks in advance! It got quite long, I admit, and I even wanted to put in even more stuff

Square just rebranded and changed name to Block, and it's true about quality hardware they make, working on point of sale solutions they had to make POS hardware and accessories for that.
You can check on their website devices like Square Terminal, Square Reader for cards, Square Register and Stand, they even have Registers and complete kits available.
They obviously know how to make hardware, and Block wallet will be just one more in this list.
Checkout their website:
https://squareup.com/us/en/hardware

I am checking that out right now, and I will comment later

Interesting! Someone said Block builds good hardware or something like that; aren't they just an 'umbrella' company for Square, CashApp and TIDAL? What did they build so far? (TIDAL LN payments eta wen @jack)

Regarding Passport, my review is finally done It's possible I'll add a few points here and there and if you have open questions, feel free to comment or direct message me and I'll check those things out & add them to the review.

It's not released yet, but I am following news about that and I saw that Jack Block posted job offerings for people to work in multiple cities across United States (San Francisco, New York, etc).
Hardware Wallet Business Lead;  Global Fulfillment & Logistics Lead, Hardware Wallet, and few more but I can't find links for them anymore.

Back on the Passport wallet topic...they are preparing some BIG changes for batch2 and they say more information will be revealed in February.