The new COLDCARD improves upon the Mk4 by adding a QWERTY keyboard, a large LCD screen, and a QR code scanner.
Bitcoin hardware company Coinkite launches the higher-end COLDCARD, with a full QWERTY keyboard, larger LCD screen and QR code scanner. COLDCARD Q1 will also run on batteries, there is no need to connect the device to an outlet or computer.
“We always wanted to make a QWERTY device for fast password phrase input with battery power,” Coinkite founder NVK told Bitcoin Magazine. “We’ve been toying with the idea of ââQR for years, and we finally found a secure way to do a QR scanner. I’m really excited about it, we think it’s the best hardware wallet ever.”
COLDCARD Q1 is very similar to the historical BlackBerry. A grey, stealthy body incorporates the safety features introduced with the Mk4, launched last year. The new device also borrows other features from the Mk4, including NFC compatibility, USB virtual disk mode, a USB-C connector, activity LEDs for USB and SD cards, and a 120 megahertz (MHz) CPU speed. Q1 took a step further than the Mk4, however, in adding a second SD card slot, an LCD screen four times as wide, the ability to use the battery for power, a QR code scanner with LED illumination and an advanced scanning algorithm, and a huge, 50-key QWERTY keyboard. It also includes a flashlight.
The Q1 QR scanner is located on the top of the unit and is connected to the COLDCARD internally using a 2-wire serial port. According to Coinkite, this ensures “there is no danger of scanning more data than meets the eye.”
“Your bitcoin deposit address or other data is decoded by this special module which is excellent for reading QR codes in every lightning condition, and also includes a super bright LED to illuminate the cave on top of the mountain! Try a highly optimized grocery store scanner, not a mobile phone camera struggling to read QR,â per Coinkite documents.
The new COLDCARD Q1 is available for pre-sale, but the launch date has not yet been determined.