Can the ethereum platform be run on a mobile device (e.g. smartphone)?

tidymonkey81

this is my question. in extension, can the mining process be carried out on such a device, can the device act as a personal gateway to the distributed network, i.e. could it do something like encrypt my face, iris or finger print and use it as a key?

also, am i asking stupid questions and if so what do i need to know to clarify my question?

StephanTual

Using some type of biometrics to act as a password to your wallet: yes, but that has very little to do with Ethereum the protocol.

Encoding your biometrics into the blockchain as some means of unique ID to back say, a reputation system: definitely possible in theory.

Mining on a biometric device or using mining in conjunction with biometric data: not sure what you mean, but like no.

Jasper

It is intended for PoW mining at least you need a full node, and that may be out of reach, probably initially storage-wise, but likely soon in every other way. PoW mining takes cpu power, which takes regular (Watt) power and you probably dont want to drain the battery that much. I hear that there might be PoS aspect to the mining, btw, but it would probably not be that profitable.

It is planned to eventually create lightweight clients that dont run full nodes. Of course, even without that, you might always connect to another computer you own via some secure channel, and use Ethereum that way.

istar

For pulling data out of the blockchain - doesn't require any mining. So, in "read-only" mode - is perfectly suitable for mobile devices. If you want to send some contract transactions you will require ethers, but PoW is not the only way you get it: you can buy it. I think the illustration here is self-evident: you either mine you gasoline, or buy it out on the gas station.

Correct me if my understanding is wrong. I'm here to actually do the same thing: make Mobile DAPP

intrepid

thanks for the answers guys, I myself have been looking into "mobility" and how some interesting Dapps might be well served specifically for a mobile device