AirBitz launches Android App

In October 2014, Airbitz announced their iOS version of the Airbitz wallet using BLE, or Bluetooth Smart. Compared to Classic Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart is intended to provide considerably reduced power consumption and cost while maintaining a similar communication range.

In the 4 months since Airbitz launched their wallet and directory, they report to have over 3000 accounts and about 600 active users per day. “It’s a small number but very steadily growing,” says Paul Puey, co-founder and CEO at Airbitz.

“In general, Airbitz has received VERY positive response from the public. People love the full functionality provided by the wallet and our commitment to decentralization & privacy, combined with grandma friendly ease of use has been well received,”
— – Puey

Airbitz delayed the release of the Android wallet, as iOS was more mature. Puey explains, “We first implemented BLE on iPhone as Apple hardware and software was further along in their BLE support.” Initial development of the Android app was promising, “But right before Google launched Android 5.0, they kill[ed] support for a BLE mode called Peripheral Mode which allows a device to broadcast a BLE message,” says Puey

“For what reason did they kill the support? Was it to force user upgrades? Hardware incompatibility? We don’t know, but we do know that it upset a lot of developers,”
— – Puey

Puey, explains that BLE works in areas where QR codes fall short. “We particularly like using BLE in personal group transactions. ie. a group dinner where one person pays the bill and several people pay that person back. That person can have a single payment request that several people pay without having to move a phone around.”

Originally designed for industrial uses, QR codes have become common in consumer advertising. Puey explains that although a lot of hype surrounded QR code use in peer to peer data transfer, they have some issues. “BLE excels in areas of bright, reflecting light which can cause maddening glare for QR codes.”

By delaying the release Airbitz has had time to focus on development, “After rolling it out and getting initial feedback, we started working on Android and hit quite a number of roadblocks including lack of documentation, poor device support, and incompatibilities with our iPhone protocol.”

With the Airbitz implementation of BLE a user requesting bitcoin broadcasts their nickname (optionally), and a prefix of their public address. “The sending user then sees a list of requests when they choose to send. They simply tap the request that matches the nickname and address prefix of the user that is requesting funds. This creates a connection and the full public address info is then transferred to the sender just as if they had scanned a QR code. The sender then transmits the transaction as normal using the bitcoin network,” says Puey

The functionality of the Android wallet could see Airbitz adoption gain further traction, Puey describes a core issue the Company has faced. “Our challenge has been the communication of our very strong privacy model that accomplishes strong anonymity without compromising ease of use,” Puey firmly believes that “true bitcoin autonomy and privacy is available for everyone”