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COIN: Anyone considering it? (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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Pretty cool thing to have.

Only $55 total for the next few days.

Just haven't pulled the trigger on a preorder yet. Wondering what everyone else thinks.

Click Here
 

DavidJ

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Really, Sam, how do you figure? I personally think it's a good idea, but there are some issues. Regular price is supposed to be $100 and they estimate a battery life of two years (I wouldn't be surprised if it's worse). I can't see doing that. That said I jumped in several weeks ago and I know many of my friends who have. There is a lot of excitement for the idea in my circle of acquaintances.
 

DaveF

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I'm intrigued. I like the idea, to thin down my wallet, especially if it will work with FSA/HSA cards. I've got four credit cards in my wallet. Merging them to a single card could let me get an even smaller wallet. But I'm watch and wait on this. If it works as advertised, I'll look into it more seriously.
 

Ronald Epstein

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I think it's a great idea, but as mentioned, what is turning me off is the
fact that the battery only lasts two years and then you have to buy another
one of these.

...not at $100 each.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Ronald Epstein said:
I think it's a great idea, but as mentioned, what is turning me off is the
fact that the battery only lasts two years and then you have to buy another
one of these.

...not at $100 each.
I only use credit cards with no annual fees, so the idea of getting this with basically a $50 annual fee is a complete no-go for me.
 

KeithAP

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RobertR said:
Seems to make sense only for those with a plethora of CCs.
Even then I am not so sure. The Coin can only hold 8 cards at a time which seems like a limitation. At the same time, since it only has a single button for navigation, even loading it up with 8 cards could result in a lot of clicking to get to the card you want. On the other hand, in my wallet for example, having easy access to 8 cards isn't a problem.

Coin security features seem to rely on connectivity to your phone via bluetooth. While this won't be a problem for many, there will be those that sometimes turn off bluetooth or simply aren't carrying their phones. For those folks to maintain the usability of the device, it would have to have its security settings changed before these phone "outages" are to happen.

When I first heard about the device my gut reaction was to think "Finally! Where can I get one?" but after investigating how it works, it seems like too many issues for too few benefits. Your mileage may vary. :)

-Keith
 

Sam Posten

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I wouldn't have weighed in originally Ron but you specifically asked for opinions. I don't like being "that guy" who tosses cold water on something that excites others but, since you asked:

It seems like a toy that sparks some folks imaginations but actual real world use of it won't meet them. The costs over weigh the utility.

I put it in the same category as Google Glass and Samsung smart watches. Too soon to market to be of any real utility and designed to skim early adopter dollars while work on a product that REALLY knocks people's socks off remains in development.

I like being an early adopter too, I've got a closet full of similar products. Hell I have a first gen mini disk player, a Nintendo Power Glove, an Ouya and a bunch of others, but these three products in particular stand out to me as being all sizzle and no steak despite their vendors assurances that they are ready for prime time.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Sam,

Thank you for that link.

Now more than ever I am confident I will not be buying COIN.

They take no responsibility whatsoever for any problems that may occur after purchase.

Screw them!
 

Scott Merryfield

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Moe Dickstein

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Well I preordered one, so I'll let you all know what I think. I got in before they ended the half off, or when they said they were.I have WAY too much stuff in my wallet and this is a godsend. Here's why I decided it was right for me. I've got 4 Credit Cards, a Debit Card, 4 Membership/Store cards and various gift cards - all of which can consolidate to this. The device only syncs 8 at a time, but the app holds as much as you want and you can swap out what's on the card as often as you want so it becomes pretty much unlimited.I think it's safer to give this to someone where they don't get to see my whole number than handing the actual card over. The Coin will be embossed with your name and have a signature strip like any other card. I also bet pretty strongly that at the end of 2 years when you have to replace the card they will offer some sort of trade in discount or have the prices lower than $100 by then. They are also going to add Chip and Pin for overseas folks. I plan to keep one actual card with me as a backup at first, but other wise this is going to lighten my load quite a lot, and it's worth the price of a tank of gas to take a chance on this to me.
 

Sam Posten

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Scott Merryfield said:
I just get a page asking me to subscribe to the NY Times when I follow this link. Can you summarize the point?
It's vaporware. They haven't made any commercially viable copies yet and won't until they get enough preorders.
 

Moe Dickstein

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Let's see if they miss the Summer '14 date first before we start assuming the worst? It must be hard to live a life where the sky is always falling.
 

DaveF

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Moe Dickstein said:
Let's see if they miss the Summer '14 date first before we start assuming the worst? It must be hard to live a life where the sky is always falling.
You have no idea. Dodging blue fragments is the worst!
 

Sam Posten

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If it were a kickstarter I'd give them the benefit of the doubt. Selling pre-orders based on only a prototype? NWIH, but we have already established that I'm out on this one anyway.
 

Moe Dickstein

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Well put it this way, I've lost more than $55 playing poker so it's not that nuts of a risk. They look fully legit to me and I have no doubt we'll have our devices on time.
 

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