First things first: This is not an official endorsement, nor am I a paid shill. I learned of the upcoming Coinmine One device just like everyone else: By reading about it on various Crypto News blogs when it was initially announced back in mid-November.
Intrigued, I have been following the progress on this project since then, anxiously awaiting for it to finally start arriving in the homes of Crypto-Enthusiasts who have pre-ordered one (I have yet to pre-order mine, but will do so soon. There is a 4-8 week estimated to ship, and since I will be spending a couple of weeks in Europe next month I'd rather not have mine arrive on my doorstep while I am across the pond).
Why am I writing about this? Well, because I believe this device has real potential to be something much more than merely a relatively cheap home mining rig. In fact, I believe that the pure mining capabilities of the Coinmine One (initially able to mine only ETH, ETC, ZEC and XMR) is the least exciting thing about it. And, truthfully, if anyone is investing in one (or more) for that then it's probably a bad investment, money-wise. Estimates are you would be able to mine about 1 ETH per year with the Coinmine One. In today's ETH value, that would be $140-$150 USD annually. So you would accumulate roughly $12 USD or so per month. And of course that's assuming ETH stays at its current value, which is a risky assumption. The device costs $799 USD. And while it boasts a relatively small amount of resource and Kwh usage (especially for a miner) there will still be electricity costs involved in having one of these running in your home. So, stacking the $800 price tag on top of operating costs one can see why this is probably not the most lucrative investment if using to mine coins.
However, this is where the name of the Coinmine One ironically does itself no favors. Because what this machine (and its smartphone apps) promises the consumer is so much more. The device can also provide Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake and will soon allow owners to run a full node on the Lightning Network. What's more, it promises to be highly scalable, with many updates and new features in pipeline that will keep the machines relevant via over-the-air firmware and software updates, both for the Coinmine One and its Smartphone apps. Frankly, THIS is the most exciting aspect of this endeavor, by far, as it promises an easy "plug-and-play" option for just about any crypto-enthusiast to become actively engaged on the blockchain and will provide for all kinds of fun experimentation. In fact, new crypto/blockchain developments may even result from a product like this in the hands of consumers. It's like a gaming console for crypto fans (and the fact that it looks like one and uses about the same amount of energy is probably no coincidence).
The Coinmine One is not about Price/Money... it's about Liberty/Freedom and endless possibilities. Coinmine wants to promote decentralization and blockchain engagement with this device. And that is spelled out quite clearly in their own recent blog post: https://coinmine.com/blogs/news/cryptos-unstoppable-march-towards-liberty-2018-in-review
So, I am going to order one of these things and do all kinds of fun crypto/blockchain tasks with it while at the same time growing my own technical knowledge of the space. That's already a win, IMHO... any monies that comes out of it would just be the icing on the cake.
You can learn more about the Coinmine One at their official site: https://coinmine.com/
Watch this space (my blog) for my personal adventures with the Coinmine One once I have my own in-hand and get it going.
Viva Liberty!
~RoninGaijin