Solana has just unveiled the design of the upcoming smartphone “Seeker”, previewing what will be the second hardware product sponsored by the blockchain after “Saga”.
The new smartphone will host a wide range of crypto airdrops, in order to provide an economic incentive for the purchase for the users of the community.
Seeker will not only be a hub for memecoin: very interesting integrations, high technical performance, and new web3 functionalities are planned.
Let’s see all the details below.
“Seeker” Smartphone: more free airdrops for the Solana community
Solana Mobile, the internal division of the Solana blockchain dedicated to hardware development, has just teased the community with the upcoming smartphone “Seeker”.
According to what has been revealed, it will cost half as much as the previous device “Saga” and will host a slew of crypto airdrops in favor of the buyers.
We remember that precisely thanks to the airdrop incentives, Saga had sold out last December in the midst of an incredible bull rally of the memecoin BONK.
At a certain point, in fact, the economic value of the tokens given to the smartphone owners exceeded the cost of the product itself, offering a tempting arbitrage opportunity.
Even this time, it seems that Solana has chosen to attract users through airdrop rather than spending money on expensive marketing campaigns.
1/ We’ve been deep in build mode for months, and we’re excited to show you what we've been working on.
Introducing the next chapter of Solana Mobile: the Solana Seeker 
pic.twitter.com/2UW3Wqhymw
— Seeker | Solana Mobile (@solanamobile) September 19, 2024
At the moment, according to the data from the TwoLoot checker, the current value of the tokens that will be airdropped to the holders of the Seeker smartphone is approximately 300 dollars.
Considering a pre-order cost of 450 dollars, we know that 66% of the expense will be covered approximately by the tokens given away inside it.
Obviously, these numbers vary greatly based on the volatility of the memecoins in question. The tokens currently guaranteed as a reward for purchasing Seeker are mew, maneki, wuffy, iq50, and cwif. At the peak of the Solana ecosystem, the value of the airdrops on Saga amounted to over 1,350 dollars.
Do you think that to support the trend of Airdrops, Solana Mobile has integrated the application “Airship” at Seeker which reduces the cost of token distribution.
It seems that performing an airdrop on Solana now is 4,000 times cheaper, as well as more convenient and easily accessible.
In fact, the airdrops to the Solana Smartphone community that once cost 40,000 dollars now cost just 100 dollars.
11/ We’re excited to announce Airship by @heliuslabs, a ZK-compression tool that makes airdrops 4,000x cheaper.
Airdrops to the Solana Mobile preorder community that once cost $40k now cost as little as $100—and they can auto-allocate to Chapter 2 Preorder Token holders 
pic.twitter.com/9p6lOI47A0
— Seeker | Solana Mobile (@solanamobile) September 19, 2024
Not just a smartphone for memecoin: “Seeker” is much more
Although the promise of an airdrop could trigger a new wave of FOMO even for the smartphone Seeker, Solana does not intend to offer only memecoin.
For its new version, Solana is looking to offer something more to 140,000 users who have already pre-ordered the product.
In fact, Emmett Hollyer, general manager of Solana Labs, reportedly stated during the Token2049 event in Singapore that:
“for users […] it would not just be a phone for memecoin. Seeker, just like Saga, will be a magnet for rewards, but it is also a huge opportunity for teams to create totally new experiences.”
Saga had been harshly criticized last year for its technical capabilities compared to devices like the iPhone or Google Pixel.
On the hardware front, Seeker appears lighter and brighter than the previous one, with a better camera and a longer-lasting battery.
The lower price already represents a great achievement in itself, but the real gem lies in the smartphone’s “Seed Vault”. The device is designed to ensure maximum security for the community.
Hollyer explained that Seeker will allow any use cases in the blockchain world, from airdrops to DeFi.
The hardware will feature integrations to improve the use and development of DePIN protocols such as Helium and Infield.
Many brands in the Solana ecosystem have already decided to participate in the development of Seeker by offering a contribution.
The projects gain visibility as they are presented within the digital store of the smartphone, while contributing to increasing the presence of dapp.
Among the most well-known names we find Mad Lads, Fuse, Jito, Jupiter, Helium, Solflare, Tensor, Kamino, Sanctum, Mew, Pyth, Step’n and many others.
The competition with centralized smartphone application stores
In order to gain market share in the smartphone sector, Solana aims to create a decentralized store for Seeker capable of addressing the growing adoption of blockchain products.
4/ We’ve updated the Solana Mobile dApp Store with a streamlined way to track all your rewards in one place. Discover web & mobile dApps with better navigation.
With zero fees and crypto-friendly policies, it’s home to the best web3 experiences—and Seeker exclusives are coming! pic.twitter.com/BbiqFoVgEL
— Seeker | Solana Mobile (@solanamobile) September 19, 2024
In any case, Solana is not trying to compete directly with other mobile device giants like Apple and Samsung, currently unreachable.
The cryptographic project presents different targets and objectives. It focuses more on theadaptability of blockchain dApps through a mobile format.
Even approaching the quality standards of the two market leaders, Solana is focused on something else, as Hollyer stated at Token2049 in Singapore:
“We have a different set of goals, a different set of users. But fortunately, much of the high-end phone hardware has become increasingly available over the years.”
It is worth noting in this regard how the marketing model of the airdrop adopted for the Seeker smartphone, is not replicable with Google and Apple devices.
In fact, the internal policies of the two tech giants prevent the proliferation of cryptocurrencies distributed for free to the community.
It is impossible, according to Hollyer, to apply an airdrop when the hardware provider applies a 30% fee on sales recorded in the app store.
For cryptographic projects, giving up such a share represents an excessively high limit, with costs that exceed the internal review process.
In this regard, the director of Solana Labs has expressed the utmost enthusiasm for the development plan of a free, decentralized app store, accessible from here.
Here are his words:
“With a zero-commission App Store, it offers a type of crypto-friendly innovation that cannot surpass Apple and Google, and many users are excited to see which apps the ecosystem enhances. What is important for us is that whatever happens on Solana happens on Seeker, and therefore we want to maintain an open app store.”
