According to CoinDesk, Solana Mobile is planning to launch a second smartphone following the success of its first crypto-ready smartphone, Saga. The upcoming phone will have similar features to its predecessor, including an onboard crypto wallet, custom Android software, and a 'dApp store' for crypto applications. However, it will be available at a lower price point and with different hardware.
The original Saga smartphone was priced at $1000 when it first launched last year, but its price was later reduced due to struggling sales. The new Solana Mobile phone could help reduce the high demand in the secondary market for the limited supply of existing Saga smartphones. A factory-sealed Saga device was recently listed on eBay for $3,200, five times its price five weeks ago.
The Saga smartphone initially struggled to find a market large enough to justify its existence, as it aimed to create a mobile-first platform for crypto traders and NFT collectors. However, the situation changed when crypto traders discovered that the phone came with an allocation of BONK tokens that more than covered the cost of the device. Within a week, the Saga sold out.
Over the past month, Saga phones have continued to provide dividends for their owners, with various projects airdropping valuable tokens and NFTs to the 15,000 phones in circulation. These airdrops have strengthened the community around Saga and encouraged more Solana developers to explore building mobile applications. A representative for Solana Mobile has not yet responded to a request for comment.
