Public blockchain platform, Solana, has launched its much anticipated smartphone. The smartphone, which was launched in New York yesterday, is targeted at crypto enthusiasts, and teased as a “crypto phone.”
The smartphone was previously known as the Osom OV1. It was built by a team consisting of former engineers, and designers from Essential Phones (a discontinued Android smartphone designed by Android co-founder Andy Rubin, and manufactured, developed and marketed by Essential Product).
Solana’s newly launched smartphone is called Saga. It is priced at $1,000, and open for preorder. Solana plans to start shipping the smartphone in the third quarter of 2023.
According to a report by The Verge, the device was made for people entrenched in the universe of crypto wallets, Web3, and NFTs, and it is expected to come with a unique feature: support for decentralized apps that rely on the Solana blockchain.
NFT marketplace Magic Eden, Solana wallet maker Phantom, and cryptocurrency exchange Orca have signed on to back Saga and Solana’s new software efforts.
Confirming the report, Osom established that the OV1, and Saga are now one and the same, making Saga the primary focus of Osom.
“Osom is incredibly excited to partner with Solana in building the Saga. The world needs novel hardware companies to support the future that is Web3. Building out an ecosystem that looks to the future without being burdened by past legacy ecosystems is hugely exciting,” Jason Keats, Osom founder and CEO, said.
Speaking in response to whether Solana’s mobile stack and new tools will offer a better experience than digital crypto, and NFT wallets from Samsung and other large tech companies, Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana CEO, said Solana will give developers early access to Saga, and target “hardcore people that understand what self custody means.“
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Per specifications, Solana said Saga will ship with a 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED display, 512GB of storage, 12GB of RAM, and will be powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip. Saga will also have a 50-megapixel primary camera, plus a 12-megapixel ultra-wide shooter.
The device also promises to help crypto enthusiasts’ quest to “go mobile.”
Solana also announced its open dApp (decentralized application) store, which it christened Solana Mobile Stack. The store, according to Solana, will run on the Android-based Saga, and will help crypto users access crypto-native apps, digital services, and digital goods.