Seeker is equipped with a mobile-first Seed Vault wallet and integrates the new version of the Solana dApp store.
By Weilin, PANews
On September 19th, Solana Mobile, a subsidiary of Solana Labs, unveiled its second cryptocurrency phone, "Seeker," at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore. Seeker, previously known as "chapter 2," has garnered widespread attention since its launch in January this year, with over 140,000 units already pre-sold.
Unlike its predecessor, Seeker is equipped with a mobile-first Seed Vault wallet and integrates the new version of the Solana dApp store. In this article, PANews will take users on a quick tour of this long-awaited Web3 phone.
Integration of the new dApp store, expected to be released in mid-2025
According to the official introduction, the name "Seeker" is inspired by the idea of users trying to "seek new opportunities," whether it's rewards, experiences, or connections.
Compared to the first cryptocurrency phone, Saga, Seeker's hardware will undergo significant improvements, with better battery performance, improved camera performance, and a lighter design than Saga. Seeker is priced at $450, a price that will be retained until the end of Breakpoint on September 21st, and it is expected to be shipped in mid-2025.
So far, the main features announced for Solana Seeker include the Seed Vault wallet, a mobile-centric cryptocurrency wallet that is natively integrated with the device's self-custody Seed Vault, offering fast transactions and simple account management. This wallet is created specifically for Seeker by Solflare.
In addition, both Saga and Seeker are based on the Android system. Seeker also integrates Solana dApp Store 2.0, featuring a new reward tracker and enhanced app discovery functions, covering applications in the payment, DeFi, DePIN, NFT, artificial intelligence, and gaming fields.
Similar to Saga, buyers of Seeker will receive the Seeker Genesis Token—a unique NFT that unlocks rewards, exclusive access, discounts, and content throughout the Solana ecosystem.
Furthermore, compared to Saga, Seeker's hardware has seen significant improvements, including lighter weight, a brighter display, enhanced camera functions, and longer battery life.
Moreover, Seeker has undergone a substantial price reduction. Previously, Saga was priced at $1000 upon release, later reduced to $599, while Seeker is priced at $450, less than half the price of Saga.
Emmett Hollyer, General Manager of Solana Mobile, stated that the price reduction of Seeker should not be seen as a sign of lowering ambition. Solana Mobile has ambitious plans for its pricing and hopes for growth, emphasizing, "We do not see this as a price cut."
Successor to the original Saga "reverses" and restores confidence in Solana Labs
As the successor to Solana Saga, Seeker reflects Solana's determination to once again invest in its mobile product line. Solana's mobile product line had faced a crisis of failure. The previous product, Saga, faced difficulties due to poor sales last year, but it was "revived" when cryptocurrency users discovered that purchasing the device could receive token airdrops worth more than the device itself.
In April last year, several meme coin projects distributed tokens for the Solana Chapter 2 phone, with users only needing to provide the Solana wallet address they used for pre-order. Two meme coins with cat themes stood out, including 37,600 Cat in a Dogs World (MEW) tokens airdropped on April 1st and 5,199 Maneki (MANEKI) tokens airdropped on April 24th. If buyers did not sell these meme coins, the value of these two airdrops reached as high as $504 around April, surpassing the phone's price of $450.
Eight months later, Saga's sales suddenly increased more than tenfold on December 14th and 15th, mainly driven by the airdrop of the Solana ecosystem's dog-themed token, BONK. Buyers of Saga phones could mint Genesis tokens through their phones and use these tokens to claim 30 million BONK tokens, initially valued at about $10 per token, which later reached a value close to $700. The value of multiple MEME token airdrops far exceeded the price of the Saga phone itself, leading to a surge in demand for the phone. Saga's successful turnaround restored confidence in Solana Labs, driving them to further integrate cryptocurrency technology into mobile devices and develop exclusive hardware and software.
With the success of its predecessor, the new Seeker phone has generated high expectations, with Solana receiving over 100,000 pre-orders by early 2024. Solana Mobile officials at TOKEN 2049 stated that based on this injection of funds and the trust commitment of buyers, Solana Mobile has successfully obtained more favorable supply chain agreements than the first-generation product.
Compared to the 20,000 devices produced globally for Saga, the pre-order volume for Seeker is already seven times that of Saga, not to mention that the complete hardware specifications of the new phone have not been disclosed. But can Seeker replicate the "legend" of Saga? Let's look forward to its performance together.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
