Solana SOL +4.87% Mobile, a subsidiary of blockchain developer Solana Labs, revealed its second crypto smartphone at TOKEN2049 in Singapore on Thursday called “Solana Seeker.”

Previously dubbed “Chapter Two” when the stealth phase of the cheaper successor to its popular Solana Saga device was launched in January, Solana Mobile claims presales for the new phone have now surpassed 140,000 units across 57 countries. Built in collaboration with hardware firm Fxtec, Seeker is estimated to ship in mid-2025, Solana Mobile General Manager Emmett Hollyer told The Block in an interview.

"The reaction to the launch of Chapter 2 — with over 140,000 presales and excitement from across the ecosystem — was remarkable,” Hollyer said. “It was like the entire Solana community came together to get behind the mission of web3 mobile.”

Solana Mobile drew inspiration for the Seeker name from a quote by the late English writer and orator Alan Watts: “It is the seeker who understands there is more than what meets the eye, who is not afraid, and makes the choice to go into the unknown,” according to Hollyer. “That’s the kind of user for whom we’re building.”

“We think the name accurately conveys the nature of both the device and the people using it,” Hollyer added. “Whereas the name Saga was defined by the story of bringing web3 mobile on Solana to life, the name Seeker is all about what the device can do.”

Solana Mobile has reintroduced its “Early Founder” preorder price of $450 to coincide with the Solana Breakpoint conference that follows TOKEN2049 and ends on Sept. 21. After that date, prices will revert to $500, Hollyer confirmed.

The first Saga phone was priced at $1,000 on launch but was later reduced to $599 after the device initially struggled to gain traction. That suddenly changed in December 2023 as the price of the Solana-based dog memecoin bonk went parabolic, presenting an arbitrage opportunity given the device came with 30 million of the tokens. The firm’s limited stock of 20,000 phones promptly sold out in the U.S. and Europe.

In something of a déjà vu moment, presale demand for Chapter Two devices then surged in April, this time after two cat-themed memecoin airdrops that come with the phone briefly covered the cost of the device.

The airdrop of 5,199 newly-launched Maneki (MANEKI) tokens on April 24, combined with an earlier airdrop of 37,600 Cat in a Dogs World (MEW) tokens on April 1, reached a value of $459 at the time, compared to the $450 price of the device, according to Solana Floor.

The community’s response to the new Seeker device has since encouraged other ecosystem teams to build dApps, rewards and features exclusively for Seeker ahead of the rollout, Solana Mobile claims.

“We founded Solana Mobile with the mission of taking crypto mobile,” Solana co-founder and Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko said. “To achieve that, we needed to make Seeker more accessible, more affordable, and for its hardware and software to be even more deeply integrated for web3.”

Solana Seeker’s features include its Seed Vault Wallet, described as a mobile-first crypto wallet natively integrated with the device’s built-in self-custodial seed vault, created in collaboration with Solflare.

“Now you can send transactions with a double tap, and can choose between primary mode and burner mode to ensure peace of mind, save time, and never have to worry about account management,” Hollyer said.

The device also includes a new version of the Solana dApp Store to improve the discoverability of apps for payments, DeFi, DePIN, NFTs AI and gaming, enhanced hardware specifications and the Seeker Genesis Token — a unique, soulbound (non-transferable) NFT that unlocks exclusive third-party rewards, access, offers and content throughout the Solana ecosystem.

“For users, a Genesis token is proof of VIP Membership in the Solana community. For builders, it gives the confidence that whether you’re testing new features or launching new reward programs, you’re connecting directly with real, live Solana Mobile OGs,” Hollyer explained.

“We think this alignment of incentives is what will make Seeker the most powerful rewards magnet in web3. In the meantime, the Chapter 2 Preorder Token will help keep the rewards flowing until the Seeker launches,” he said.

“The support from across the Solana community so far has been incredible, and with features like the new Seed Vault Wallet and the updated Solana dApp Store, we think Seeker will be the definitive web3 mobile device when it comes out next year,” Yakovenko added.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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。