Solana launched its first blockchain phone, Saga, in April this year at a price of US$1,000. However, due to issues such as its high price and security vulnerabilities, sales were poor. In August, they reluctantly announced a 40% price reduction to US$599, but market demand remained low.
But soon, there was a major turnaround! Due to a generous airdrop from the Solana ecosystem to Saga phones, the additional tokens received unexpectedly surged in value, surpassing even the phone's retail price (US$599). This transformed the Saga into an 'investment commodity,' skyrocketing sales by more than tenfold. Users even exclaimed, buy and earn.
The Comment from KOL
Just a few days ago, Marques Brownlee, boasting 18 million subscribers on YouTube and once praised by former Google engineering vice president as 'the world's best technology reviewer,' stated in his 'annual phone review' video that, despite the Saga phone's resurgence due to its collaboration with the Solana ecosystem meme coin Bonk, it remains his 'worst phone of the year.'
Solana's Response
However, the official Solana Saga seems not very concerned about the blogger's negative review of their phone. Instead, they responded to Marques Brownlee on social platform X, saying,
"We'd love to have the physical award in the office! Mind shipping it to us?"
Saga as an Investment Product
Saga indeed doesn't match up to flagship phones like Apple, Samsung, or Google. However, the reason it's being sought after by cryptocurrency enthusiasts is that most people buying Saga right now are hoping to gain significant profits from it.
The additional income from Saga phones mainly comes from airdrop profits, mining yields, and resale in the second-hand market.