Solana Labs, the startup behind the Solana blockchain, has just announced the arrival of a smartphone tailored for Web 3.0. Called Saga, the Android-based phone packs a plethora of features for cryptocurrency investors. For example, it integrates Solana Pay, the mobile payment solution, and a secure private key storage service.
Solana (SOL) unveils its first Android smartphone
At a conference held in New York, Solana Labs lifted the veil on the Saga, its first smartphone. Running on the Android operating system, the phone boasts a high-end specification.
The device’s hardware was developed by Osom, a start-up that focuses on privacy. The company has many engineers who worked on the Essential Phone of the famous Andy Rubin.
In a statement released on the sidelines of the conference, Solana Labs explains that the smartphone embeds “features tightly integrated with the Solana blockchain.” Indeed, the smartphone is distinguished by software features related to the Solana (SOL) ecosystem.
Solana Pay, Seed Vault… the tools in the Solana development kit
Solana Labs has developed a suite of Android solutions that make it easy to navigate Web 3.0 and use the Solana blockchain. To develop apps based on these tools, the start-up is making an open source development kit available to developers, the Solana Mobile Stack.
This development kit includes Solana Pay, a mobile payment solution that allows users to pay for their purchases via the Solana blockchain. The tool offers above all to make contactless mobile payments with the smartphone and cryptocurrencies stored on a digital wallet.
For the record, the Solana Pay protocol had been announced last February. It allows merchants to accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.
The Android solutions developed by Solana Labs also include Seed Vault, a cryptocurrency storage solution. This system keeps the private keys and passwords of your wallets out of the reach of hackers. The data is stored away from the Android operating system to prevent hacking attempts. The kit also includes a protocol to connect a wallet to websites or applications.
Solana Labs’ software solutions will be installed on the Saga by default. Among the pre-installed applications, there will also be the Solana dApp Store, a store of DApps. Nevertheless, all apps built with the Solana Mobile Stack kit will be available on any Android smartphone.
Thanks to the solutions developed by Solana, the smartphone will be able to create a non-fungible token (NFT). As explained in the release, the mint process is facilitated. Indeed, “secure transactions on a phone can be easily authorized by the private keys” held by Seed Vault.
The smartphone, the new workhorse of Web 3.0
Solana Labs explains the initiative by the growing importance of the smartphone in users’ lives. The startup regrets that the cryptocurrency industry has fallen behind in this area. Indeed, many Web 3.0 services are not optimized for smartphone.
“Nearly 7 billion people use smartphones worldwide and more than 100 million people hold digital assets – and both numbers will continue to grow,” says Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, stressing that it is time for “cryptocurrency to go mobile.”
Saga will be available for purchase in the first half of next year in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe. It will be sold at a price of around $1,000. Note that pre-orders are already open.
To register, you need to pay 100 dollars through the Solana blockchain. The deposit will be deducted from the sale price. Early buyers could win a limited edition NFT. They will also be able to influence the evolution of the Solana Mobile Stack.
