Solana doesn't have buyers and holders and hodlers, it has adepts. Just like Tesla. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against Solana, I actually have some SOL (and very little hope in it), but I treat it as an investment, while I've noticed that some holders treat it as a religion.
More to the point, Solana has a surprisingly strong brand. You can slam SOL on a t-shirt and people will buy it. You can launch Solana sneakers and I'd definitely buy them.
They did it with a phone and I'm not entirely sure it went as planned.
I suspect they may have overdone it a bit.
Solana's smartphone, known as the SAGA, was launched in May for $1,000.
That's the first red flag. Four figures for a smartphone is too much. Even more so for an Android. Even more so for an Android with no clear advantage over competition.
At the end of the day, Solana SAGA is just another Android phone. And yes it supports Web 3.0 dApps but so what? Realistically, what exactly can you do with them? Also, it has a built-in Solana wallet. And again so what? Solana wallets are available on any smartphone.
The second red flag was raised when about 30 days after the launch, Solana Labs halved the price for a one-time, 24-hour promotion.
And now, three months after the launch, the new price is $599.
It's not a good look. It strikes as if they're not really selling as many they thought they would.
Upselling is an art form and most brands fail when they try.
If you're Solana Labs, and this is just my view bear in mind, your goal shouldn't be to maximize profits from the sale of one phone.
Your goal is to put a Solana SAGA smartphone in the hands and pockets of as many people as possible.
I don't know what it costs to make, but I suspect production costs are low enough that they can still turn a profit by selling them at $599 or even $399.
And one last thing. I own an iPhone, and like most iPhone users, there's no way in hell you can make me go back to Android.
But I'm also a crypto and tech guy, and like other crypto and tech guys, I'm curious.
For $1,000, or even $600 or $500, I'm not buying a crypto phone.
For $250? I might
