TL; DR
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The Solana Phone is a net good for the crypto space: builders can target users directly and send airdrops to their wallets, instead of paying FB to reach them.
Full story
Is the second-generation Solana phone only selling in such high numbers because buyers expect to get free money?
Yes.
Will the cost of the hardware ultimately be recouped through said airdrops?
Probably not.
Will it be a product that most people want to drive every day?
We highly doubt it.
But we’re all for it – why?
Because the Solana phone gathers a bunch of crypto nerds in one (digital) space and gives developers/companies direct access to them.
(And that’s a much bigger deal than it seems at first glance!)
These are the consequences for companies:
It’s one thing to have a great idea/product — convincing people to use it is another.
The Solana Phone gathers potential customers in one place, validates their interest (they bought a crypto phone, they’re likely to be interested in your crypto product) – this process usually requires thousands if not millions of dollars of ad spend on Facebook and Googling.
Now (if you build on Solana) it’s free.
This is how it affects you (a crypto sucker):
All that advertising budget saved by developers? Guess where it goes – or not. We’ll tell you anyway…
Your wallet.
The way these crypto projects get the attention of Solana Phone users is simple: they take what they would have previously spent on Facebook/Google ads and send that money to all Saga phone wallet addresses.
Do you want to use/redeem the tokens? All you have to do is log into the project’s platform/service using your Saga phone. (BOOM! New users).
It’s not a perfect system, but it is way better than what we are used to!