So the Saygus VPhone V1 smartphone is back on the news. The first time, when it cleared the FCC the images we saw of this phone were rough. But on the second round we actually notice a nice looking phone. This time, we have two videos and more info on the Saygus Vphone running on Android.
According to Saygus executives, the Saygus VPhone V1 is expected to launch late on this year or early 2010, and there’s no official price just yet. The handset will ship with the Android version 1.6, but will be updated OTA (Over The Air) to Android 2.0 at some time in the near future. This device will be available to Verizon Wireless customers, but it wont be supported by the carrier, but by Saygus themselves since this smartphone is an Open Development Initiative device.
The main differentiators, according to Saygus Execs for this phone are that, it will work as a wireless access point and the front-facing camera. This front VGA camera is actually the main reason this phone is important to many people. It will allow for video conferencing on the mobile device, so its users can do video calling, either handset to handset or over VoIP clients that support this device.
Thanks to forum member djunio for the tip!
It appears to be a lot more hacker friendly than anything I've seen so far. When I read "offered on Verizon but not supported" I see that as a good thing. I'm not in the U.S. so verizon et al doesn't matter but it is the direction they seem to be going that is very interesting. Little or no provider influence or restrictions, easy and welcomed root access, open source friendly, etc.
It makes me think of what my N800 could have grown up to become. The N900 went a different direction, this one seems to be thinking the right way. Something to look at as an unlocked device to have tons of crazy fun with. Subsidized from any provider would be a waste.