Going All In

The Saygus V² Differentiates by Spec Count

Saygus_V2_lPound for pound, gram for gram, the Saygus V² could be the most well spec’d smartphone ever designed.

The Saygus “V squared” has a fingerprint sensor, NFC, three microphones, two microSD slots, 64GB of onboard storage, a 21-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilisation, a 13-megapixel front camera with optical image stabilisation, dual LED flash, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, Harman Kardon sound with 3D audio, Qi wireless charging, a 3100 mAh removable battery, an infrared blaster and mobile high-definition link support. It’s a waterproofed, Kevlar-reinforced, high-capacity, low-latency, ultrasensored, new-to-market world phone.

It has a five-inch HD “borderless”, sunlight-viewable, Gorilla-Glass protected display enhanced by back-light sensors, supports wireless gaming bolstered with mobile beaming and allows for root access.

Utah-based Saygus clearly didn’t want to be out-featured, so put its heart, soul and almost all the components it could source into the $599 V². CCS Insight saw this device at CES 2015 (see International CES 2015: Smartphones and Tablets) and, although it’s an accomplishment to put so many parts into such a small space, we questioned whether it made sense to engage in a spec-frenzy. There’s no question it appealed to tech-crazed bloggers — it was even recognised as an Innovation Award honouree — but its true commercial appeal is questionable. Saygus appears to have only designed one other smartphone before the V², and the poor prototypes at CES 2015 reflected this.

Saygus might find a niche with the V², perhaps through the device’s multiboot or mega-storage capabilities. However, the key message is that it’s a struggle to be different these days. Phones are becoming a hair thinner, slightly quicker, a bit crisper and marginally lighter — the industry is still adding more masts. It’s incremental, but a steam engine of change is out there somewhere.




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