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SOUTH JORDAN — More than 10 years ago, Chad Sayers was already tired of the features in smartphones, so he decided to do something about it.
Saygus, a Utah-based company founded by Sayers and Tim Riker, started preselling its V² smartphone at the beginning of February and has already received orders from customers in 45 countries, according to Sayers. It was dubbed the “Superman phone” by the likes of CNET and deemed one of the “most disruptive innovations” at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show by a Forbes contributor.
“Isn’t that cool? Out of Utah we’re competing against Apple and Motorola and HTC and Samsung head to head with a better phone than they’ve ever built,” Sayers said. “I’m pumped, if you can’t tell.”
The variety of exclusive features it offers is what sets the V² apart from other smartphones, according to Sayers. Its new gaming and movie beaming technology, which allows users to wirelessly transmit HD video to nearby screens, is one of the phone’s most praised assets.
The smartphone is made out of Kevlar and has optical image stabilization on its rear 21-megapixel and front 13-megapixel cameras, a special antenna that boosts reception by up to a full bar and protection that makes it waterproof for 30 minutes under 3 feet of water, among other features. Sayers said there are a total of 17 exclusive features on the phone.
“Our phone kind of looks like an American muscle car. It’s got the sporty look on it and the front-end of a Firebird,” he said. “With all of the features, it kind of fits that metaphor pretty well.”
He said being willing to pay a few extra dollars to the various smaller companies it partnered with for their new technology is partly how Saygus was able to “build a superior phone." With a large amount of orders, Sayers said they could keep prices low for customers while maintaining high quality.
“We believe our competitors build smartphones they think they can sell, but we build smartphones we believe people will want to buy,” he said.
The Saygus team has been working on perfecting its phone for a long time. The co-founders connected while working in the technology industry after Sayers attended Utah State University and Riker attended Brigham Young University.
Sayers said they love being in Utah and are planning to move manufacturing of the phone to the state sometime this year.
“It’s not going to cost us that much more to build in the U.S.,” he said. “We might lose 5 percent of our profit. That’s nothing compared to the benefit for families and the economy in the United States for us to build our phones right here.”
Breaking into the smartphone market is notably difficult, but the Saygus team is extremely optimistic about the company's future. Sayers said the process has been difficult, and many people made sacrifices to get to where the company is today, but the vision of creating a better phone helped them push through.
Eventually, Sayers said he hopes to be in a position to help other startups in Utah receive funding and become successful. He encouraged others to educate themselves in what they love so they can contribute.
“When enough people believe and are determined to make that belief happen, something really great can be born,” he said. “As you work with it, maybe it can turn into one of the biggest smartphone companies in the world. We’re here because we love what we do. Money is a second thing — it really isn’t something we think much about. It’s just sort of making a big difference by having the phone we want on the market.”
The V² is available for presale online for $599. Sayers said they expect to start shipping in 6-8 weeks. It is an unlocked device that should be compatible with most U.S. carriers, like T-Mobile and AT&T.
