Twelve years ago, Chad Sayers started a technology company with the idea of developing a communication device similar to the one portrayed in the original "Star Trek" television series.

"In the '60s, I grew up watching it as a kid … and thought to myself, I want to get into the communications industry," explained Sayers, now 40 and founder and CEO of Saygus Inc. "All the engineers I talked to said, 'You're crazy,' " he said.

Two years later, Sayers met Tim Riker, a former project manager at Texas Instruments and top technology developer. "He said that we couldn't do it (right away)," Sayers said, "but we might be able to do it in a few years."

Now, his South Jordan-based company is among the latest to make a splash in the virtual communications marketplace. Last week, the Federal Communications Commission certified Saygus Inc.'s first Android smart phone.

The Saygus V Phone, or V1, is the first cellular handset in the world to offer low-bandwidth two-way video calling on existing 2.5G networks. This feature offers callers the ability to talk while viewing each other in real time.

The V1 is a slider phone that will feature a 3.5-inch, full-color LCD touch screen, a full keyboard, a 624MHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera, a front-facing camera for video calls, GPS, Wi-Fi, microSD card capability, FM radio and Android operating system.

The V1 announcement comes on the heels of the launch of the Droid phone from manufacturer Motorola and provider Verizon. The Droid is a smart phone powered by Android, a mobile operating system that has HTML Web browsing capabilities, a 16GB memory card pre-installed, a 3.7-inch touch screen, Google Maps, the capability to upload videos from YouTube, visual voice mail and Bluetooth stereo support.

The Droid phone retails in the $160 to $260 range.

In a telephone interview, Saygus founder and chief executive officer Chad Sayers told the Deseret News that the V1 advanced technology would make the device "like having a laptop in your hand."

"With the video calling technology, we have the capability to … connect (up to) eight laptops to (the V1) and all of them can access the Internet off of the phone," Sayers said.

Sayers said pricing for the new device — scheduled for release to the retail market sometime next month — has yet to be determined, but he expects it to be in the $150 to $300 range.

Industry insiders lauded the Saygus' new phone as the possible next step in virtual telecommunication. The company was honored by the International CES consumer electronics show with its 2010 Best of Innovations award in the wireless handsets category.

The new phone is also creating buzz in the blogosphere, with tech junkies touting its video capability and its potential to add a new dimension to the virtual business meeting. Among the comments:

"The phone itself doesn't exactly do too much to stand out from the current crop of Android sliders, but it should hold its own when it comes to specs."

"The phone looks similar to the Droid … and its specs and features sound pretty interesting."

"The phone will for sure make a niche in the market with its glaring specs. It is also expected to stand tall in the mobile world among the other contenders."

e-mail: jlee@desnews.com. Contributing: Laura Hancock.