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LAS VEGAS—Move over, OnePlus One. The most intriguing, most desirable new phone at CES is covered in Kevlar and can store up to 320GB. The Saygus V2—pronounced "V-squared"—is a geek's dream phone, designed by geeks, with a slew of unique features.

The down side: it comes from the ill-fated Saygus, which has been struggling to put out a smartphone since 2009. Back then, the Saygus VPhone ran Android 1.6 and promised video calling over Verizon's 3G network. Saygus kept saying the VPhone was "coming soon" until 2011, at which point it basically went underground.

The small Utah-based company has learned from its years of failure, CEO Chad Sayers and his co-founder and brother Russ Sayers said. Rather than relying on Verizon, which kept ordering new certification tests, they're going to sell the V2 unlocked. They've learned a lot about building and sourcing phones in China, and have put sufficient staff in Shenzhen to oversee production, something that was a big problem with the original VPhone.

So what about the phone? It could be that smaller, premium Android phone for the U.S. that some of us have been waiting for. It has a 5-inch, 1080p LCD screen but it's only 2.63 inches wide, making it very easy to use with one hand. There's almost no bezel around the screen, just a Kevlar ridge to protect it from drops. The back is Kevlar, too, and the whole thing is waterproof.

The phone uses a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and runs Android 4.4.4, with a Lollipop update coming. If you want to install Lollipop yourself, you can easily root it or even install another OS from one of the MicroSD cards. Chad Sayers said Saygus went with the Snapdragon 801 rather than a newer chip because it's consistent, stable, and easier to get through carrier labs.

Oh, yeah—those MicroSD cards. Along with the 64GB of internal storage, there are two MicroSD card slots under the back cover, allowing for that potential 320GB.

The phone has some fresh networking and audio technologies. It's using the same Qualcomm modem found in the iPhone 6, the one that's compatible with all four major U.S. carriers. Saygus may turn off the Sprint bands if Sprint doesn't want to carry the phone, Chad Sayers said, but they're definitely working with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. On the side, there's a 60GHz WiGig transmitter; that's a short-range, high-speed wireless technology that Qualcomm is pushing for video streaming and file transfers. The Kevlar back has an additional built-in fractal antenna to improve reception.

The front-facing speakers come from Harman/Kardon. The cameras are huge and have optical image stabilization. The main 21-megapixel Sharp camera actually goes all the way through the body of the phone, and there's also a 13-megapixel front-facing camera. There's a hardware shutter button on the side, as well as a fingerprint scanner.

Saygus had a bunch of prototypes in its booth, but they all looked a little bit unfinished. The one thing I could see was that the phone looked and felt good to me. The screen has deep colors, and the phone is a great size for a 5-inch device. I'm not sold on the side-mounted fingerprint scanner, but there are enough cool features in here that not every one needs to be a hit. The front-facing speakers are, as always with front-facing speakers, an excellent touch.

After seeing the V2, I was close to declaring it the best phone of CES. I'm close to wanting it to be my next phone, as well. But after the four-year-long saga of the VPhone and watching OnePlus struggle to fulfill demand, to the point where we had to pull our Editors' Choice badge from the OnePlus One, I'm going to have hope, not faith.

Sayers says that the V2 will go on presale within a few weeks, and will appear actually on the market shortly after that, at a price similar to other premium smartphones. (So, around $650 unlocked.) Russ Sayers said they'll be able to make at least 2,000 phones a day and have room to ramp up beyond that, which would make them a decent niche player. That sounds great. That would be great! Let's see if it happens.