RED’s Hydrogen One was one of the most hyped and awaited device but when it got launched, it turned out to be a major disappointment and ultimately flopped when it reached the markets.
While the phone had some interesting features, the device was certainly overpriced, costing at around $,1295. The shipping of the Titanium model priced at $1,595 was so late that the company shipped it for free for those who pre-ordered the phone.
Now, the company’s founder Jim Jannard blamed the Hydrogen One fiasco on the phone’s original design manufacturer (ODM) in China. He noted that the ODM was responsible for putting together the new technologies used in the handset while integrating the software with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC used to power the device.
However, as per Jannard, the ODM used by the company “significantly underperformed.” He did, however, have praise for Foxconn. He called the job done by the contract manufacturer “Fantastic.”
He also confirmed that RED has started working on the Hydrogen Two smartphone and the company is building the device almost from scratch. This time, the company is used a new ODM which Jim says is “clearly more capable of building and supporting the product we (and our customers) demand.”
The company has also created a new camera module named “Komodo” which integrates both the Hydrogen One and HydrogenTwo phones. The new module will produce “cinema-grade images at the highest level at lower pricing,” claims Jim.
Further, he added that the users of Hydrogen One smartphone will be receiving preferential treatment on allotments and pricing of the new cinema camera and the Hydrogen Two smartphone but he has not revealed more about this.
The Hydrogen One features a 5.7-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels and 16:9 aspect ratio. The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform, coupled with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.
In the camera department, the phone features dual 12.3-megapixel cameras on the back, capturing images in RED’s 3D holographic format if so desired. And in front, there’s an 8MP selfie snapper. It is fuelled by a 4,500mAh battery which provides good battery life.
It will be interesting to see how RED manages to regain the trust of customers who were let down by the delays in the shipping of the company’s first smartphone as well as the phone itself. Manufacturers generally do not get second change, especially when it comes to premium smartphones with high pricing.
(Source)
