ZTE embarked on its latest Project CSX from which the Hawkeye smartphone was born, in an attempt to get input from the public on a crowdfunded smartphone. Unfortunately the company seem not to have done the analysis of the public’s opinion thoroughly hence the innovative smartphone with a somewhat disappointing specs lineup unveiled at CES 2017.

No doubt the ZTE Hawkeye came with some cool innovative features like the adhesive back panel which allows the device to stick to any surface, and then there is the eye-tracking software which lets users operate the phone by eye movement. As innovative as these two features may be, putting them on a mid-range smartphone met with lots of disapproval from pundits and many of its fans. Some had expressed hope that such features would have been on a high-end smartphone, which is what they actually yearn for.

Since the ZTE Hawkeye was showcased at CES 2017, it had been up for pre-order via Kickstarter but unfortunately, the response has been very disappointing. Presently, ZTE has been able to amass less than 7% of its projected goal on the crowd-sourcing platform. The project has barely gotten the backing of just 182 persons, and it is just 26 days left before the product was supposed to ship.

So, in order to get more support for the project, ZTE has once again gone public, apologizing for its mistake and asking for input and suggestions on ways to salvage the device from becoming a failed project. The Hawkeye already has a $199 price tag of Kickstarter and that cannot be changed. So it is impossible to transform the specs on the device to a flagship one. The only option is to ramp up one or two of the specs and to this end, the company has opened a poll on its Z-Community to get the opinion of the public on the preferred specs that should be beefed up.

Read More: ZTE Hawkeye Specifications Revealed

As should be expected majority of respondent so far prefers a change to Snapdragon 835 from the current Snapdragon 625 onboard. Some others prefer that the operating system should be Stock Android with added software for eye tracking. There are also those who prefer a ramped up battery capacity and also a increase in the RAM size. Unfortunately, the response has been poor signifying a likely bleak future for the Hawkeye. At most, ZTE might decide to scrap the project and refund those who have contributed so far.

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Few months back, ZTE decided to go in the direction of crowd-sourcing funds for its smartphone project. Xiaomi has successfully been exploiting that avenue in China to release a barrage of smarthome products. But ZTE’s model was initiated on Kickstarter in the US and is labelled Project CSX. Now, ZTE has used the opportunity of CES 2017 to unmask the device and it goes by the name- ZTE Hawkeye.

Aptly named Hawkeye, the phone prides in its visual ease it brings to the table. First of all, the phone has a adhesive body that can stick on a wall, glass and other surfaces, thus allowing the user some level of hands free operation. The adhesive back may be in form of a removable casing in the long run, so you get to remove it when it is not needed. Even if it turns out to be in form of a casing, it won’t remove a bit from the cool design we see on the device.

More amazing is the Senseye feature which allows you to scroll down and navigate through websites on the phone by eye movement. The Senseye uses the front camera to track the eye motion and then translate it to a software command like scrolling up, down, left or right. It is accurate at up to three lines.

The phone is still a work in progress as the company has not fixed a date when it would be officially launched. But in line with Xiaomi’s crowdfunding pattern, the ZTE Hawkeye is up for pre-order, apparently in a bid to rake in more funds for final mass production. The pre-order is ongoing on Kickstarter and the price is just $199. That might likely be a price tag for the early birds , so it is not certain if that would be the final price on launch day.

There is a dearth of details about the specifications and features of the Hawkeye but at least we know what the device looks like now and a few specs have popped up on the Crowdsourcing website. What we also know is that the ZTE Hawkeye sports a rear mounted fingerprint sensor in addition to other features that are not yet revealed. Sure, we are likely to get a decent chip, RAM size and storage capacity on the device, considering the Senseye software feature already inside.

Read Also: ZTE Blade V8 Pro Pre-order Begins In the U.S, Features Dual-Camera with $229 Pricing

According to the details, the ZTE Hawkeye sports a 5.5-inch FHD display and dual rear cameras with enhanced image and zoom capabilities. It is a dual SIM smartphone that supports multiple bands, meaning it is already unlocked for use anywhere in the world. The device is also touted to pack a large battery with quick charging capabilities.There is also a Hi-Fi audio on the device as well as an expandable memory. The size of the memory isn’t revealed yet, as well as the processor onboard. The device runs the latest Android 7.0 Nougat OS and it is upgradable to the latest version when available.

Already, three different colors have been spotted which includes black, blue and green but since it is likely going to use a plastic finish, the final colors might be broadened in the long run. Even at just the three colors exhibited, the Hawkeye looks quite attractive, with a design that heralds ZTE’s ability to design sleek, beautiful handsets, all for just $199 USD. You can check out the video teaser from down below showing how the Senseye and adhesive features work. Also, do follow Gizmochina’s CES 2017 Hub for latest CES 2017 update.

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