RED is best known for its high-end digital film cameras, but last year, it decided to have a crack at the lucrative smartphone market with its “Hydrogen” device. Unfortunately, for those who preordered the more expensive titanium version, recent production problems suggest you’re in for quite the wait.
The Hydrogen comes in two variants, the regular aluminium version, and a pricier titanium build. A few days ago, RED CEO Jim Jannard posted a disappointing update on the company’s forums, stating that the first run of titanium phones was “a disaster”:
The 1st run of Ti is a disaster. All fail. I told you how difficult Ti was to make but I was assured by our ODM and vendors we would make enough for the pre-orders. We didn’t.
Adding insult to injury, Houdini edition Hydrogens (developer handsets, basically) have already gone out, leaving would-be titanium owners wondering exactly what it is they paid a premium for.
The good news is RED is going ham with the compensation:
We will send all Ti pre-orders an [aluminium] HYDROGEN 1st when we begin shipping them. Additionally, when we finally do make Ti models correctly, we will send that to you at no charge. You are allowed to keep the [aluminium] as well.
Definitely a rough time for those affected, as well as RED itself, but Jannard is clearly handling it the right way.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2017/09/reds-first-smartphone-still-looks-like-a-fake-star-trek-prop/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_lfill,w_768/kn1kexkfktm8ewec6g5a.png” title=”RED’s First Smartphone Still Looks Like A Fake Star Trek Prop” excerpt=”RED, the makers of super high quality cameras that probably cost more than your car, has been working on an equally ambitious phone with some of the most far out tech any company has ever tried to put on a handset.”]
[H4V, via Liliputing]