About 14 months ago, RED opened pre-orders for its Hydrogen One smartphone. The most expensive option buyers could pre-order was a variant built out of titanium that cost a whopping $1,595. Shipments were supposed to go out on October 9, but according to the company, that's no longer happening.
RED founder Jim Jannard took to the RED forums to share an update on the titanium Hydrogen One, saying that the first batch the company made "is a disaster."
All RED cameras are made in California at our factory in Orange County. We have control over everything. Unfortunately, we are not in the same position with HYDROGEN. We are left to rely on the schedules and representations of our suppliers. In this case… we were let down pretty severely.
To try and make it up to buyers that threw down nearly $1600 and have been out that for over a year with nothing to show for, RED will be giving them a free aluminum version of the Hydrogen One once shipments for that go out. When the titanium model is finally ready, they'll be able to keep both phones.
The Hydrogen One is an ambitious product, but as RED's been learning over the last 14 months, it's difficult to make a phone and get it out in the market in a timely manner. Here's to hoping all the kinks get worked out sooner rather than later and people can finally get their hands on the device.
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