Founder of RED, Jim Jannard, has revealed more details of the upcoming RED Hydrogen phone along with a possible release date.
Camera manufacturer Red first trailed the $1200 phone back in July, revealing it would come with a ‘holographic display’ and would be a modular system that would allow users to add a cinema grade camera for instance.
Last night Jannard revealed his currently using a working HYDROGEN One and gave a few more details about the phone.
First off, in terms of the display, the camera operates in a standard 2D mode and also a glasses free 3D mode. Jannnard said that in the “4V mode (holographic), the screen dims a bit and out pops a “better than 3D” image… no glasses needed. There is no way to describe this. You just have to see it. So far, everyone that has seen it gasps, swears or just grins. I wish we had recorded all the reactions. Priceless.” There will be a dedicated Hydrogen Network to share content shot in 4V (holographic) and Jannard says the main social media partners are also on board for 4V content.
He also spoke of the unit’s “Multichannel spatial sound… from the phone’s internal stereo speakers or headphones. The audio demo has achieved as high of marks as the display tech. Same reactions. Again, no way to describe. You just need to hear it.”
Jannard is also differentiating the phone through its “multi-component modular system. This is all done through our pogo pin system on the back of the phone. It provides power and data in both directions and modules are stackable. Think battery module, cinema grade camera module, and a variety of others.”
He also gave a spec update on the Hydrogen, as follows “Qualcomm Snapdragon 835x processor. Unlocked or carrier specific. The HYDROGEN One has a headphone jack. And a dual SIM slot. Two phone numbers or one sim and one micro SD card. USB-C. It weighs about 2 ounces more than most 5.7” cell phones. The size is just slightly bigger than other 5.7” cell phones… like a few millimeters. It is also just a tad thicker. Think SOLID. The internal battery is huge. 4500mA. We anticipate these being used a lot for image capture and content play. Big news… shoot 3D to 4V on the cell phone. Both sides. You won’t need a module. We also break out a normal 2D companion file so you don’t have to.”
As for carrier support and delivery date, Jannard said that “carrier support for Hydrogen is unprecedented… we just can’t tell you yet. Safe to say it is as good as it gets. This is great news for many obvious reasons, but it is bad news for the time that it takes for each carrier to certify the Hydrogen before it can launch. We have no control over that process and are at the mercy of the carriers when they can get through that process. This means “official” ship date for carrier phones is going to likely be sometime in the summer. “Unlocked” Pre-orders will however ship before that.”
The phone is already being shown to “content producing partners” as RED will want to hit the ground running with “4V” content ready to go at the general launch of the phone.
For everyone else, there will be a HYDROGEN Day at RED Studios to “preview the technology and demonstrate how to become a content provider as well as show to pre-order customers… probably in April.”
Jon Creamer
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