Alongside the Blade V8 Pro and Blade V8 Dual Camera phones, ZTE announced the world’s first crowdsourced smartphone – the ZTE Hawkeye, at the CES 2017. The ’Project CSX’ winning device is listed for pre-order on Kickstarter for a discounted price tag of $199 and will ship globally by Q3 2017.
Commenting on the new development, VP of Technology Planning and Partnerships of ZTE USA, Jeff Yee said;
“With Project CSX, we experimented by turning the typical R&D process on its head and did something completely different within the industry. We believe that the Hawkeye name reflects the spirit and vision of ZTE as we continue to put the consumer first throughout this entire process and will continue to do so in every phone we deliver.”
Scrolling based on eye tracking technology (as well as voice commands) and self-adhesive case for sticking on surfaces, are the highlighted ZTE Hawkeye features. The device’s eye tracking system (ETS), has two laser-focusing cameras (top and bottom) that captures the user’s pupil movement.
The smartphone is expected to have a 5.5-inch FHD display, Hi-Fi audio, Dual SIM slots, rear fingerprint sensor, expandable storage space, Android Nougat OS and large battery with fast charging ability. Hawkeye will arrive unlocked with support for common 4G LTE bands in North America.
Launched back in 2016, the Project CSX (Crown Source X) was a platform for consumers to submit their vision for the ZTE’s next great mobile for 2017. The major goal was to pull ideas directly from the Android community.
