Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are definitely tech buzzwords at the moment. Attaching them to products has become almost whimsical as a way to promote a product as the latest must have gadget. Which is possibly the effect professional camera company RED is going for with its latest announcement, its first smartphone called Hydrogen One, which it claims is: “the world’s first holographic media machine.”
It supposedly does this through a 5.7″ hydrogen holographic display, which also manages to make VR headsets obsolete. Here’s the press description: “It is no longer necessary to carry (or charge) another device to enjoy multi-dimensional content. Experience ‘look around depth’ in the palm of your hand, no glasses or headsets in sight.”
How does it achieve this wonder? Well that’s for RED to know and nobody else at this moment as the company hasn’t released any tech specs. Is it a hologram in the palm of your hand or more like the 3D technology in the Nintendo 3DS?
“I never believed that AR and VR would be successful as long as you needed a pair of glasses or a headset to view content. No one wants to drag around another piece of gear that has to be charged every day,” said Jim Jannard, RED chairman to Forbes. “Hydrogen opens the door to AR and VR with the one product that you carry with you all the time. We just added holography and stereo 3D for good measure.”
The image above is the only one released of the Hydrogen One, with its design based around a modular system so that future attachments can upgrade the system. It’s available to pre-order now in aluminum for $1,195 or titanium for $1,595. Set to be released in Q1 2018 with supply likely to be very limited. Those ordering will get the device from Jannard’s own personal production batch, after those have gone the company doesn’t guarantee all orders will be filled on time due to production limitations.
For any further updates on the Hydrogen One, keep reading VRFocus.