Red Hydrogen One to launch on October 9

After a lengthy delay, camera manufacturer Red Cinema Company will start shipping its first smartphone, the Red Hydrogen One, on October 9th.

Red made the announcement in a email penned by company CEO Jim Jannard, which was shared by a Reddit user. In the email, Jannard also reveals AT&T, Verizon and Telcel in Mexico will start carrying the device on November 2nd. In both cases, the aluminum model will ship first, with the titanium model coming at a later date. When it comes to carriers, Jannard says he doesn’t expect them to have stock of the titanium model until sometime in 2019.

In the same email, Jannard reiterates the Red Hydrogen One will cost $1295 USD. With the current exchange rate, that means the smartphone will cost approximately $1700 if and when it comes to Canada.

In addition, starting on August 31st the company will start sending out pre-production ‘Houdini’ units to select customers who have already pre-ordered the smartphone. Jannard says the purpose of these devices is to help Red iron out any software issues ahead of the Hydrogen’s official release later this year.

However, what’s worrisome about the Houdini units is that Jannard says Red will brick the units of those who use the pre-production model to critique the Hydrogen One.

“We reserve the right to brick the device if used for any purpose other than giving us constructive feedback. If you are a vocal critic or reviewer, wait until after the launch,” he writers.

Jannard then goes on to share the what Houdini owners can post about the Red Hydrogen while they have the device ahead of its launch:

• “Good things from the camera (if you have bad images, we need to know 1st… remember this is a development platform).”
• “Say nice things. We never will limit that. However posting about bugs, problem (sic) or issues is not cool since we are giving ourselves a chance to make things better and eliminate problems with this program before the official launch.”

Red’s stance here is obviously extreme and may be a sign, beyond the recent delays, that the Snapdragon 835-equipped Hydrogen One is likely in trouble.

Source: Reddit