The crowdsourcing plan by ZTE for its mid-range Hawkeye smartphone was a bad idea. This was admitted by Vice President for Partnerships and Planning Jeff Yee on the company's community page.
The ZTE Hawkeye Android Smartphone. The company had launched its eye-tracking sticky phone on Kickstarter early this month. It later unveiled its mid-range specs. The consumers who backed it in the first place found the specs unsatisfactory.
Some specs of the Hawkeye include the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 12-megapixel and 13-megapixel dual-rear cameras, a 3000 mAH battery, dual-sim capabilities, and memory that can be expanded up to 256 gigabytes. The company opted for disappointing mid-range specs as it wanted the Hawkeye to reach masses around the world.
The initial goal set by ZTE was to raise US$500,000. To date, the tech company has only raised less than US$35,000.
Yee's statement on the matter reads, "After posting the project on Kickstarter and then releasing the detailed specifications of Hawkeye, we realize that our decision to introduce the CSX hands-free features on a mid-range device may not have met expectations of those who backed this project and those that are early adopters and discovering... It was our mistake."
The tech firm has no problem changing the Hawkeye's specs to meet satisfaction. Unfortunately, it cannot change the Hawkeye's price because it had already set an introductory price with pledged money from backers. Currently, the company is again crowdsourcing for ideas from users on what specific feature they prefer changed on the current make of the Hawkeye.
Project CSX was an undertaking by the Chinese tech firm back in 2016 to engage the public in the designing an Android smartphone. This ultimately led to a smartphone that featured a self-adhering case and eye-tracking technology.
Also early in January, the Chinese tech company revealed that it would be cutting jobs from its global workforce. Currently, its workforce is comprised of 60,000 workers of which 5 percent will be laid off.
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