Psst...hey kid...wanna buy a holographic phone?

[Kaido]

This should probably go in the Mobile sub, but because it has such a unique display, I decided to put it into OT instead:

http://www.red.com/hydrogen

Key feature being the Holographic Display. Uses a multi-view (4-view) system, as compared to a stereo 3D (2-view) system. RED has a history of doing some pretty bananas stuff with camera technology (cue the overshot delivery window jokes), so I'm curious to see how this pans out (if you're not familiar with RED, they made the 8K digital camera that GOTG2 was filmed on).

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...d-hydrogen-one-smartphone-price-specs-release

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianmor...e-smartphone-holographic-media-in-your-pocket

https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/06/red-hydrogen-one/

Word on the street is that the iPhone 10th anniversary edition will be going for a grand, so ~$1200 for a phone with a holographic display isn't too out of line, price-wise. Very very interested to see how the display looks on RED's phone!

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I'm totally not impressed.

 

[darkswordsman17]

It will be interesting, but they need to give actual specs/features and not the jumble of bullshit marketing buzzspeak crap they've released so far.

Apple can ask for a grand because they have a track record of making a smartphone that people want. RED might have some crazy camera (hello Nokia 1020) or various other features (multiple phones have tried 3D type displays), but if it can't be a good smartphone (assuming it is Android, in which case it needs good app support, good update support, not a lot of bloat/customization) then it'll fail too, especially at that price. I highly doubt RED has made some crazy breakthrough that will make 3D on a phone's display so impressive that it alone would be worth it.

I see that the founder says it is good and superior to say what Amazon did on the Fire phone, which great. Still don't think people will care unless it can really surpass 3D done so far, and even then I don't think people would pay that money for it or care about shit like that on their phone (especially since content that supports it will almost certainly be lacking). They want that in displays that are big enough to actually enjoy content on. Now if this was a more svelte HoloLens competitor, they'd be onto something, but this just looks like another gimmicky phone.

Not only that but they're talking about modular stuff (looks like that strip on the back could be similar to the thing Moto uses to support that), which could be good (assume they'll have plenty of interesting camera related modules) but that stuff isn't gonna be cheap.

Ultimately, I'd guess that this might make for a neat companion device for people that have other RED gear (which would make a lot more sense I think, like a companion tablet thing), but doubt it'll be a good smartphone. Could have a really good camera and maybe record audio well, and might be able to do neat 3D affect.

Then people are paying for $2000 DAPs, so this might be a relative bargain.

 

[Mai72]

Mobile phones worldwide are expected to decline next year so this is going to be the next step. Holographic phones and VR. The possibilities are endless. Imagine having a phone the size of your wrist. You turn it on and a 3d image pops out. It's tactile. You can give commands via speech and touch.

It will be all experimental in the beginning though. And very costly. I'd wait a few generations before jumping in.

Btw, what ever happened to Google glasses? I don't hear about the glasses anymore.

 

[ultimatebob]

Well... it's nice of RED to be bold enough to try something new. Odds are that the technology won't become popular until Samsung and Apple copy it and put it into their own mobile devices, though.

 

[zinfamous]

This will be to functional holographic displays what the Virtual Boy was to mind-blowing, immersive VR.

 

[Kaido]

Btw, what ever happened to Google glasses? I don't hear about the glasses anymore.

I think the concept of Google Glasses was good, but they were socially limiting. 1, people looked weird wearing them. 2, you never know if someone was creepshotting you with the onboard camera. 3, people were constantly distracted when talking to you. At least with a mobile phone, you have to pull it out & stare at it, so you're really purposely ignoring someone. Also:

 

[Kaido]

Mobile phones worldwide are expected to decline next year so this is going to be the next step.

I mean, other than a holo-display, what more do you really want? Modern phones have fingerprint sensors, huge screens, bright displays, retina-quality graphics, huge memory capacities, cellular calling, high-speed data, a compass, an accelerator, speakers, microphones, bluetooth, heartrate sensors, waterproofing, cameras, camcorders, flashlights...I dunno what else we're really missing tbh lol.

 

[Kaido]

This will be to functional holographic displays what the Virtual Boy was to mind-blowing, immersive VR.

Gotta start somewhere!

Although I'm curious about the privacy aspect of it. I can dim the display on my phone and angle it away if I don't want people snooping on my phone in a crowded area. I wonder if the holographic screen will be fairly directional, or actual pop-out. My guess is directional, at least based on current technology.

 

[UNCjigga]

$1000 may be low-balling the top-of-the-line iPhone coming later this year. Jon Gruber thinks a top spec OLED iPhone could easily sell for $1500.

 

[Kaido]

$1000 may be low-balling the top-of-the-line iPhone coming later this year. Jon Gruber thinks a top spec OLED iPhone could easily sell for $1500.

People will pay it. Phones are the new status symbols. I know plenty of straight males who bought rose gold iPhones just because it was the new, specialized color.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Neat, but I think once the novelty wears off it would be meh. You're still going to need content to actually take advantage of it. Sadly what I see happen is that nobody will care about this, then the minute Apple implements it everyone will be lining up. People are weird.

 

[IronWing]

I'm totally not impressed.

This. Worst product rollout ever. Is it alternator size? Is it square? Round? Built in shaver? I can't imagine plunking down money on this thing without a lot more info.