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RED founder Jim Jannard, who just celebrated his 70th birthday, has announced that he is retiring, citing health issues simply saying that “it is now time.” He also announced that with his departure from the company the Hydrogen phone project will be shut down:
I have spent the past 45 years building “inventions wrapped in art”.
Just now turning 70 and having a few health issues, it is now time for me to retire.
I will be shutting down the HYDROGEN project, ending a career that has included Oakley, RED Digital Cinema and HYDROGEN. I am very proud to have worked with many great people over the years who have signed on to the vision.
RED Digital Cinema will continue stronger than ever with Jarred, Tommy and Jamin at the controls. Komodo is about to be launched… and the HYDROGEN One will continue to be supported in the future.
I want to thank everyone for the support I have felt over the years…
Jim Jannard, RED Founder
So the Hydrogen One remains the first and only model ever launched in RED’s Hydrogen smartphone line. When it arrived last year, after several delays, it came with innovative technologies including a ‘4V’ holographic display, but received lukewarm reviews and ultimate could not convince customers to pay a $ 1,295 premium price.
Film makers and photographers had also been looking forward to the launch of an attachable camera module for the device but, like several other planned modules, it never got to see the light of day.
The good news is that existing Hydrogen One users will continue to receive support, at least for the time being, and RED Digital Cinema is still operating with Jarred Land as its president and will hopefully soon release the Komodo camera system which was teased earlier this year.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)