173: CES 2017 – ZTE Unveils Hawkeye, The World’s First ‘Crowdsourced’ Phone

ZTE’s Project CSX Crowdsourced Smartphone Comes to Life Through the “Hawkeye” Name revealed at CES 2017. Continuing with the crowdsourced theme, the Hawkeye phone is available for funding on Kickstarter. Project CSX eye-tracking, self-adhesive smartphone device. With 540 name submissions from consumers around the world, the Hawkeye phone is available for funding today on Kickstarter at kickstarter.zteusa.com for a discounted price of $199.00.

“Project CSX has been a groundbreaking process and the Hawkeye device sets the stage for us in 2017,” said Lixin Cheng, chairman and CEO of ZTE USA. “As we move forward with this smartphone, we’ll look to continue to integrate consumers every step of the way.”

Continuing with the crowdsourced theme surrounding Project CSX, the Hawkeye phone is available for funding on Kickstarter and is expected to ship globally in Q3 2017. “With Project CSX, we experimented by turning the typical R&D process on its head and did something completely different within the industry,” said Jeff Yee, vice president of Technology Planning andPartnerships of ZTE USA. “We believe that the Hawkeye name reflects the spirit and vision of ZTE as we continue to put the consumer first throughout this entire process and will continue to do so in every phone we deliver.”

Project CSX kicked off at CES 2016 when ZTE announced its plans to completely crowdsource a mobile device that the company promised to build in 2017. In October 2016, thousands of consumers from 176 countries selected the winning concept, a device that aims for an easier and smoother user experience with eye-tracking capabilities and a self-adhesive back.

To learn more about ZTE and to keep up with the latest Project CSX developments visit csx.zteusa.com or to become a member of Z-Community, visit community.zteusa.com.

**Update Feb 17th 2017 – ZTE is shutting down its failed Hawkeye phone Kickstarter campaign**