RED Hydrogen One Titanium Phone Delayed Again, But There's A Huge Upside For Preorders

According to RED founder Jim Jannard, the first production run of the titanium phones has been a disaster mixed with "all fail". He claims that it is extremely difficult to product the titanium version of the smartphone, and unfortunately, there haven’t been enough blemish-free product coming from its ODM to fulfill all of the preorders that RED has racked up at this point.

"Our pre-order Ti customers are the highest order," Jannard added. "Not only did they commit to paying the full price of the highest priced model 14 months ago, they had to patiently sit through the Houdini launch and watch from the sideline."

He continues, stating that customers have every right to be pissed off by this turn of events -- especially considering that customers who preordered the titanium version forked over $1,595 -- so he's hoping to make things right. And in this case, RED is going over and above what would be generally accepted in a case like this.

Those who preordered the Hydrogen One Titanium will receive the aluminum version once it begins shipping. And on top of that, once the Titanium production issues are worked out and begin shipping, you will receive that version as well. Best yet, you will be able to keep both phones (after only paying for titanium one).

Jannard explains that when it comes to the company's RED cameras, they're all built in its own California factory, which it has complete control over. "Unfortunately, we are not in the same position with HYDROGEN," he continues. "We are left to rely on the schedules and representations of our suppliers. In this case… we were let down pretty severely."

Given the frequent delays, the Hydrogen One's specs don't exactly look groundbreaking anymore. The smartphone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, but its centerpiece is the 5.7-inch (2560x1440) display which is capable of presenting "better than 3D" four-view holographic content.

“There is no way to describe this," said RED in May. "You just have to see it. So far, everyone that has seen it gasps, swears or just grins. I wish we had recorded all the reactions. Priceless."

While the titanium version of the smartphone is priced at $1,595, the aluminum version is available for preorder for "just" $1,195. Both AT&T and Verizon Wireless have committed to selling the smartphones.