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ZTE ends Hawkeye phone Kickstarter campaign

ZTE's Hawkeye did poorly on Kickstarter, reaching $36,000 of its $500,000 goal. It's not clear what ZTE plans to do with the eye-tracking smartphone.
Written by Jake Smith, Contributor
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ZTE / Kickstarter

ZTE on Friday announced the end of its Kickstarter campaign for the Hawkeye phone -- originally called "Project CSX" and set to have features picked from the community.

The company did poorly on Kickstarter, raising only $36,245 of its $500,000 funding goal.

The Hawkeye phone promised a self-adhering case and eye-tracking technology to enable hands-free experiences. While ZTE hasn't ruled out the Hawkeye completely, the crowdfunding campaign has ended.

ZTE said in a post on Kickstarter:

Project CSX has always been about going against the norm and trying something different. But above all, it's been about listening to you, the consumer. Based on the feedback we've received on both Kickstarter and our own Z-Community forum, we've decided to phase out this campaign; however, this doesn't mean the project is over. We are reevaluating the device for the winning Project CSX idea - an eye-tracking feature with self adhesive backing - and it will be implemented based on your feedback.

ZTE will refund the money to early backers of the $199 phone. It was just a few weeks ago ZTE was asking backers for help with specifications for the Hawkeye, after backers expressed the specs were too mid-range. ZTE hoped to ship the phone in September 2017.

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