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Good riddance: RED Hydrogen phone program is wisely shut down as creator retires

Remember the Hydrogen One? It was supposed to be getting a sequel in the near future but just last night, RED founder Jim Jannard announced that he would be retiring and that the RED Hydrogen phone program would be shut down.

Jim Jannard posted on the H4V forums last night that he is retiring from the company due to “a few” undisclosed health issues. He says that for this reason, the Hydrogen smartphone project will be shut down, closing the door on the upcoming sequel.

It’s a shame to hear of Jannard’s health issues, but honestly, killing off Hydrogen is a good call for the company. The Hydrogen One was one of the biggest failures we’ve seen in the smartphone industry as the device launched to scathing reviews and some of its biggest promises – its modules – never made it to market. As a final nail in the coffin, the device eventually started selling for half of its original cost.

Jannard blamed manufacturers for the flaws of the Hydrogen One and said that these issues would be fixed with the upcoming Hydrogen Two.

In short, everything about the Hydrogen smartphone program was a mess and we won’t miss it at all. For those who did actually buy the Hydrogen One, RED will continue support for the device “in the future.” Currently, it’s on Oreo and I bet it’ll never go any further.

More on RED Hydrogen One:

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