China’s ZTE Uses Crowdfunding To Launch Eye Tracking Phone

Chinese telecom device maker ZTE will reportedly launch its new smartphone product via an unusual channel: the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.

The company recently announced that they would use this crowdfunding platform to raise money for its new product named Hawkeye, which features an eye tracking function.

The product is still a prototype, do ZTE did not yet release many device parameters. However, they revealed that Hawkeye will have a 5.5-inch HD screen, dual SIM, fingerprint recognition, and extendable storage. Like ZTE's other products, Hawkeye will run on the Android system.

The highlight of the phone is its eye tracking function. With the help of the front camera, Hawkeye can track the eye movement of users to automatically scroll when users are reading texts or other content. In addition, this smartphone will have a self-adhesive shell, which can be attached to most vertical surfaces to further reduce the frequency of hand operation.

The crowdfunding price of Hawkeye on Kickstarter is USD199 and ZTE aims to raise USD500,000. The company said that they hope to launch this device in September 2017.