The eyes have it as China’s ZTE unveils its first ‘crowdsourced’ smartphone

Telecoms giant launches the result of its appeal to wisdom of the crowds which tracks users’ eyes to navigate across screen

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ZTE’s Jeff Yee introduces the phone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:05pm, 5 Jan 2017Updated: 11:01pm, 5 Jan 2017

ZTE Corp, China’s largest listed telecommunications equipment manufacturer, has made its first “crowdsourced” smartphone ready for pre-orders in the United States, a year after the company announced a plan to ask the public for ideas on how its next major mobile phone for this year should be designed.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday, ZTE unveiled its “Hawkeye” smartphone with new eye-tracking and self-adhesive back features suggested by the winning entry in the firm’s Project CSX (Crowd Source X) initiative.

The new 4G smartphone could be pre-ordered on the Kickstarter crowdfunding website for a discounted US$199 and would be available worldwide in the third quarter, the Shenzhen-based company said.

“The Hawkeye device sets the stage for us in 2017,” ZTE senior vice-president Cheng Lixin said in a statement. “As we move forward with this smartphone, we’ll look to continue to integrate consumers every step of the way.”

The two key Hawkeye features, which were voted upon by thousands of consumers through ZTE’s Z-Community forum, allow for hands-free navigation through common applications.