OnePlus One : Insane Specs, Killer Price
OnePlus has launched its first Android smartphone and it offers high-end specs on the cheap
OnePlus' slightly avant garde promotional campaign seems to have paid off - there's a lot of buzz about the company's first smartphone,
the OnePlus One. The device has finally been launched and, as promised,
it packs a premium spec at an affordable price point: you can pick up a
16GB model for £239 or a 64GB version at £269, a good deal cheaper than
Google's Nexus 5.
The OnePlus One features CyanogenMod 11s on top of Android KitKat, which includes "always on" voice prompt capabilities. You also get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor and a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a full HD resolution. The back panel is interchangeable and the phone uses a 13-megapixel camera plus a 3,100mAh battery cell.
And while you might think HTC has got the whole “One” naming convention locked down pretty tight, if only by brand association, there appears to be a new contender in town...
Or – as Yoda said:: “There is another”.
Specs :
The marketing campaign behind the handset was, for want of a better
word, awesome. Here's a snippet of the type of agro-marketing the
company hit the ground running with in the preamble prior to launching
the OnePlus One:
“TOO OFTEN WE MAKE COMPROMISES.
TOO OFTEN WE MAKE TRADEOFFS.
TOO OFTEN WE SETTLE.
Sometimes, it’s unavoidable. But not always.
Companies flood the market today with devices of all kinds. Some have the latest hardware, others have great software, and many come cheap. But all ultimately sacrifice something to cut cost and drive profit. Devices are now born from financial metrics and bottom lines rather than uncompromising passion and innovation.
We believe in a world where product comes first, and everything else is secondary. We don’t accept the excuse that you can’t create a perfect phone at a killer price. We’re doing this right.
Life’s too short to settle for anything less than excellence. Don’t compromise on the technology you bring into your life. Demand more. Demand better.
Never Settle.”
Everytime we read that spiel back it always makes us think of this –
Either way – it worked. OnePlus drummed up interest across the globe,
leveraging social, word of mouth and editorial. The company wasn’t shy
about talking about the device, either – or its unique set of business
ethics, which can be summed up as follows: build a shockingly awesome
phone, pack it with great hardware and features, and give it a fair
price. Last time we checked, this was and remains to be an industry
first.
And here's the end result, the golden goose, THE FLAGSHIP KILLER AKA... The OnePlus One.
Inside you'll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 with a quad-core 2.5GHz
Krait 400 CPU. That’s the best Snapdragon currently on the market and is
featured in a bunch of other flagship devices at the moment like the
Samsung Galaxy S5. There’s 3GB of RAM on board as well. The screen is
5.5-inch Full HD with a pixel density of 401ppi. Operating system wise
it runs on CyanogenMod 11S which is based on Android 4.4 KitKat. It
comes with its own minimal, flat user interface which is displayed in
some of the pictures below. The device even has its own custom themes
and icons.
“Embracing this design language, the One features subtle curves, sleek lines and a slightly raised, jet-black display. Even the smallest details belong uniquely to OnePlus, from the custom cut and engineered PCB boards to the specially designed battery and dyed inner casing. Each component is meticulously aligned and adorned with a OnePlus logo for a gorgeous device inside and out.
"Measuring only 8.9mm thick, the OnePlus One is ergonomic and easy to grip, with a tapered edge of just 4.6mm,” said the company at launch.
The design of the handset is quite impressive too. The company says
that, after trying out aluminium and stainless steel, it found the
handset was too heavy, so the firm opted for magnesium instead. The
phone weighs just 162g and OnePlus reckons it's the lightest 5.5-inch
smartphone available right now.
Does OnePlus have any regrets about the design? It believes metal
borders would have improved the overall design of the phone but it
created a bunch of signal issues, so the company decided to lose them.
Metal borders also upped the weight of the handset too which, again,
wasn't desirable; perhaps OnePlus can work something out for the OnePlus
Two.
The whole handset comes in at 152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9mm whilst the edges measure at 4.6mm. Dual stereo speakers feature at the bottom of the handset which had some work from audio company JBL involved.
We’ve already seen some snaps from the OnePlus One but we didn’t know
how strong the camera was. It’s a 13 MP Sony IMX214 Sensor which has 6
lenses and f/2.0 Aperture. It allows 4K video recording and there’s a
quick shutter speed of 0.3 seconds.
Inside to power it all there’s a non-removable 3,100mAh Li-Po battery. There’s the option of a 16GB or 64GB storage version too. The phone itself also features support for “Always-On” voice commands, similar to the Moto X, as well as gesture-based controls, whereby the user can assign different commands to different gestures for quicker, more efficient interaction.
You can change the back cover of the OnePlus and the company has launched StyleSwap covers to accompany it. Designs to choose from are bamboo, wood, denim and Kevlar. Being able to swap and change is quite reminiscent of the Moto G.
A video has now revealed how it’s going to look and there’s a couple of big features included. The hands-on video with the handset from Android Central shows off the redesigned camera app which is included.
Manual controls for camera settings are now available for easy access making it an overall better experience to snap those shots. The gallery app has also had some reworking to group photos by both location and time. There’s also the option to share directly to social media sites.
Themes have also experienced an overhaul, it allows you to completely change the look and feel of the device. It’s much easier to do than on other CyanogenMod devices as well, you don’t have to activate every feature in each theme either.
The overall design of the operating system has had some little tweaks here and there but there’s no major changes. If you want to have a look for yourself the video is just below.
The new update brings with it a more stable version of CyanogenMod 11S which was featured on the handsets already but now it has some more improvements. Those include the following,
Brownlee seems really impressed by the really high specs, the price and the stunning design of the handset. The only downside to the phone is some problems with the in-call volume. He calls the phone’s design “pretty much flawless, a miracle piece of hardware for the price.”
A miracle is a big claim, we don’t know exactly what to think until we manage to finally get our grubby mitts on the handset but the first review is looking very exciting. Here’s the video review below.
The Nexus 5 has a quad-core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor whilst the OnePlus One has a more powerful quad-core 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 CPU. The video shows that the OnePlus One boots up twice as fast as the Nexus 5 which is a great show of the handset's speed. You can watch the video below to see how much faster the OnePlus handset is than Google’s flagship.
Obviously to do this would require A LOT of marketing, perhaps more than OnePlus can manage, but for dedicated tech enthusiasts, those with their fingers on the pulse, the OnePlus One might just be the only handset worth buying in 2014.
We’ve yet to receive our OnePlus One (sad face), but we just stumbled across this rather cool video detailing some of the handset’s unique features and attributes. If anything, watching this has just got us even more excited by the prospect of this device landing later on this quarter. It really does look rather impressive.
OnePlus revealed some of the accessories on its blog which includes a clear case to allow you to still see the wonderful design of the OnePlus One. There’s a Lumia-esque looking bright yellow case which will also be available.
The manufacturer also revealed a variety of different screen
protectors as well as a leather flip cover. That leather flip cover is
only photographed in white so far but it will be available in a variety
of different colours soon.
No release or price details for the accessories yet though so if
you’re a lucky competition winner you’ve got a bit of a wait until you
can pick them up.
OnePlus has announced its production schedule for the One handset. One hundred handsets have already been produced and are sat waiting for those who won the controversial “smash your phone” contest. Those will be sent out in the coming weeks but what about all those who didn’t want to smash up their old handset? Mid-to-late May is the consensus. OnePlus will start to build up a lot of stock in the middle of next month and will then cover all the early invitations customers who pre-ordered the phone.
Then come early June, OnePlus will begin production on the 64GB Sandstone Black handset. And then by the end of the month anyone who wants a OnePlus One handset should be able to get their hands on a handset. That’s provided everything goes to plan of course.
OnePlus also announced that the public is preferring the 64GB Sandstone Black model a lot more than the 16GB Silk White handset. Probably all down to the fact it doesn’t cost that much more for all the extra storage.
As it’s a brand new company it’s going to be a odd roll out for the new OnePlus One handset but hopefully by the end of June, anyone who wants to have the new handset will be able to grab one.
OnePlus has also uploaded a blog post which states the OnePlus One release will be staggered. It’s all down to much higher demand than the company had anticipated.
“After our product announcement, we realised that far more people wanted the One than we originally anticipated. Over the past few days, we have been frantically adjusting our production schedule to make sure that as many people possible can buy the One, as soon as possible,” said Carl from OnePlus in a forum post.
If you want to read the full post from OnePlus you can find it here.
For the 16GB it’ll cost you £229 in the UK. In the US it’ll cost $299
whilst in mainland Europe it’ll set you back €269. For the larger 64GB
model it’ll cost £269 or in the US it’ll be $350 and European’s can get
their hands on it from €299.
We knew the OnePlus One was going to be special. But THESE specs for THAT price is, quite frankly, insane. The pricing of the handset (£229 for the 16GB; £269 for the 64GB) is interesting too, almost as if the company wants to drive you to the higher storage model. And, why not: it’s only £40 extra for four times the storage. You do the maths.
The invites are starting off with those who expressed interest in
purchasing the 64GB black version of the OnePlus One. Have you got an
invite yet? It seems to be quite a small roll out so far but we hope to
see a load more customers get the chance to purchase their handset in
the next couple of weeks.
If you’ve already got an invite let us know in the comments below.
OnePlus admitted there had been a few software issues on the handset which needed to be sorted before shipping could commence, but it seems the company has worked them out and will begin to posting process today.
The statement from OnePlus said, “We did choose to delay the shipment of the first phones in order to make sure the software was secure and provided the best possible user experience. The CyanogenMod team worked very quickly and efficiently and the Open SSL issues have already been fixed. The first OnePlus Ones ship to early users with invites as early as tomorrow.”
So if you’ve already been lucky enough to buy the OnePlus One it’s time to eagerly by the letter box waiting for it to pop through.
It’s the very popular Sandstone Black 64GB handset which is being offered a number of forum members, but it all depends how long you’ve been active on the forum. If you’ve got an older account, the higher your chance of getting an invite.
You also need to have posted a couple of times as well, there’s no specific number on the amount of posts but it seems you need to have been quite active. OnePlus said the amount is "less than you think” but some of them need to be recent at least.
If you’re in line to get an invite to purchase the handset before anyone else you should get it soon. Once you’ve received it you have 24 hours to respond before it falls to someone else in line, so act quickly.
So essentially you’re entering the competition to get an invite to buy the handset before anyone else. But at the price, it’s hard to argue.
The Next Web - “Still, it’s difficult to criticise the One. The value proposition is fantastic and beats the Nexus 5 – the closest competitor for its price-tag – in terms of sheer hardware. You might prefer the build quality of the HTC One (M8) or the camera in the Sony Xperia Z2, but in return you’ll need to pay extra.”
TechRadar - "The OnePlus One offers Samsung Galaxy S5 performance for less than half the price. If that doesn't make it attractive it also has a customisable OS and a 1080p display. There are a few downsides, but overall the OnePlus One is amazing value for money."
Engadget – “For $300, no other phone comes close to what the OnePlus One offers. Not only does it look and feel like a premium device, but it also comes with specs similar to what you'd find in a flagship smartphone. If you want a high-end phone on a budget, look no further. “
If you enter you’re in with a chance of winning one of 150 invites to
purchase the 64GB Sandstone Black handset for full price. You can enter
the competition by following this link or to find out the full details
read the press release from OnePlus.
Sadly you can only enter if you’re a resident in one of the release countries. It means you’ll need to live in either Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, UK or the US.
When we wrote this part of the article the entries stood at 1,415,936 people. Winning one of 150 invites will be quite a stretch but it may be worth a punt. You can also enter the competition up to eight times so you can vastly improve your chances that way. Good luck.
Winners will be announced next week at some point but the company didn’t give an exact time. Without being too much of a party pooper though, if you have entered, the odds aren’t exactly in your favour. There are 2.3 million applicants for 150 prizes making your chances 153,333 to one depending on how many times you entered.
Still, GOOD LUCK!
“When we started OnePlus, one of the first things we announced was that our product would be available internationally in Q2 2014. We're well on track of achieving that.
However, after our product announcement, we realized that far more people wanted the One than what we originally anticipated. Over the past few days, we have been frantically adjusting our production schedule to make sure that as many people possible can buy the One, as soon as possible.
In our updated plan, we prioritized for two aspects; time to market and availability of the high capacity model (in that order). We now know that people want the 64GB Sandstone Black far more than the 16GB Silk White, but we also know that more than everything, people just want to get their hands on the device as soon as possible.
What we've done is dramatically increase the amount of 64GB Sandstone Black models in our production plans, while producing 16GB Silk White as long as they don't delay the time to market for Sandstone Black.”
The new production schedule is as follows:
OnePlus' CEO outlined some aspects of his company’s ethos during an interview with Tech Radar:
“Rather than put money towards a large marketing budget, we are
focusing on online marketing and community interaction. Rather than
working with retail partners, we rely on selling the device online,”
said Peter Lau, CEO, OnePlus One.
Obviously the proof is in the pudding, so it will take some time to see whether OnePlus’ Google Nexus-approach to selling its hardware pays off. The counter argument to this is, of course, Samsung – it spent $12 billion on marketing in 2012 and is now the biggest player on the planet. At the other end of the scale is HTC; a company which has spent A LOT of $$$ on marketing but has yet to see any real ROI.
Can OnePlus do the impossible, outdo them all and be the first organic, word-of-mouth super power in the smartphone space? It’d certainly be one hell of an achievement, but we doubt you’d find a bookie this side of Mars who’d take those odds. Still, we can but hope!
The OnePlus One features CyanogenMod 11s on top of Android KitKat, which includes "always on" voice prompt capabilities. You also get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor and a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a full HD resolution. The back panel is interchangeable and the phone uses a 13-megapixel camera plus a 3,100mAh battery cell.
And while you might think HTC has got the whole “One” naming convention locked down pretty tight, if only by brand association, there appears to be a new contender in town...
Or – as Yoda said:: “There is another”.
Specs :
| General | 2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
|---|---|---|
| 3G Network | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 | |
| 4G Network | LTE 700 / 1700 / 2600 /2300/2100/1800 | |
| SIM | Micro-SIM | |
| Announced | 2014, April | |
| Status | Coming soon. Exp. release 2014, June |
| Body | Dimensions | 152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm (6.02 x 2.99 x 0.35 in) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 162 g (5.71 oz) |
| Display | Type | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.5 inches (~401 ppi pixel density) | |
| Multitouch | Yes, up to 10 fingers | |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | |
| - CyanogenMod 11S |
| Sound | Alert types | Vibration; MP3 ringtones |
|---|---|---|
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers | |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| Memory | Card slot | No |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | 16/64 GB, 3 GB RAM |
| Data | GPRS | Yes |
|---|---|---|
| EDGE | Yes | |
| Speed | HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.8 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL | |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot | |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v4.1 with A2DP | |
| NFC | Yes | |
| USB | Yes, microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go, USB Host |
| Camera | Primary | 13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, panorama, HDR | |
| Video | Yes, 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps, video stabilization, HDR | |
| Secondary | Yes, 5 MP, 1080p@30fps |
| Features | OS | Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat) |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 | |
| CPU | Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400 | |
| GPU | Adreno 330 | |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | |
| Messaging | SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM, Push Email | |
| Browser | HTML5 | |
| Radio | No | |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS | |
| Java | Yes, via Java MIDP emulator | |
| Colors | Silk White, Sandstone Black | |
| - SNS integration - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player - MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar - Organizer - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 3100 mAh battery | |
|---|---|---|
| Stand-by | ||
| Talk time |
| Misc | SAR US | 0.62 W/kg (head) 0.75 W/kg (body) |
|---|
TOO OFTEN WE MAKE TRADEOFFS.
TOO OFTEN WE SETTLE.
Sometimes, it’s unavoidable. But not always.
Companies flood the market today with devices of all kinds. Some have the latest hardware, others have great software, and many come cheap. But all ultimately sacrifice something to cut cost and drive profit. Devices are now born from financial metrics and bottom lines rather than uncompromising passion and innovation.
We believe in a world where product comes first, and everything else is secondary. We don’t accept the excuse that you can’t create a perfect phone at a killer price. We’re doing this right.
Life’s too short to settle for anything less than excellence. Don’t compromise on the technology you bring into your life. Demand more. Demand better.
Never Settle.”
Everytime we read that spiel back it always makes us think of this –
And here's the end result, the golden goose, THE FLAGSHIP KILLER AKA... The OnePlus One.
“Embracing this design language, the One features subtle curves, sleek lines and a slightly raised, jet-black display. Even the smallest details belong uniquely to OnePlus, from the custom cut and engineered PCB boards to the specially designed battery and dyed inner casing. Each component is meticulously aligned and adorned with a OnePlus logo for a gorgeous device inside and out.
"Measuring only 8.9mm thick, the OnePlus One is ergonomic and easy to grip, with a tapered edge of just 4.6mm,” said the company at launch.
The whole handset comes in at 152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9mm whilst the edges measure at 4.6mm. Dual stereo speakers feature at the bottom of the handset which had some work from audio company JBL involved.
Inside to power it all there’s a non-removable 3,100mAh Li-Po battery. There’s the option of a 16GB or 64GB storage version too. The phone itself also features support for “Always-On” voice commands, similar to the Moto X, as well as gesture-based controls, whereby the user can assign different commands to different gestures for quicker, more efficient interaction.
You can change the back cover of the OnePlus and the company has launched StyleSwap covers to accompany it. Designs to choose from are bamboo, wood, denim and Kevlar. Being able to swap and change is quite reminiscent of the Moto G.
How Is The New CyanongenMod 11S On The OnePlus One?
We hadn’t previously clapped eyes on the brand new Android KitKat-based CyanogenMod version which is coming with the OnePlus One yet. We’ve been told CyanogenMod 11S has been worked about just for the OnePlus One smartphone.A video has now revealed how it’s going to look and there’s a couple of big features included. The hands-on video with the handset from Android Central shows off the redesigned camera app which is included.
Manual controls for camera settings are now available for easy access making it an overall better experience to snap those shots. The gallery app has also had some reworking to group photos by both location and time. There’s also the option to share directly to social media sites.
Themes have also experienced an overhaul, it allows you to completely change the look and feel of the device. It’s much easier to do than on other CyanogenMod devices as well, you don’t have to activate every feature in each theme either.
The overall design of the operating system has had some little tweaks here and there but there’s no major changes. If you want to have a look for yourself the video is just below.
OnePlus One Gets Updated Even Before Release
This could be a sign of good things to come; it seems OnePlus is dedicated to supporting its new handsets software with an update already coming to the few which are in existence. It’s probably easy to update your range of handsets when you’ve only got one to work on though.The new update brings with it a more stable version of CyanogenMod 11S which was featured on the handsets already but now it has some more improvements. Those include the following,
- Better earpiece performance
- Fixes lockscreen glitches
- Smoother 4K video recording
- Adds stereo video recording
- Fixes Home key glitch on double-tap
- Better keyboard haptic feedback
- Redesigned Flashlight app
- New welcome screen
OnePlus One Video Review Appears
All we want in the world is to get our hands on the OnePlus One, but sadly it’s almost impossible at the moment even for a review. One Marques Brownlee has managed to get his hands on the device and has posted a thorough video review showing off all the best features from the handset.Brownlee seems really impressed by the really high specs, the price and the stunning design of the handset. The only downside to the phone is some problems with the in-call volume. He calls the phone’s design “pretty much flawless, a miracle piece of hardware for the price.”
A miracle is a big claim, we don’t know exactly what to think until we manage to finally get our grubby mitts on the handset but the first review is looking very exciting. Here’s the video review below.
How Fast Is The OnePlus One?
Some of the lovely people over at the Geek YouTube channel have compared the OnePlus One handset with the Nexus 5. The video compares the speed of both handsets to see who comes out on top.The Nexus 5 has a quad-core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor whilst the OnePlus One has a more powerful quad-core 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 CPU. The video shows that the OnePlus One boots up twice as fast as the Nexus 5 which is a great show of the handset's speed. You can watch the video below to see how much faster the OnePlus handset is than Google’s flagship.
OnePlus One: Key Features Detailed
Ahead of the UK release of the OnePlus One expectation surrounding the handset is understandably high. Many are calling it a Nexus killer but with a price of just £229 for the 16GB version (and £269 for the 64GB variant) it could well kill off the HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5, too.Obviously to do this would require A LOT of marketing, perhaps more than OnePlus can manage, but for dedicated tech enthusiasts, those with their fingers on the pulse, the OnePlus One might just be the only handset worth buying in 2014.
We’ve yet to receive our OnePlus One (sad face), but we just stumbled across this rather cool video detailing some of the handset’s unique features and attributes. If anything, watching this has just got us even more excited by the prospect of this device landing later on this quarter. It really does look rather impressive.
OnePlus One Accessory Range Unveiled
When you finally manage to get your hands on the OnePlus One, some will be looking for accessories to go with it. Luckily OnePlus has you covered with a variety of different products to accompany the new handset.OnePlus revealed some of the accessories on its blog which includes a clear case to allow you to still see the wonderful design of the OnePlus One. There’s a Lumia-esque looking bright yellow case which will also be available.
OnePlus One Release Date & Price
Where can you get it and for how much? Here are all the countries the phone will launch in during Q2: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, UK and the USA.OnePlus has announced its production schedule for the One handset. One hundred handsets have already been produced and are sat waiting for those who won the controversial “smash your phone” contest. Those will be sent out in the coming weeks but what about all those who didn’t want to smash up their old handset? Mid-to-late May is the consensus. OnePlus will start to build up a lot of stock in the middle of next month and will then cover all the early invitations customers who pre-ordered the phone.
Then come early June, OnePlus will begin production on the 64GB Sandstone Black handset. And then by the end of the month anyone who wants a OnePlus One handset should be able to get their hands on a handset. That’s provided everything goes to plan of course.
OnePlus also announced that the public is preferring the 64GB Sandstone Black model a lot more than the 16GB Silk White handset. Probably all down to the fact it doesn’t cost that much more for all the extra storage.
As it’s a brand new company it’s going to be a odd roll out for the new OnePlus One handset but hopefully by the end of June, anyone who wants to have the new handset will be able to grab one.
OnePlus has also uploaded a blog post which states the OnePlus One release will be staggered. It’s all down to much higher demand than the company had anticipated.
“After our product announcement, we realised that far more people wanted the One than we originally anticipated. Over the past few days, we have been frantically adjusting our production schedule to make sure that as many people possible can buy the One, as soon as possible,” said Carl from OnePlus in a forum post.
If you want to read the full post from OnePlus you can find it here.
We knew the OnePlus One was going to be special. But THESE specs for THAT price is, quite frankly, insane. The pricing of the handset (£229 for the 16GB; £269 for the 64GB) is interesting too, almost as if the company wants to drive you to the higher storage model. And, why not: it’s only £40 extra for four times the storage. You do the maths.
Invites Begin To Fly Out
Forum members and some competition winners have already received their invites to go and buy a OnePlus One but now it’s the general public’s turn. If you’ve already expressed interest in buying the OnePlus One you could be in with a surprise soon as invites have begun to roll out across the world. It’s more exciting than getting your invite to go to Hogwarts! If you’ve already got an invite let us know in the comments below.
It Starts Shipping Now!
If you’re one of the lucky few to receive an invite to buy the OnePlus One pretty early, you should be received the delivery from today. OnePlus has announced it’s beginning to ship the handsets to those who first bought it, even though the day before it announced the release would be delayed.OnePlus admitted there had been a few software issues on the handset which needed to be sorted before shipping could commence, but it seems the company has worked them out and will begin to posting process today.
The statement from OnePlus said, “We did choose to delay the shipment of the first phones in order to make sure the software was secure and provided the best possible user experience. The CyanogenMod team worked very quickly and efficiently and the Open SSL issues have already been fixed. The first OnePlus Ones ship to early users with invites as early as tomorrow.”
So if you’ve already been lucky enough to buy the OnePlus One it’s time to eagerly by the letter box waiting for it to pop through.
OnePlus Invites For Dedicated Forum Members
Did you jump into the OnePlus mania a couple of months back? If so, you may begin to start reaping the rewards as forum members from the very beginning are starting to receive invites to purchase a 64GB version of the handset.It’s the very popular Sandstone Black 64GB handset which is being offered a number of forum members, but it all depends how long you’ve been active on the forum. If you’ve got an older account, the higher your chance of getting an invite.
You also need to have posted a couple of times as well, there’s no specific number on the amount of posts but it seems you need to have been quite active. OnePlus said the amount is "less than you think” but some of them need to be recent at least.
If you’re in line to get an invite to purchase the handset before anyone else you should get it soon. Once you’ve received it you have 24 hours to respond before it falls to someone else in line, so act quickly.
OnePlus Opens Yet Another Competition
OnePlus has opened another competition which allows you the chance to get your hands on the new high-end, low priced smartphone before the general release. If you win the competition, you won’t just get the handset though, it allows you the chance to buy it.So essentially you’re entering the competition to get an invite to buy the handset before anyone else. But at the price, it’s hard to argue.
OnePlus One Review Round-Up
Reviews for the OnePlus One are beginning to pile in. Here’s a round-up of what some of our favourite publications are saying about the brand new handset.The Next Web - “Still, it’s difficult to criticise the One. The value proposition is fantastic and beats the Nexus 5 – the closest competitor for its price-tag – in terms of sheer hardware. You might prefer the build quality of the HTC One (M8) or the camera in the Sony Xperia Z2, but in return you’ll need to pay extra.”
TechRadar - "The OnePlus One offers Samsung Galaxy S5 performance for less than half the price. If that doesn't make it attractive it also has a customisable OS and a 1080p display. There are a few downsides, but overall the OnePlus One is amazing value for money."
Engadget – “For $300, no other phone comes close to what the OnePlus One offers. Not only does it look and feel like a premium device, but it also comes with specs similar to what you'd find in a flagship smartphone. If you want a high-end phone on a budget, look no further. “
Sadly you can only enter if you’re a resident in one of the release countries. It means you’ll need to live in either Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, UK or the US.
When we wrote this part of the article the entries stood at 1,415,936 people. Winning one of 150 invites will be quite a stretch but it may be worth a punt. You can also enter the competition up to eight times so you can vastly improve your chances that way. Good luck.
UPDATE: Competition Now Closed!
The OnePlus raining invites competition is now closed. OnePlus has now closed the competition after what it seems like was an overwhelming amount of entries, over 2.3 million. The company tweeted the news that so many people had entered the competition and warned entrants to “get ready for the storm.”Winners will be announced next week at some point but the company didn’t give an exact time. Without being too much of a party pooper though, if you have entered, the odds aren’t exactly in your favour. There are 2.3 million applicants for 150 prizes making your chances 153,333 to one depending on how many times you entered.
Still, GOOD LUCK!
OnePlus One Production Update: Can It Meet Demand?
OnePlus has issued an update about how it plans on tackling some of the production issues affecting its upcoming OnePlus One handset. Below is the statement in full:“When we started OnePlus, one of the first things we announced was that our product would be available internationally in Q2 2014. We're well on track of achieving that.
However, after our product announcement, we realized that far more people wanted the One than what we originally anticipated. Over the past few days, we have been frantically adjusting our production schedule to make sure that as many people possible can buy the One, as soon as possible.
In our updated plan, we prioritized for two aspects; time to market and availability of the high capacity model (in that order). We now know that people want the 64GB Sandstone Black far more than the 16GB Silk White, but we also know that more than everything, people just want to get their hands on the device as soon as possible.
What we've done is dramatically increase the amount of 64GB Sandstone Black models in our production plans, while producing 16GB Silk White as long as they don't delay the time to market for Sandstone Black.”
The new production schedule is as follows:
- Ready now - 100 for phone smashers
- Late May to early June - Larger batch 64GB Sandstone Black
- Later in June - Increased general availability, people who want it should be able to get an invite without much trouble in June
How Is The OnePlus One So Cheap?
Witchcraft? Voodoo? A pact with the Devil? No, unfortunately, it’s none of these things. The reason the OnePlus One handset is so bloody cheap is because it’s sold at cost. See, phones don’t cost that much to make, it’s the overheads that come with them – marketing, Robert Downey Jnr, product placement – which racket up the RRP. Obviously the proof is in the pudding, so it will take some time to see whether OnePlus’ Google Nexus-approach to selling its hardware pays off. The counter argument to this is, of course, Samsung – it spent $12 billion on marketing in 2012 and is now the biggest player on the planet. At the other end of the scale is HTC; a company which has spent A LOT of $$$ on marketing but has yet to see any real ROI.
Can OnePlus do the impossible, outdo them all and be the first organic, word-of-mouth super power in the smartphone space? It’d certainly be one hell of an achievement, but we doubt you’d find a bookie this side of Mars who’d take those odds. Still, we can but hope!
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