OnePlus, a brand new startup created by former employees of Oppo, a popular Chinese phone maker, is eliminating much of that complexity. At an event held in San Francisco this week, the company announced the US launch of the OnePlus One, a brand new high-end phone that comes with CyanogenMod pre-installed. It starts at $299 for the 16 GB model, and goes up to $349 for the 64GB version. That’s off contract.
In many ways, the phone not only undercuts the Nexus 5, which costs $349, but also gives every other high-end Android smartphone (like HTC One M8 and the Samsung Galaxy S5) a lot to worry about. The One has everything today’s top-tier phones have: a full HD 5.5-inch display, a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera, 3 GB RAM, Qualcomm’s latest quad-core processor, NFC, LTE, the whole works.
In the few minutes of hands-on time I had with the device, I came away impressed. Despite the affordable price tag, this does not look like a cheap phone. It’s certainly classier than the plasticky Galaxy S5, although at 162 grams, it’s also a tad heavier. The back is smooth, almost silky to the touch, and is slightly curved, which means that the phone doesn’t look like a giant slab of glass. The pictures that the 13-megapixel camera shot looked good on the bright, sharp display, but I’ll reserve judgement since this wasn’t really a thorough test.
That said, for anyone seriously considering this phone, the main draw will be the software. The version of CyanogenMod that’s pre-installed on the One is based on Android Kit Kat 4.4, the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system. It’s not drastically different from the stock version. It also isn’t riddled with its own UI and bloatware. Instead, there are a number of subtle additions. A privacy guard lets you specify what data apps can access. There’s also a Photo Gallery that heavily borrows from iOS and automatically groups your pictures by the location where you took them. Most notably, there’s a theme store that allows users to download and install theme packs to change the look and feel of the phone. Not only can you adjust color schemes and lock screens, you can also modify how icons and fonts look. The whole thing is based on the Cyanogen theme engine, so you can mix and match different themes.
As for the target audience, the phone is clearly trying to appeal to Android nerds who will, presumably, hit the Buy button simply because it comes preloaded with Cyanogen. But beyond this group of buyers, it’s less clear who The One will appeal to–even with its low price and great hardware.
Despite the ease of use and limitless customization options, I think that regular phone buyers will still find the One daunting. Most people just want something that works without constantly changing things up and don’t really care about CyanogenMod. On the flipside, you can now buy an off-contract, high-end smartphone without breaking the bank. Plus One for choice.
The One will be available to buy in late May.
No comments:
Post a Comment