At the end of last year, start-up manufacturer OnePlus promised to deliver "the perfect smartphone at a disruptive price". The company engaged in an open dialogue with smartphone users to see what they valued and prioritised when seeking to define the ideal handset, and has now revealed a "guaranteed" price range for its launch device.
Last month, OnePlus began to reveal a few teasing crumbs of information about its first smartphone - known, somewhat unimaginatively, as the "One". In a series of Facebook posts, the company promised the device would "be built using only the best components and 2014 flagship specs, both inside and out", and that it would launch in the second quarter of this year. Nine-band LTE support was also promised.
A significant revelation was made too in the confirmation that OnePlus would be using a customised version of the extremely popular Android user experience, CyanogenMod.
But what price tag is attached to supposed smartphone perfection? As BGR reports, the company"s founder and CEO, Pete Lau, has said that the "OnePlus One will be priced below $500 USD unlocked and off-contract, guaranteed." That"s certainly aggressive pricing for what the company is pitching as the superlative device.
In a related Facebook discussion, OnePlus told a potential customer that they don"t plan to launch a lower-spec or mid-range version of the One: "There won"t be a mid-range version, we"re committed to creating the best smartphone ever."
Them"s fighting words, to be sure. We just hope that the company has what it takes to eventually live up to all the hype its generating.
Source: BGR | images via OnePlus