You probably won"t have heard of OnePlus, but this new tech start-up is reaching for the stars, with the aim of taking on the world"s leading manufacturers in the pursuit of building "the perfect smartphone".
OnePlus was launched by Pete Lau, who last month stood down from his position as vice president at Chinese manufacturer Oppo, which recently launched the N1, the world"s first handset with CyanogenMod pre-installed. As Engadget reports, following Lau"s departure from the company, some suggested that he was planning to launch his own tech venture, and it turns out those rumours were absolutely right.
The OnePlus homepage outlines the company"s mission, born from the idea that smartphone buyers are forced to compromise when choosing devices: "Some have the latest hardware, others have great software, and many come cheap. But all ultimately sacrifice something to cut cost and drive profit."
Under the tagline "Never Settle", the company says that it can do better: "We don"t accept the excuse that you can"t create a perfect phone at a disruptive price. We"re doing this right."
Bold words indeed, and Lau seems unfazed by the scale of the task ahead. In a post on the company"s forum, he said that OnePlus will "spare no expense in our quest for the perfect smartphone". He is encouraging people to take part in an open and ongoing discussion about what they want in a handset, including everything from display technologies and processors to memory and battery life. "Hardware development used to be inaccessible to the average consumer," says Lau, "but now we are inviting you to participate in these decisions."
Engadget"s sources tell them that Oppo will manufacturer the first OnePlus handset, and The Verge says that that device will launch in the first half of next year. Lau also told them that the company will keep costs down by selling directly to consumers, taking inspiration directly from Google"s Nexus range.
Source: OnePlus / OnePlus Forum via Engadget | image via OnePlus