
OnePlus One – $299 CyanogenMod 'killer' smartphone - iamben
http://oneplus.net/one
======
pja
The single thing that really stands out for me in the pricing:

    
    
        16G $299
        64G $349
    

$50 for 64G of high quality flash memory at retail price actually sounds
reasonable!

~~~
TsomArp
It is nice, but it is 48GB (64-16).

~~~
pja
True enough. Meanwhile Apple will charge you $200 for the same upgrade.

(Yes, I know the Apple price isn't really about the flash, it's about
segmented the user base into 'will pay (lots) more' and 'willing to compromise
on the storage to get the cheaper deal'. The net result is much the same for
the end user though.)

------
jackgavigan
A startup smartphone manufacturer and a community-developed fork of an open
source operating system. Such things legends are made of.

------
epaladin
Wikipedia says the company was founded just a few months ago, in December.
Even with using "commodity" components, I wouldn't have thought that 4-5
months was enough time to go all the way through a design cycle for something
like a phone. The founder used to work for Oppo, is Oppo manufacturing these?
Edit: according to the Engadget review/article, these are being built by Oppo.

~~~
MikusR
It's basically an Oppo (founder worked there) Find 7.

------
bobbles
For everyone thinking "What's the catch?" the catch is, you can't buy it.

They are doing 100x 'invite-only' purchases during April, and I haven't seen
anything explaining more availability than that.

~~~
nodata
So the "catch" is that they only have a hundred to sell over the next week?
That doesn't seem like much of a catch, it sounds like marketing.

~~~
jonathansizz
Yeah, and it looks like they're not actually _selling_ them - they're giving
them away if you smash your old phone!

~~~
oscilloscope
This seems incredibly wasteful.

------
listic
I wish it was available in non-huge form factor, like this one, at most
[http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_mini-5505.php](http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_mini-5505.php)

~~~
crashandburn4
I quite like the bigger screen, if they were going for multiple devices it'd
be great if they'd make a smaller one too but, since they need to focus, I'm
glad they went for a larger one. In addition since they're trying to feature
compete at a lower price point it makes sense for them to go for the bigger
one first.

P.S. does anyone know how they can afford to sell it for so cheap? just
looking at the specs I find it hard to understand.

~~~
listic
Too huge for the hand and pocket, IMO, as well as virtually all modern phones.
Really, is there such a big difference between a 5" and 4"? It's a phone,
first and foremost, a thing that has to be easily handled and pocketed.

I bought my first smartphone recently, was initially going for a used Nexus 4,
since it's on the smaller side of what is considered the usual today, got nice
specs and software directly from Google. But when I looked at HTC One mini in
the store, I knew I would regret if I buy any other phone, since it's not just
ok, but kinda nice; probably the best design you can get short of buying an
iPhone (not that it's impossible, but I get a feeling that the competitors are
hardly trying). Even though I'm not a fan of Sense UI, and there's no Cyanogen
support. I'd like it to be even smaller still (maybe 4.0" instead of 4.3
screen, it shouldn't be a notable difference), but you can't get that with
modern phones.

An evidence that current phones are too big is the existence of this:
[http://www.htc.com/us/accessories/htc-mini-
plus/](http://www.htc.com/us/accessories/htc-mini-plus/) Get a second,
smaller, phone for your phone, so that you won't have to pull out your huge
phone each time you need to make or receive a call!

~~~
dublinben
The Moto X is almost exactly the same size as the HTC One mini, and only
slightly larger than the iPhone 5S. It has a larger screen that either, due to
not have an absurdly large bezel on all sides.

[http://www.phonearena.com/phones/size/Apple-
iPhone-5s,Motoro...](http://www.phonearena.com/phones/size/Apple-
iPhone-5s,Motorola-Moto-X/phones/7710,7885#/phones/size/Apple-
iPhone-5s,Motorola-Moto-X,HTC-One-mini/phones/7710,7885,7702)

~~~
Zak
I find it quite a bit easier to reach across the width of the iPhone's screen
than the Moto X. It's the difference between comfortable and not comfortable
for me. I wish there was a high-spec Android phone with the screen size and
dimensions of the iPhone.

~~~
dagw
The Sony Z1 Compact is as close as you can get today. Only slightly larger
than an iPhone and with comparable specs to the high end android phones.

~~~
Zak
The dimensions of the Z1 Compact are almost identical to those of the Moto X.
Most importantly to my one-handed use concern, it's only narrower by 400 μm.
The iPhone 5/5s is almost 7mm narrower than the Moto X.

------
vini
and I wondering why takes an eternity to load this site:
[http://cl.ly/V9dZ/fail_one.png](http://cl.ly/V9dZ/fail_one.png)

~~~
nomercy400
Welcome to the world of ecommerce software.

------
mhandley
The OnePlus site seems to be reduced to a crawl. Engadget has a reasonable
review here though: [http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/23/oneplus-one-launch-
ceo-pe...](http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/23/oneplus-one-launch-ceo-pete-lau-
interview/)

~~~
patrickk
That review makes it sound like an amazing phone. Chinese companies that
understand product quality like this should have other handset manufacturers
scared. It sounds like they're taking their design to almost Apple levels of
obsession.

------
davexunit
What binary blobs are required for it to operate? I want a phone that doesn't
require nonfree firmware in order for the 802.11 wireless chip to operate.

~~~
ChuckMcM
I believe the 'standard' two, 3D graphics and the LTE radio. I've seen efforts
to create an open source graphics driver for Adreno (the GPU) but not the
radio. Once you've got both of those you can build a phone for Stallman with
all the code available for inspection. Maybe the Ettus guys could help with
that.

~~~
dublinben
There's quite a bit of proprietary software in a smartphone beyond just the
GPU and modem driver. The entire baseband firmware is another (closed)
operating system to contend with.

~~~
ChuckMcM
I tend to bundle the baseband blob and the modem blob as "the radio" but agree
that is an over simplification.

~~~
pedrocr
A big simplification indeed. Replacing the modem bit should actually be pretty
easy, it's just the interface glue. Replacing the baseband is much harder as
that implements all the wireless protocols needed for GSM/3G/LTE. Since the
baseband tends to run on an independent processor capable of accessing all
main memory it's kind of scary what could be there. Even if the hardware
design is better and the baseband is behind some form of MMU it is still
capable of sending your location and all your traffic to an attacker. That
together with the fact that most Android phones don't get any meaningful
upgrades makes Android a minefield when it comes to security.

~~~
drdaeman
> Even if the hardware design is better and the baseband is behind some form
> of MMU it is still capable of sending your location and all your traffic to
> an attacker.

We could just consider baseband to be on the untrusted side of the network.
Without access to anything but the restricted communication channels the worst
things it could do is perform some calculations to eat your battery.

Network operator already knows (or may discover) your rough location and has
access to your traffic anyway. So, just make sure private traffic's well
encrypted and authenticated, and develop the hardware to be capable of
provably powering down the whole baseband module when you want it to be off
(location privacy). Problem solved.

------
king_magic
What exactly makes this a killer? I'm having a hard time seeing it. It just
looks liked any one of a dozen similar Android phones, with more
power/memory/horsepower?

Calling something a killer by itself does not a killer make.

~~~
frooxie
Basically, you get 90% of the features of the best Android smartphones at half
the price.

~~~
samolang
The Nexus 5 is only $350. This phone is nominally cheaper, but I wouldn't say
'killer'. I will think about getting it next time I purchase a phone though (I
use a Nexus 5 now).

~~~
rayiner
This has a much bigger battery than the N5, which addresses one of the N5's
key weaknesses.

~~~
josu
I have a Sony Xperia Z1, which has a 3000mAh battery, and while the battery
life is pretty good, it doesn't really last a whole day. So I don't know about
that 3100mAh with the 5.5" screen.

~~~
gandalfu
I have a Sony Xperia Z1 as well and the battery lasts over 3 days. Make sure
to enable the stamina mode [http://developer.sonymobile.com/2013/11/26/power-
management-...](http://developer.sonymobile.com/2013/11/26/power-management-
explained-sony-xperia-z1-and-xperia-z-ultra/) it actually works pretty well.

~~~
josu
I have stamina mode activated most of the time but I will check out the tips.
Thank you.

------
glaberficken
Am I the only one that cringes each time i see the promise "over a day's worth
of battery life."

We used to have 2 weeks of battery life on any normal mobile phone.

~~~
arjie
You can still get 2 weeks of battery life. Get a Nokia 1100.

It's a trade-off, mate. You're standing at a Lamborghini showroom and saying,
"Man, does anyone else here remember when cars used to give us 21 kilometres
to the litre?"

~~~
sergiosgc
No one says that. Either you say it strangely: "50mpg" or you say it
correctly: "5L/100km". If you use imperial units, you must invert every
fraction in your life as punishment.

~~~
jchendy
"In countries using the metric system fuel economy is stated in kilometres per
litre (km/L)"

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_efficiency](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_efficiency)

~~~
brazzy
Believe me: absolutely _nobody_ uses km/l, ever.

~~~
cbr
km/L appears to be standard in Malaysia:
[http://paultan.org/2014/02/26/driven-mitsubishi-
attrage-21-k...](http://paultan.org/2014/02/26/driven-mitsubishi-
attrage-21-kml-claims-put-test/)

------
hengheng
As always in hardware, established volume manufacturers are going to have a
huge edge on any newcomer. Companies like Samsung and Apple have an
astonishing vertical range in their manufacturing process, with their own IP
cores / custom processors / custom operating systems / custom antenna design /
custom case design. You can't just go out and beat all that at once, and offer
the same product but cheaper.

I find the comments who say "omg it's not cheap why should I buy this" a bit
condescending. You can't be any cheaper than the big companies, or else you'll
have to beat them at what they're good at. If you can, you're an established
player, good on you, but you most likely don't belong on HN.

As always in startup terms, you have to find your individual edge. This will
always be a small gadget type of thing initially (as with most web startups),
hoping to attain more traction down the line, enabling you to extend your
product step by step. I _really_ liked the Jolla phone with its I2C interface
and the "second half" concept. Sweet stuff. Unique to the market, catering to
the small production volumes they would be confronted with, and most
importantly attracting just the right crowd of producers. If Seth Godin's
Tribe Marketing rings a bell with you, then this is it.

Oneplus One, or Oppo for short, brings none of this to the table. They have a
good high-volume manufacturing process, and have been selling single
quantities on aliexpress for a long time. They seem good, but they had nothing
unique going for them whatsoever. They used to be the archetypal me-too
chinese manufacturer that tries to make a difference by striving for spec high
scores (more megapixels! yay!), but neccessarily failing to deliver in other
regards.

They have been looking for their edge for some time now, first with that
rotatable camera gadget instead of a separate front camera, which at least got
them some attention. Alas, there was a reason all other products came with two
separate cameras, one being distinct usage scenarios for the two cameras and
another being the rather complex case design. So at the end of the day, their
design was just a stunt to demonstrate their manufacturing capabilities, and
also their ability to justify large investments into injection molds.
Impressive, but not attractive to me.

So their next attempt is a tacked on piece of open source software. Of course,
these two companies are looking for a match here, with cyanogenmod having no
clear business process but a distinctive product, and Oppo having everything
else. It still feels like a cheap concept, and evidently they are centering
their sales pitch around price. This always feels like a warning sign to me,
indicative of a low emphasis on R&D. (Especially when compared to Samsung and
Apple, who pump out a remarkable _lot_ of innovative stuff even though they
are market leaders.)

So, yeah. Personally I'll be using my second-hand Samsung Note 2 for the time
being, and as soon as I feel adventurous I'll try out the Jolla. I'll be
watching Oppo, but I could be more excited tbh, and I certainly don't buy into
their newly-acquired startup flair. Open Source software just doesn't give you
street cred like that anymore.

~~~
TsomArp
349 without contract is really cheap. Why do you say is not? Is the same as
the LG Nexus 5.

~~~
Consultant32452
I was thinking the same, and I have the LG Nexus 5. Most current gen smart
phones without contract are more like $600.

~~~
runjake
Which is pretty outrageous, given it typically costs an OEM approx $200-$260
to manufacturer a phone.

The Galaxy S5 costs Samsung something like $246 to manufacturer. It sells for
$649 off-contract. Pretty big margins for somebody in that pipeline.

~~~
slantyyz
Doesn't Samsung spend the most out of all mobile makers on marketing? I would
assume they're also paying additional costs for Google Services, patent
licenses and other things, which also cut into the actual margin.

~~~
Infinitesimus
That's the part people seem to forget. Software can be expensive because they
are paying for several licenses (and for the hardware too) as well us paying
several devs, managers, etc. to produce the software that runs on the phone.

------
kapilkale
In the features section where they compare their camera vs. that of another
smartphone, they're doing some shady stuff.

The two pictures are identical! They've photoshopped the original to look
shittier, and passed it off as being taken by another smartphone.

link: [http://imgur.com/VG8AUg3](http://imgur.com/VG8AUg3)

~~~
GioM
It's not photoshopped, it's just cropped to show you their wide angle vs a
typical camera. Quoting the website, directly beside the picture you've
linked: "The extra-wide 80º viewing angle captures more area than other phones
so your pictures will include more background without distortion. "

------
zx2c4
Looks great, but when oh when oh when will there be a version with a hardware
keyboard? I program on my smart phone. I can do that damn fast with a hardware
keyboard. Touchscreen keyboards aren't feasible.

~~~
AUmrysh
What about using a bluetooth keyboard?

~~~
zx2c4
Too clumsy, too big, battery, blah. I want to whip it out of my pocket on the
subway...

~~~
ZoF
What phone are you using currently?

~~~
zx2c4
Relay 4G

~~~
mst
Samsung Galaxy S Relay? That seemed to be it from googling but 'relay 4g
phone' wasn't as definitive as I'd've liked.

------
kourt
Can't wait for the QWERTY version :)

~~~
aeturnum
I just bought a used LG g2 to escape the disaster that is the Droid 4, but I
would happily spend another 3-400 on a phone with a physical keyboard. On
screen keyboards, like gel-cap keyboards, work well enough, but I would love a
premium option.

------
blueskin_
No SD card? I'm out.

If they added that, I would get one, the price is amazing - although I'd flash
a default CM image over it to get rid of that metro theme they've added.

~~~
rogerbinns
My must have these days is wireless charging (Qi). It is so convenient being
able to just place the device down and have charging immediately happen. Also
fantastic for use in the car cradles so you don't have to connect power each
time.

~~~
lsiebert
Also, usb power can eventually stop working/work intermittently. But for most
devices, you can add it after.

------
zmk_
Seems to be a good device, but if there is no wireless charging I am out. It
is one of those things that once you have you cannot go back. But the price
point, the implicit promise of updates forever from CM team, and the fact that
Google is moving to closed-source with key apps that used to be OS, does make
this a very attractive phone. I hope there will be OnePlus Two.

~~~
jdc0589
> but if there is no wireless charging I am out.

Pretty much. It seems like it's such a trivial feature that it shouldn't
matter, but dear god it is convenient. Can never go back after 1 year with the
palm pre a few years ago.

------
zobzu
This reminds me of the galaxy s1 and s2. Its pretty damn competitive, and its
half the price of the others.

I bought the s2 for 400 on release day and it was awesome enough. Nowadays the
s5 is 6-700 on release day.

if they deliver what they show - im probably getting one of these oneplus -
not a S5 or even an xperia Z2 - thanks but no thanks.

------
null_ptr
> _will receive updates for at least 2 years_

I had my phone for over 3 years now and aside from some tiny screen scratches
everything is great. Why can't any manufacturers _really_ stand behind their
products and support them for something like 5 years?

~~~
gcb0
Greed.

Even google with all the money and more interest in acquiring users joined the
greed bandwagon by removing Sd card slots and doing things in software to
ensure device obsolency ever couple years.

~~~
segmondy
Google's removal of SD card has nothing to do with making device useless ever
few years. It has everything to do with their cloud strategy. Google wants
everything in the cloud. If your information is in the cloud, they can
possible get access to it to better understand you so they can target more
relevant ads. If your information is on the cloud, you will also have to spend
more time online. That's why google devices, phones, tablet, chromebooks don't
have removeable storage.

~~~
xioxox
I would never buy a new phone unless it has an SD slot or perhaps 64GB of
storage. How useful is the cloud when you're literally above a cloud in a
plane? That's mostly when I use my phone for music playback.

~~~
rogerbinns
You can use Google Music. It will cache content while on wifi for playback
when you have no connectivity. This is done somewhat intelligently and you can
also explicitly request content be downloaded.

~~~
gcb0
with a ttl to delete it if you dont connect soon

------
enscr
Great specs, but I prefer the Moto G model. Other than its camera, everything
is superb for a pro-user who doesn't play games. Battery life is great, screen
is awesome, 1GB RAM is more than sufficient. Best of all, it's the price that
I love.

------
SkyMarshal
Very nice, better hardware than Google Nexus 5 [1] at better price, though
larger, slightly thicker and heavier.

[http://www.google.com/nexus/5/](http://www.google.com/nexus/5/)

------
chiachun
The price is actually higher than some of the cheap smartphones from Asia.
What interested me is that CyanogenMod is now an OS of a 'killer' smartphone.

------
kreeben
I have used cm before and would trust them enough to buy a product like this.
But the phone is too big though. My 4" moto g is perfect.

------
killerna
arrrrr.... I wanna get one, so I just lookup their site, but it says I need to
get invitation to buy because their limited stock.
[http://support.oneplus.net/hc/en-
us/articles/201866890-Why-d...](http://support.oneplus.net/hc/en-
us/articles/201866890-Why-do-I-need-an-invite-to-buy-a-OnePlus-One-)

------
dalek2point3
the video on the homepage is pretty bad. I dont want to look at some guy
making sketches of the design, i want to see the phone. Also, isnt software a
big sell for this Cynagen? I've never installed the Mod before -- can the
video show me how the insides of the phone are supposed to look like? pretty
please?

------
corin_
Seems really odd using "Never Settle" given how much AMD has been pushing that
slogan for their GPUs.

------
MichaelGG
Why would anyone choose the on-screen keys if you've already sacrificed the
space for dedicated keys?

------
97s
What's up with the mailing list. I am very excited about this phone, would
like the email updates.

------
slowmotiony
I think the website is down. Is it available to buy? Can it be shipped to
europe?

~~~
sprremix
It is only available on invitation IIRC. I don't know when you we can expect
this phone in stores, like physical stores. Those invitations were given out
on the forums and to people who where interested/had interest in the Nexus 5.

~~~
nomercy400
No physical stores, no resellers. They say it's too expensive.

------
deweller
Can you recommend a low-cost voice/data carrier in the US for this phone?

~~~
jchendy
[http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans](http://prepaid-
phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans)

Near the bottom there's a $30/month plan with 5gb LTE data, unlimited text,
and 100 voice minutes.

------
leke
Are OnePlus offering any guarantee of OS updates with their products?

------
listic
What is the availability of OnePlus One for non-US users?

------
venomsnake
Does it have unlocked bootloader and root?

~~~
dagw
Latest I've read is that the bootloader will be locked and phone won't be
rooted out of the box. However bootloader will easily be unlockable and
rooting the phone is supported and won't affect warranties.

~~~
yincrash
this is the approach that google takes with the nexus devices and is really
the only reasonably secure approach (for the consumer)

~~~
anonymousDan
Woah, are you saying that you can root a google nexus phone without voiding
the warranty? I assumed you weren't allowed to do that, would be great if you
can.

~~~
ChrisClark
Yeah, you can. And at least on the newer Nexus phones, you can even re-lock
them without any trace of it ever being unlocked.

~~~
yincrash
yup. you just reflash the stock rom, then relock the bootloader, and it's like
new

------
DonGateley
What carriers is it incompatible with?

------
NonEUCitizen
Does it have an appstore ?

~~~
zz1
Other than Google Play Store, you can use FDroid. Firefox Marketplace also
provides Apps: the offer is very tiny at the moment, but will likely grow in
near future.

[https://f-droid.org/](https://f-droid.org/)
[https://marketplace.firefox.com/](https://marketplace.firefox.com/)

~~~
sp332
You can also get the Amazon app store.
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/mas/get/android](http://www.amazon.com/gp/mas/get/android)

------
rplnt
Is any tablet that can makes calls a phone? Technically yes I guess, but it's
still weird to call it that.

------
ctdonath
Amusing to view that link right after reading the "Sell me this pen" link
[http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-
business/internationa...](http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-
business/international-business/sell-me-this-pen-the-real-answer-to-the-wolf-
of-wall-streets-challenge/article17946810/?service=mobile)

The CyanogenMod page tells me nothing. "Killer phone"? meh. Address my needs;
if it's not smaller than an iPhone and can migrate me from that ecosystem,
forget it. Otherwise, it's just a list of specs.

------
kissickas
Forgive me for being slightly snobby (and maybe too tangential), but I always
find it completely off-putting when people try to be "hip" and put the $ sign
after a number (as in 1$ here; they're also internally inconsistent).

I'd like to hear other people's thoughts on the matter, especially if you
think I'm misinterpreting the motivation behind it.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_symbol#Usage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_symbol#Usage)

edit: Muphry's Law, and trying hard not to ask why people are downvoting my
curiosity (but failing)

~~~
tomp
> internally inconsistent

You mean, "internally consistent"? As in "How much is it?" "One dollar." ->
"1$". That's how the (spoken) language works.

~~~
kissickas
No, I mean internally inconsistent. I had to point out that I meant it in the
case of the button that said "1$" but not the rest of the website, where it
said "$299" or whatever. Site down.

