OnePlus One Available for Purchase, But There’s a Catch (Updated)

It seems like an eternity since the OnePlus One was released, but the mythical smartphone has finally begun to make it into the hands of buyers worldwide. That is to say, people lucky enough to get their hands on a coveted invite. If you are one among the thousands of other less fortunate, there is another way to obtain a One, but it will cost you.

OppoMart, a third-party retailer, is selling the 16GB One for $399, marked up $100 from MSRP. Consolatory free shipping and a 30-day return policy may not be enough to make up for that.

Also, there’s another caveat: the phone ships with Oppo’s Android skin, Color OS, because the version of Cyanogenmod bound for the device isn’t quite ready. The One will be upgradeable to Cyanogenmod, but early buyers will have to settle with Oppo’s firmware for now.

If none of that deters you, the One is available for purchase at the source link.

Update:  As reader Brian points out, OnePlus has addressed scalper sites like this, noting that if you buy this phone for use outside of China, your experience may not be optimal. Here is what they had to say via their forums:

1. You won’t have warranty. If your phone was intended to be used in the Chinese market, you still have a one-year warranty, but only in China. Only the global versions are covered by the international warranty. Your attempt to communicate with scalpers could be ignored, and even if they do agree to take back your phone, you’ll face significant delays due to shipping and customs.

2. Incompatible LTE bands outside of China. The Chinese version of the One is prepared to work on China Mobile, which uses TD-SCDMA/TD-LTE technology that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Additionally, the Chinese version lacks WCDMA band 4 and LTE bands 4 and 17. So depending on your carrier, connectivity will be limited.

3. Risk of bricking your phone. While you can install CynanogenMod yourself, flashing through fastboot mode is not for everyone and requires installing specific software and writing code in your command terminal. If you brick your Chinese One, please refer to point 1.

4. You pay more. The scalpers charge a higher price outright. Including shipping and customs duties, expect the price to exceed $400. This goes against our philosophy of creating an amazing product with a price that can disrupt. Help us create an efficient market by not rewarding the scalpers.

5. Miss out on the OnePlus experience. Since the beginning, our goal was to fuse superior product with unparalleled customer experience. By buying from a scalper, you are missing out on dedicated services available only for OnePlus Global users.

Via: OppoMart | Lets Talk Tech

Cheers BN!