Has Anyone Bought the OnePlus One?

[Prestidigitweeze]

Has anyone else picked up a new smartphone/phablet called the OnePlus One? Mine has been shipped and is expected to arrive in the next few days. It has the same processor as the Galaxy S5, a good screen for reading and a much higher capacity for storing media (64GB) than the 16GB version of the Nexus 5 even though they're both the same price ($349).

Apparently, the OnePlus One is becoming more available at last, and not only to those (like me) who received invites to buy it. On sites like Oppomart, the phablet is being sold outright, and on the OnePlus forums, invitations are being handed out with greater frequency. This is probably good, since reviews have been almost universally positive, positive, positive.

Members on XDA have reported issues with yellowish screens, but I'm still anticipating my 64GB sandstone-black model with baited breasts -- excuse me, I meant bated breath. I didn't intend to suggest some new and perilous method of salmon fishing for nudists. I've also tried to distract myself by heating a slice of rodent pizza -- pardon me, I meant frozen pizza -- but the anticipation has triggered what Rimbaud liked to call a systematic derangement of the census. I'm hoping my OPO will arrive soon and I can stop filling out questionnaires riddled with homophones and mondegreens.

[Prestidigitweeze]

This review by a OnePlus One forum member seems particularly interesting. It contains an extensive summary of the user experiences and ratings of other forum members who posted reviews.



On the less positive side, here's an ongoing thread on XDA about OPO QC dates versus yellow screens.

Here's the test to see whether one's sallowphone exhibits the issue. I'll let you know whether mine's afflicted once I receive it. The cure seems to be to expose the screen to sunlight for a given number of hours.

[apesmom]

I had this picked out as my next phone but recently gave up waiting for it to become widely available. Begging for an invite in their forums isn't my thing. I bought the LG G3 instead and absolutely love it. The 5.5" display makes it a nice little reader.

Let us know how you like your device. The CyanogenMod skin looks like it has some very nice features.

[jersysman]

I also opted for a LG G3 this weekend and absolutely love it!

[Prestidigitweeze]

It took some time to receive my OPO because our mailman went on vacation right before my hard-won coyphone was sent. The package was then marked undeliverable by some human headache and slated for return. Customer service and a local supervisor both insisted that nothing could be done. Then I filed a complaint and my OPO appeared at my apartment door the very next day.

The same sort of thing has been happening with accessories, which is why a Diztronic case for my OPO is slated to arrive at my work address. BTW: No one should bother with any of the official cases, which are utter pants. I bought the cheapest out of necessity and its flimsiness honors the invective of its reputation.

Having bleated that, I have to say that 1. no "begging" was necessary to receive an OPO -- I was simply invited after joining the OnePlus forum on a whim -- and 2. my new phantasmblet has been a joy to tweak and fondle. Mac owners will be pleased to know that a OnePlus Forum member named Mechanical has created the most idiot-proof all-in-one unlocking and rooting software I've ever used. After dawdling with bloatware and inconvenient/obtrusive options on my S4, the experience of using an OPO has been exhilarating.

One thing I'll miss about my S4 is the AMOLED screen, which makes fonts and images appear so vividly etched that every word and icon resembles a miniature decal that rose through black water to float and glow on the screen's surface. No panel on any device has ever given me more pleasure; apesmom and jersysman's G3s have exceptional displays as well. But once I switched from Cyanogenmod's overly magnified interface (Trebuchet) to Nova, the post-Retinal precision of the OPO screen became apparent. And combining elements of both UIs results in a better experience than either offers separately.

I'm writing this on my Nexus 7 and am saving this post now to prevent losing it accidentally.

[Prestidigitweeze]

To continue: The hardware is scorchingly swift (ouch), and even stock CM offers more options to enhance privacy, security and performance than even custom ROMs afforded on my last two smartphones. Battery life is significantly better than with the S4, and the internal memory, which is already quadrupled on the OPO by comparison, can be augmented with any OTG SD adapter. You don't need to use special software; the card simply shows up in File Manager and you can transfer files easily both ways if you'd prefer not to leave a tiny adapter attached to your OPO when carrying it in your pocket.

One thing users should do is open Interface > Gestures and disable the option to turn on the flashlight by swiping a very large V. Before I did that, two women on two separate occasions stopped me to inform me that a brilliant light was emanating from my pants (crotch and buttock areas, respectively). I resisted the urge to tell them that that was God's way of showing them that I was the one.

Also: before unlocking and rooting, be sure to uninstall (or temporarily trash) Android File Transfer, which interferes with rebooting into various modes.

Long-term activation on MetroPCS was as painless and immediate as it had been briefly on T-Mobile. I know this because the rep in the T-Mobile store was so thrilled to see an OPO in person that he activated it with a test SIM just to see how the device performed on their network. Apparently, he was still on the waiting list for an invitation. I told him to be careful not to beg.

[Madmanden]

Haha, nice review. :-) I'll get my OPO tomorrow and I hope I'll enjoy it.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Congratulations! There's a new version of CM expected as well (and, as you know, we'll be getting Lollipop).

[keeska]

For those of us who are newer to the OnePlus One what is the best way to get one. I've looked through their forum but didn't see much which would help people who haven't been hanging out in the forum for months.

Kees

[apesmom]

Originally Posted by keeska

For those of us who are newer to the OnePlus One what is the best way to get one. I've looked through their forum but didn't see much which would help people who haven't been hanging out in the forum for months.

Kees

1. WAIT until whenever they decide to sell them to everyone (Nexus 6 may be out by then)
2. WATCH for contests, enter and hope
3. JOIN the forums and beg with everyone else
4. BUY an invite on ebay

or

5. GIVE UP and buy something else. The LG G3 and HTC One M8 are excellent alternatives if you can spare the extra $250.

[keeska]

Thank you for the reply. It is exactly what I thought. More and more I am getting the impression that OnePlus one is a huge marketing gimick above all else.

I am looking at the Note 3. I'll also look at the HTC. Neither my wife or I or anyone we know has ever had good luck with LG. That is why we avoided the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus model prior to the Nexus 4 was an excellent phone. We still use those as our backup phones.

[apesmom]

Originally Posted by keeska

Thank you for the reply. It is exactly what I thought. More and more I am getting the impression that OnePlus one is a huge marketing gimick above all else.

I am looking at the Note 3. I'll also look at the HTC. Neither my wife or I or anyone we know has ever had good luck with LG. That is why we avoided the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus model prior to the Nexus 4 was an excellent phone. We still use those as our backup phones.

I upgraded from a Samsung Galaxy S3. I'd been watching the market since January. I wanted to get away from Samsung's over saturated colors, TouchWiz and the physical home button and more than anything I wanted an upgraded camera.

The OPO would have worked perfectly but I'm not that patient.
So I looked at the top 2 rated phones which were the G3 and M8. I would gone with the M8 if its camera wasn't its greatest weakness. Conversely the camera on the G3 is one of its strengths. I've had G3 for a month now and have no regrets. If I had to replace it tomorrow it would be with the same thing.

This is an excellent comparison of the 2 phones, picking apart their differences by multiple reviewers.

[eschwartz]

Broken link^^

http://www.androidcentral.com/lg-g3-versus-htc-one-m8

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by keeska

For those of us who are newer to the OnePlus One what is the best way to get one. I've looked through their forum but didn't see much which would help people who haven't been hanging out in the forum for months.

Kees

It's easier to wait for an invitation if you don't need a phone immediately. I joined the OnePlus Forums not expecting to be invited at all, only to be surprised six weeks later.

The OPO is supposed to be widely available at some point during the third quarter of this year; we'll have to see what happens.

The M8 might have been my second choice after the OPO (though if I'm paying close to full price for a flagship, I prefer one with a removable battery). I'm not as sold on the LG G3 because of compatibility issues with external DACs I own, but in terms of its gorgeous screen, it bests the M8 and the OPO.

It's also far more expensive unlocked than the 64GB OPO (which is why I chose to be patient).

Apesmom:

I've read a few reviews in which, despite the G3's camera besting the M8's in specs and carefully maximized performance, the M8 took more usable photos on the fly. Even in the roundtable review you cited, some of the reviewers preferred shots taken by the M8.

[jersysman]

I also just got a LG G3 after wanting and waiting on the OPO. It's a great phone and I am very pleased that I made the jump.