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>This always feels like a warning sign to me, indicative of a low emphasis on R&D. Why is that necessarily a bad thing? Vizio, for example, has great success a

>This always feels like a warning sign to me, indicative of a low emphasis on R&D. Why is that necessarily a bad thing? Vizio, for example, has great success at selling LCD TVs, because it relies on Samsung and Sony to pave the way with R&D, and then it imitates their innovations a few years later and comes out with a lower priced product that's just as good. One+One can be the Vizio of smartphones - delivering current-gen features at low prices, and waiting for Samsung/Motorola/HTC/whoever else to pave the way (and earn profits for a few years) before coming out with a generic version that sells for much less. Currently, the market is split between high-end very expensive devices (Galaxy S, iPhone, HTC One) which incorporate new features with every iteration, and crappy underpowered handsets which, frankly, suck. I think there's definitely room for a handset that doesn't necessarily innovate, but delivers a solid current (or even previous) generation user experience at a low price.

webvictim 13y ago
What about the Google Nexus line? They're neither very expensive devices nor crappy and underpowered. The entire Nexus line has proven that there's a demand for decent hardware at a non top-end price out there. It's especially important when it comes to being "allowed" to flash whatever ROM you like or unlock your bootloader, plus the pure AOSP experience means that updates aren't delayed by vendors or carriers. For sure, Samsung are providing top-end Android devices, but the Nexus 5 is competitive with all the Galaxy S type handsets currently out there, plus the iPhone 5/5S too, and at a fraction of the price.
- quanticle 13y ago
  I agree that the Nexus line serves this niche. However, I do think there's still space for one more entrant in this market. Plus, the fact that Google is increasingly closing off bits and pieces of core Android behind Google Play services means that there's a sub-niche out there for a phone that's truly open. I'm not sure if it'll be enough to carry this device to profitability, but I'm certainly hoping that it will be. I was planning on upgrading my Nexus 4 to a Nexus 5 this year, but after looking at the specs and software on the OnePlus One, I'm probably going to hold out for one of these. The site says they're supposed to come out in Q2, so I shouldn't even have to hold out that long.

webvictim 13y ago

What about the Google Nexus line? They're neither very expensive devices nor crappy and underpowered. The entire Nexus line has proven that there's a demand for decent hardware at a non top-end price out there. It's especially important when it comes to being "allowed" to flash whatever ROM you like or unlock your bootloader, plus the pure AOSP experience means that updates aren't delayed by vendors or carriers. For sure, Samsung are providing top-end Android devices, but the Nexus 5 is competitive with all the Galaxy S type handsets currently out there, plus the iPhone 5/5S too, and at a fraction of the price.

quanticle 13y ago
I agree that the Nexus line serves this niche. However, I do think there's still space for one more entrant in this market. Plus, the fact that Google is increasingly closing off bits and pieces of core Android behind Google Play services means that there's a sub-niche out there for a phone that's truly open. I'm not sure if it'll be enough to carry this device to profitability, but I'm certainly hoping that it will be. I was planning on upgrading my Nexus 4 to a Nexus 5 this year, but after looking at the specs and software on the OnePlus One, I'm probably going to hold out for one of these. The site says they're supposed to come out in Q2, so I shouldn't even have to hold out that long.