OnePlus: Expanding Availability and Product Lines

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OnePlus didn’t announce any new products at MWC but they were there hoping to make a splash with their own form of marketing. We know of the many issues their marketing team have had in the past but it seems that they are attempting to make waves without any new products, just yet.

Via their forums/blog OnePlus have announced availability to the entire continent of Europe. This is a big step in the right direction for the fledgling company but is it too little too late. When they first announced the OnePlus One it released it for 10 countries only. This expanded a bit over the last 9 months but with the phone now aging against a refreshed competition is it worth them expanding this late in it’s lifecycle.

The OnePlus Two, although still vapourware and lacking any real rumours unlike last year’s offering, is very much a real thing and we would expect it to release in the next few months. Hopefully by the time they release the OnePlus Two they will think about their southern neighbours and sell to Australians directly, without having to go through the hassle of using a US mail forwarding company. I don’t expect the OnePlus One to come to Australia at this late date as I’m sure those who really want it would already have it.

OnePlus at MWC did give a hint that they were soon going to be entering a new product category and it is not a tablet nor a smartwatch. What this is is pure speculation but surely they wouldn’t leave everyone hanging for just a basic accessory such as speakers. Could it be a fitness band? Every man and his dog seems to be releasing these at the moment so why not OnePlus. How about an Android TV set-top box? There aren’t many of these around and with Nvidia hitting the market soon with a box focussed on gaming there is a place for a lower priced TV/Internet device focussing on that, with a minor in gaming. Sure there is the Nexus Player but that falls short for many out there through it’s lack of SD card slot, ethernet port and the miserable amount of storage onboard. OnePlus will be making an official announcement in the coming month so stay tuned to Ausdroid for more.

Even without a product to announce at MWC the social media team were kept busy trolling the heavy hitters, HTC and Samsung. Before the Samsung Galaxy S6 announcement OnePlus released their version of the Samsung “Six Appeal” marketing. OnePlus decided to leave all subtleties and plays on words aside and be direct:

This is Sex Appeal #SilkWhite #OnePlusOne #UNPACKED pic.twitter.com/qFuzQYd4WN

— OnePlus (@oneplus) March 1, 2015

Not content with that OnePlus made a strange comment on HTC’s 2015 flagship offering. It seems that it is OnePlus having a dig at HTC offering an extremely similar phone to the HTC One M8, with a small iteration this year and very little innovation.

The devil is in the details. Small thoughtful changes lead to a much better product. High five HTC! #NeverSettle pic.twitter.com/r3iQ0VcnUl

— OnePlus (@oneplus) March 2, 2015

This is reminiscent of the marketing campaign OnePlus ran before last years OnePlus One announcement, pointing out areas where they thought their phone was better than the flagships of other manufacturers. Hopefully they can back it up this year through not only making the device they promise but also by having stock available for fans to buy in a reasonable timeframe.

Does anyone still want a OnePlus One if you don’t already have one? Are you looking forward to the OnePlus Two? What do you think their new product line will be?