OnePlus has done an admirable job at getting people talking about its inaugural One handset, and between the CyanogenMod software, very capable-looking hardware, and incredibly affordable price tag, it’s an easy phone to be tempted to purchase. The biggest problem, really, has been getting your hands on one, and we’ve covered the details behind the OnePlus One invite system at some length. But what if you could just buy the phone outright, no invitations to worry about? Tempting, no? You might be seeing stories going around today about a Chinese site that’s selling the phone without the need for invites, but before you purchase, you might want to think twice.
A site called OppoMart is advertising the One for about $400 (16GB version) – and despite the name, this isn’t Oppo, but a third party company. That price is $100 more than OnePlus lists the phone for, and this isn’t even the CyanogenMod version of the phone, but one running Oppo’s Color OS – users would have to upgrade their phones to CyanogenMod themselves. Still, if you want the phone now, it’s better than nothing, and even with that $100 premium, it’s still pretty cheap, right?
Not so fast. OnePlus warns that phones destined for the Chinese market don’t have warranties that are valid internationally, leaving you on your own. There’s also the issue of limited LTE band support with this version, and incompatibility between radios designed for Chinese networks and those used in the rest of the world.
Basically, you’re taking on a lot of unnecessary risk, as well as added expense, without the guarantee that you’ll end up with an experience that’s on par with a direct-from-OnePlus purchase. In the end the choice is up to you, but this sounds like one time when waiting might be the best option.
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