OnePlus eyes India foray through an e-commerce partner

NEW DELHI: Chinese handset maker OnePlus is set to officially enter India this December through an e-commerce partner, a route that has been successfully employed by mobile phone manufacturers such as Motorola and Xiaomi to sell their devices in the country.

“India is a super hot market with rapid data growth and this is the right time to enter the market. We are talking to all three leading e-commerce players in India to start our operations,” Carl Pei, director of OnePlus Global told ET over a Skype call. “We hope to finalise our partner this week.”

Analysts say the company, founded by executives of another handset maker Oppo in late 2013, has made rapid strides with its only smartphone, the OnePlus One, which features high-end internal components available for smartphones today at almost half the prices of flagship smartphones such as HTC M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5.

The company, which is readying for its second round of funding, is estimated to be selling more than a million devices a month globally. After reaching 17 countries with its only device, it is now aiming to gain a foothold in India, among the world’s fastest-growing markets, and Malaysia.

Pei said that the company will follow the pre-order system followed by online sales in India. The strategy mirrors the one being used by Xiaomi while it differs from the one employed by the company in other markets, where it sells the handset only through the invitation system.

The company’s smartphone runs on the popular customised Android-based CyanogenMod platform. However, like Xiaomi, OnePlus has also set up its software team to develop its own customised operating system or OS. OnePlus also has its own forum where it engages with consumers for feedback on its device.

Pei said that the company will introduce the 64 GB variant of the OnePlus One smartphone in India, followed by a 16 GB variant. He added that the devices will be priced at about Rs 20,000 although the actual price is yet to be fixed.

Xiaomi is also expected to launch its flagship Mi4 smartphone, which has similar hardware but features a smaller 5-inch display, at about Rs 20,000.

OnePlus One will, therefore, compete head-on with Xiaomi’s Mi4, besides other rivals in the most fiercely competitive Rs 15,000-25,000 segment such as Micromax, Motorola, Samsung, Karbonn and Nokia.

OnePlus One smartphone is already available unofficially in the country on eBay India, priced between Rs 32,000 and Rs 37,000. OnePlus One was announced in April, with a starting price of $299 for the 16GB model and $349 for 64 GB model.

The company is in the process of building a team of five to 10 people for India and has finalised a general manager for the country’s operations. “We are selling our device in 17 countries without any support, but India will be the first country to have a dedicated team outside China,” Pei said.

The OnePlus One smartphone has a 5.5 inch 1080p display and is powered by a 2.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, coupled with 3 GB RAM. The device comes with a 13 megapixel rear camera and 5 megapixel front-facing camera, and is equipped with 3,100 mAh battery.

The smartphone will support Indian 4G LTE networks that currently use the 2300 MHz band. Pei said that the company is in final discussions with Indian 4G service providers for bundling of the device.

During the interaction, Pei also revealed that the company is considering a Windows Phone smartphone. “We have had discussions with Microsoft over a Windows Phone smartphone. We are still looking into it,” he said.

OnePlus also has plans to launch a successor of OnePlus One, the OnePlus 2, in 2015 along with a range of smart accessories.