OnePlus has begun sending out the first wave of normal invites to purchase their very first handset, the OnePlus One. There have been a handful of devices that have already made it to contest winners, which would be the lucky 100 that got to buy the white 16GB model of the OnePlus One for just $1. Popularity and interest for the OnePlus One was more than the company was expecting which caused them to do some shifting around of their production for the first batch of units, which is now ending up as the 64GB model first. People that have started to receive the invites in their email inboxes are getting them as part of the “it’s raining invites” campaign that OnePlus had started not too long ago, and if you got one such invite you can register the invite to claim your handset and purchase one for the normal cost of the 64GB model which is $349.99.
The invites that are being handed out contain a unique URL that you must follow to buy the phone, and you’ll also want to register a OnePlus account which they conveniently provide a link for in the email as well. Chances are though that if you had received an invite you have probably signed up for and registered a OnePlus account already so most people probably won’t need to worry about that particular step.
It’s already well known that OnePlus has met a certain amount of circumstances that have caused them to encounter shipping delays, and they have stated in a separate email they’re sending out that they can’t say for sure how many days the phones will take to ship. They also state that users can place their orders for the One now if they wish and the phones will ship as soon as they’re ready, or users can wait until they get a final email confirmation that contains the day that OnePlus will be ready to ship the handsets out to buyers. While shipping delays are something no company or consumer hopes for, OnePlus has mentioned that this is their first major batch of devices to be shipped, and they have ensured that the delays they’re being met with now do not reflect the future experience to be had by consumers.