Late last week, Chinese smartphone vendor OnePlus announced the availability of a limited edition zirconia ceramic version of its latest smartphone, the mid-ranger called OnePlus X. While the version was already announced at the official unveiling of the phone earlier, it wasn’t available for purchase thus far. Now however, it will be up for grabs (through the invite system of course), as per the official announcement last week. Now, through another post on its blog, OnePlus has announced a new initiative surrounding its latest release. This time around, the company says that five units of its newly-announced zirconia ceramic OnePlus X will be auctioned off for charity on eBay. The proceeds will go to a non-profit organization called “charity: water” – an NGO that looks to provide clean and safe drinking water to people without access to it.
Speaking about the organization’s tie-up with OnePlus to raise awareness and money for its cause, the founder of ‘charity: water’, Mr. Scott Harrison, said, “It’s great to see companies like OnePlus not only focus on building a premier product for their customers, but also make giving a part of their model. We’re really excited to join forces with them to bring clean water to people in need around the world”. As for the organization itself, ‘charity: water’ is a non-profit, charitable organization “working to bring clean and safe water to more than 663 million people (that’s 1 in every 11 people in the world) without access to something that many of us take for granted every day. They focus on solutions that help people right here and right now: wells, filters, rainwater catchments, health education and more”.
Coming to the auction process, OnePlus says it will operate like any other eBay auction. Bids will start at $0.99 for each of the five units, and interested buyers will have to log-in to their accounts and place their bids. The auction started earlier on Tuesday, and will carry on till next Saturday. So basically, there are still over four days remaining. The highest bid at press time is for $630, which will no doubt, go higher as more people join in for a good cause. OnePlus also says that winning bidders will receive not just the device they bid on, but also a “physical OnePlus X ceramic invite to share”. The company also revealed that the highest bidder overall will win “a very special surprise”, without elaborating any further on what that ‘special surprise’ might entail.