There’s no doubt that OnePlus has managed to gather a significant amount of press over the launch of its ‘difficult second album’ in the form of the OnePlus 2. The specifications are as high as expected, and the price is also lower than the competition, thanks to a business model built around razor-thin margins. There’s certainly an appetite for the handset, with OnePlus recently reporting over a million consumers have requested an invite to join the queue to buy the smartphone.
But has co-founder Carl Pei damaged the chances of the OnePlus 2 by highlighting a third OnePlus handset that will be available by the end of the year?
It is hard to escape the conclusion that Pei has ‘Osborned‘ the OnePlus 2 with the early announcement of the next handset. The Osborne 1 home computer was released in 1981, but sales crashed in 1983 when founder Adam Osborne announced that the Osborne Executive and the Osborne Vixen were far more powerful computers. So retailers and customers cancelled their orders for the Osborne 1. With the Executive and Vixen nowhere near ready to go to market, Osborne declared bankruptcy later that year on the strength of the collapsed sales.
Arguably Sega’s eagerness to push the Sega Dreamcast depressed sales of the Sega Saturn, and Nokia’s announcement of a move to Windows Phone saw Symbian sales fall away in the ten months before the first Microsoft-powered handset was available in limited numbers.
There’s no doubt that promoting a third handset through a USA Today interview when all the efforts should be on the second handset fits the definition. OnePlus is in a slightly different situation that could see the company avoid the full force of the Osborne Effect.
The company has gathered significant interest from those looking to buy a new smartphone, and the press generated by this statement is building up the brand-name of OnePlus across the world. For a small Shenzhen-based manufacturer who’s last handset sold around 1.5 million units, that’s an impressive piece of social media jujitsu.
Given the just-in-time manufacturing process, if the Osborne effect were to hit, OnePlus would not be left with warehouses full of unsold stock tying up financial resources waiting to be sold.
There’s also the fact that details on the third handset were revealed in April, and OnePlus spoke of a ‘low-end model’ that would target a different sector of the smartphone market. Anyone who does wait for the announcement and sees a weaker model will either be happy to have waited and go ahead with the purchase, or move back into the queue for a OnePlus 2.
The hardcore fans of OnePlus will be paying close attention to all of these details, will be aware that there will be more handsets this year, that the third handset is pitched towards the lower end of the market, and that competition for invites to buy the OnePlus 2 is high.
I asked the OnePlus team this morning if they had any concerns. ”We are really excited about the OnePlus 2,” a spokesperson told me. “We currently have over 2,200,000 people registered on our reservation list, and the number keeps growing.”
Is the third OnePlus model exhibiting the Osborne Effect? In the classic sense, yes it is, but OnePlus’ business model guarantees them more buyers than handsets. Even if a portion of potential OnePlus 2 buyers decide to cancel an order to wait for number three, the effect on OnePlus will likely be minimal, and the increased publicity around the company should offset any orders being switched to the third handset.
But has co-founder Carl Pei damaged the chances of the OnePlus 2 by highlighting a third OnePlus handset that will be available by the end of the year?
It is hard to escape the conclusion that Pei has ‘Osborned‘ the OnePlus 2 with the early announcement of the next handset. The Osborne 1 home computer was released in 1981, but sales crashed in 1983 when founder Adam Osborne announced that the Osborne Executive and the Osborne Vixen were far more powerful computers. So retailers and customers cancelled their orders for the Osborne 1. With the Executive and Vixen nowhere near ready to go to market, Osborne declared bankruptcy later that year on the strength of the collapsed sales.
Arguably Sega’s eagerness to push the Sega Dreamcast depressed sales of the Sega Saturn, and Nokia’s announcement of a move to Windows Phone saw Symbian sales fall away in the ten months before the first Microsoft-powered handset was available in limited numbers.
There’s no doubt that promoting a third handset through a USA Today interview when all the efforts should be on the second handset fits the definition. OnePlus is in a slightly different situation that could see the company avoid the full force of the Osborne Effect.
The company has gathered significant interest from those looking to buy a new smartphone, and the press generated by this statement is building up the brand-name of OnePlus across the world. For a small Shenzhen-based manufacturer who’s last handset sold around 1.5 million units, that’s an impressive piece of social media jujitsu.
Given the just-in-time manufacturing process, if the Osborne effect were to hit, OnePlus would not be left with warehouses full of unsold stock tying up financial resources waiting to be sold.
There’s also the fact that details on the third handset were revealed in April, and OnePlus spoke of a ‘low-end model’ that would target a different sector of the smartphone market. Anyone who does wait for the announcement and sees a weaker model will either be happy to have waited and go ahead with the purchase, or move back into the queue for a OnePlus 2.
The hardcore fans of OnePlus will be paying close attention to all of these details, will be aware that there will be more handsets this year, that the third handset is pitched towards the lower end of the market, and that competition for invites to buy the OnePlus 2 is high.
I asked the OnePlus team this morning if they had any concerns. ”We are really excited about the OnePlus 2,” a spokesperson told me. “We currently have over 2,200,000 people registered on our reservation list, and the number keeps growing.”
Is the third OnePlus model exhibiting the Osborne Effect? In the classic sense, yes it is, but OnePlus’ business model guarantees them more buyers than handsets. Even if a portion of potential OnePlus 2 buyers decide to cancel an order to wait for number three, the effect on OnePlus will likely be minimal, and the increased publicity around the company should offset any orders being switched to the third handset.
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