Like some movies, there are products that sometimes get talked about more than they’re sold (and vice versa). Smartisan’s T1 may not have landed in every Chinese household, but the phone certainly made waves with its thoughtful OS design and a fresh new look.
But the T1 was a little too expensive in the age of ‘mid-range flagships’. Smartisan seem smart enough to have realized that, and have put together the new U1, which costs a mere US$140 and also gives the colour-hungry a much needed kick.
Considering that the T1 was kind of expensive for what it brought on the table, the U1 is actually a very decently priced product. For starters, it comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display (it hasn’t been too long since the Ecoo E01 Focus was the cheapest full HD phone at US$150), a Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, a 2900mAh battery, a 13 mega-pixel rear camera, a 5 mega-pixel front facing camera and either 16 or 32GB of storage.
As was the case with the T1, the U1 comes with up/down buttons on both sides of the phone. Which is a great idea, because as Engadget notes, right- and left-handers can switch between using the buttons for brightness and volume control. There’ll be seven different rear cover options to choose from (besides limited edition specials on occasions). The software on the phone will also allow you to colour coordinate the phone’s rear and its theme.
If you’re in China, you’ll be able to shell out 899 Yuan/US$140 for the 16GB version or 999 Yuan (US$160) for the 32GB version of the Smartisan U1 starting 1st September.