Say Hello To The Smartisan T1

2014 has been the year of the “China Phone”, with companies like Oppo, Huawei, OnePlus and Xiaomi captivating the minds and hearts of consumers worldwide with their no nonsense products and amazing pricepoints, blowing their competition out of the water in terms of value. There has been no shortage of drama surrounding some of the manufacturers but all things said and done, we can only look forward to much more from the middle kingdom. Smartisan started off with their Android UI and finally, it has a phone for it to live on. The T1 was revealed to the masses and it resembles a cross between an iPhone and a Z1/2. The Smartisan T1 is a fitting home for the Smartisan UI and the guys over at Engadget have a rather comprehensive look at the device and we definitely like what we see. From the design to the packaging, it displays a very elegant minimalism to the entire package. While I’m not a fan of physical buttons on the front of a phone, the T1 does look pretty good, being a fan of the Z1 and Z2, that was definitely no surprise. The Phone won’t be coming out worldwide anytime soon as it’s slated for a China launch in July, but at its price point US$480 for 3G and US$560 for 4G and the state of the market with China Phones, there is potential there for the T1. Hopefully this is the start of something beautiful and another player in a relatively young segment of the market.