OnePlus One reaches 500,000 sales, aims for 500,000 more

OnePlus has had its ups and downs throughout 2014, but as we reach the end of the year, the company still has high hopes for the intriguing OnePlus One. The Android smartphone was initially available only to consumers who managed to secure an invite, but OnePlus opened sales to the public for a limited time during a special preorder promotion last week. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a mess, but it helped propel the One to over 500,000 sales. In an interview with Forbes, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei talked about his goals for the company going forward and how OnePlus is going to survive in an increasingly competitive market. OnePlus wants to sell one million units before the end of the year. Pei knows that nearly doubling sales in less than two months is “going to be hard,” but he thinks it’s possible. Looking at what OnePlus has done so far, it makes sense that Pei would remain optimistic — OnePlus has sold over half a million phones with a $300 advertising budget. HTC spent $1 billion on a single campaign and still can’t gain any traction.