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Oppo N1: Unboxing & first impressions of the CyanogenMod phone

oppo n1 teaser
© nextpit

Today the Oppo N1 to give you a first taste.

oppo n1 teaser
© NextPit

Unboxing

Within the usually formed flat and square Oppo box, we uncovered a USB cable, a power cord, earbuds, the obligatory quick start guide and a SIM card eject. But that's not all: Oppo donated to every buyer the small Bluetooth remote control O-Click and Easy Cover protective casing.

oppo n1 unboxing 2
Neatly packed: the Oppo N1 came with a bunch of goodies in a flat, white and elegant box.  © NextPit

Taking a look at the packaging, it quickly becomes clear that Oppo wants to give a premium feel to their customer. The white plastic box, in which the N1 and accessories is packed, is extremely stable and has silver accents. All cardboard boxes and cases in the package have a leather embossing and the silvery imprinted Oppo logo that shimmers as well. Unboxing aside, lets take a look at the Oppo N1.

oppo n1 unboxing sim slot
The ga between the front part was perfectly semetrical around the handset and the entire thing gave off a high-class sensation  / © NextPit

The unit is very well made and is on par with the HTC One or Sony Xperia Z1. On the right side, you’ll find the buttons for power and volume which have precise pressure points and do not wobble. The combination of the matte white housing and aluminum frame gives the N1 a very high-class look and feel, but at the same time also somewhat cold and sterile.

oppo n1 unboxing usb jack
The ports and speakers have been placed on the bottom side of the Oppo N1. / © NextPit

Camera

A highlight is the rear camera with dual-LED flash. It triggers with 13 megapixels and can turn over to the front and therefore be used as a front camera as well. Initial fears that the camera would wobble and not be well made vanished after briefly trying it out. The rotation mechanism could be a bit heavier though. If the N1 is on the table and one grabs the phone from the top, the camera moves as a result.

oppo n1 unboxing camera 2
The Oppo N1's camera can swivel to the font and back. / © NextPit

Display

With a size of 5.9 inches, the screen is huge for a smartphone. Colors are crisp, but not oversaturated. With a Full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels, 373 ppi), individual pixels cannot be made out with the naked eye. The IPS panel provides a stable viewing angle, no matter from which perspective, and the display is bright enough for comfortable viewing even outdoors.

oppo n1 screen 8
Sharp colors and Full HD resolution: way to stay classy Oppo! / © NextPit

Software

The Oppo N1 runs Android 4.2.2 and the manufacturer UI ColorOS. Since the N1 is also known as the CyanogenMod smartphone, the popular custom ROM should be easy to install, but this has not been tested by us yet as we got the ColorOS version. ColorOS supports various themes which can be downloaded easily from the Internet and activated via the built-in theme manager. A Jelly Bean theme is already installed alongside the default theme.

oppo n1 screen 11
The Oppo N1 comes with Oppo's UI ColorOS and Android 4.2.2. / © NextPit

Special Features

The rotating camera on the Oppo N1 is not the only peculiarity. The back has a touch-sensitive area of 12 cm square. The technology, baptized "O-Touch", ensures that you can operate the N1 comfortably without having to touch the display. In a short test, the O-Touch was quite imprecise and operation was slightly cumbersome.

oppo n1 unboxing back
O-Touch on the back-side of the N1. / © NextPit

Specifications

Display 5.9-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, 373 ppi, LCD, IPS Panel
System Android 4.2.2 with ColorOS
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 600, Quad-Core, 1.7 GHz
Memory 2 GB
Internal storage 16/32 GB
Connectivity HSPA, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0
Camera 13 MP (back and front), Dual LED
Battery 3,610 mAh
Dimensions 170.7 x 82.6 x 9 mm
Weight 213 grams
Price $599 (16 GB), $649 (32 GB) Availabe at the Oppo web store.
oppo n1 unboxing screen buttons
No software buttons: instead you get soft buttons. / © NextPit

Verdict

Our first impression of the Oppo N1 has been very positive and due to its size alone it is immediately noticeable. Whether it can make the cut for everyday life will be shown later on in our more profound hands-on test.

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  • 2
    A Winston Dec 14, 2013 Link to comment

    I keep seeing references to the camera being able to rotate & be both front & rear camera - but if I understand the manufacturer's web site, the camera is functional at all angles in between and a little bit beyond, and that is the point: it can be held at more relaxed, more convenient angles for handheld picture taking; and it can be lain on its back or front instead of leaning all wobbly against something at not quite the right angle for using the self-timer function to get yourself in a group picture or record a video.

    "Both front and back" would be a trivial gimmick that would probably cost more to make than putting in two cameras.

    Usable and useful at angles in between (and beyond) make it a real problem solver - and potentially problem-maker, as a spycam. Either way, certainly nontrivial, and much more than a gimmick.

    I've used waist-high-viewfinder cameras on and off for over fifty years, and as soon as I saw the rotating camera on the Oppo N1, I *wanted* one. Eye-level cameras were a necessary evil with SLRs - it is about time we are getting beyond them.