Essential Phone is Now Available in the United States

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Delay after delay, the Essential Phone from Essential Products has had a rocky lead up to its official release date. Andy Rubin announced the device and it was immediately picked up by a number of headlines. This isn’t surprising either as the device comes from one of the people who created the Android mobile operating system. He did an interview with Walt Mossberg to show give people a hands-on look at the device and to talk about his plans with the platform.

While most think Mr. Rubin is developing a phone and then an ecosystem of products around it (Essential Home and Essential 360 Camera), that doesn’t seem to be the case. He started on this quest when he was setting up different smart home products around his house. The setup he has is beyond impressive and he learned just how difficult it was to get these devices connected and working with each other. This is is exactly why the Essential Home runs its own custom built operating system.

Mr. Rubin knows that the smartphone is the center of our connected society right now and that is why he started working on the Essential Phone. As you can see, he has big plans for this technology and this can be difficult for a small 100 person team to pull off. So it’s no secret why the Essential Phone has been delayed twice already. Some feel this release window has put it dangerously close to other popular smartphones (such as the LG V30, Galaxy Note 8, Nokia 8) and this will hurt the company when it comes to sales.

We’ll have to wait and see if that is the case but after yesterday’s email to those who pre-registered, Essential Products has finally launched the Essential Phone. Starting today, the device is available on the company’s own website, as well as Sprint and Best Buy. The unlocked version is available on Essential’s website for $700, or you can pay $50 more (for a limited time only) and get the bundle with the Essential 360 Camera.

The company also announced they have plans to release a new wireless accessory (like the Essential 360 Camera) every few months, and that they’ll also work with the Essential Home.