A match made in the cloud

The Oppo N1 wasn't designed or built solely for CyanogenMod (buyers can opt for it with Oppo's own Color OS, yet another variation on Android), but its quirky design and unique features are oddly appropriate for the first device to offer the software.

The N1 is a well-made and attractive phone that could sit next to any high-end Android device today

It’s a big phone — in the same class of "phablet" devices as the HTC One max, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and Sony Z Ultra. It's also really heavy: at over 7.5 ounces, it weighs more than virtually all other modern smartphones. The N1 is not a device I can comfortably use in one hand. But it's well-built, and feels more premium than many other Chinese phones I’ve used in the past.

The 5.9-inch display is the same size and 1080p resolution as the screen on the One max, but it's not nearly as nice. It's bright, but lacks contrast and is pretty washed out. The display gets the job done, but can't hold a candle to the best screens on the market. For a phone that’s nearly $600, the display is really disappointing.

The N1 is plastic, but it's a high-quality plastic similar to that of Nokia's devices and some HTC smartphones. It's not glossy or slippery like Samsung devices, and though my review unit has a matte white finish, it doesn't pick up dirt and scuffs. An aluminum frame goes around the phone, which gives it an upscale look. Apart from the gargantuan size, the N1 is an attractive phone that could easily sit on a shelf next to any device from more established makers.

It does have its oddities, though, starting with the swiveling camera housing above the display. The phone doesn't have a front-facing camera, instead using the main 13-megapixel imager for both front and rear duties. (13-megapixel selfies are now a reality.) The swiveling housing works at any angle, enabling some unique perspectives with the camera. It also has two LED flashes (one low-power, one high-power), but it doesn't do the same dual-LED photo tricks as the iPhone 5S.

Unfortunately, the pictures from the camera aren't anything to write home about. Images are noisy and soft indoors, and pretty washed out and bland outdoors. The N1 also lacks optical image stabilization for better low-light photos, something that many of its peers now offer. I was also unable to use the camera for video calling in Google Hangouts, which really strange and disappointing. (Video calls in Skype work, but they are no better with the N1’s camera than with any other smartphone that supports Skype.)

The second odd hardware feature on the N1 is the touch-sensitive panel on the back of the phone. It's a roughly 2-inch rectangle that falls under your index finger when you hold the phone in your hand. It can be used for scrolling in apps or the home screens, to launch the camera, or to take pictures via double-tap once the camera is open. Like the swiveling camera, the touchpad doesn't really do much to add to the N1 experience, unfortunately. Scrolling with it is jerky and unpredictable, and its camera-launching feature meant the camera app opened every time I held the phone for a few seconds. Needless to say, I turned off the touchpad and for the most part, forgot about it.

Finally, there's O Click key fob, a circular Bluetooth device about the size of a quarter that acts as a phone locator and remote camera shutter. The O Click will alert you with an audible beep if you walk too far away from your phone, acting as a reminder not to leave your phone behind. But its range is quite limited — the alert would beep when I would hang my keys by my front door and walk with the phone to another part of my small house. It turned into more of a nuisance than a convenience, though I will admit that the remote shutter button is a neat trick.

Inside, the N1 has everything one might expect to find in a modern Android smartphone. My review unit has a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and 2GB of RAM, though Oppo also offers the phone with the newer Snapdragon 600 chip. I didn't notice any performance issues playing games or in normal use, and the N1 was just as fast as the HTC One and other Snapdragon 600 devices in my experience.

Lack of LTE is a big knock against the N1

The N1 has a massive 3,610mAh battery and no LTE, which means that it easily lasts for multiple days between charges. It really sucks that it doesn’t have LTE at all — support for high-speed cellular networks is table stakes for any high-end smartphone at this point, especially one aiming for the particular demographic of the N1. (The N1 is compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, but doesn't support LTE on either carrier or anywhere else in the world.)

As a phone, the N1 offers a lot of unique hardware features in one package, but I don’t think they add any real value or improve the user experience in a meaningful way. Frankly, the N1 would be another forgettable phone if it didn’t come with CyanogenMod as an option, and despite Oppo’s best efforts, it’s not significantly different or better than the other massive devices flooding the market. And its lack of LTE makes it really hard for it to stand up next to the best smartphones from HTC, Samsung, and LG. That’s not to say it’s bad, it’s just not stand-out great. Your money is better spent elsewhere.