Oppo gets first smartphone carrier deal thanks to Optus
Fresh off the back of a retail partnership with Dick Smith, Chinese smartphone brand Oppo gets carrier support with Optus now offering the R7 on plan.
Oppo has announced its first Australian telco partnership, with Optus set to offer the Oppo R7 smartphone on plan, starting from today.
The Chinese-based Oppo launched into the Australian market in September of 2014, beginning with four different phone models. Initially, the products were only available via the company's own e-commerce site, but a recent deal with electronics retailer Dick Smith saw the Oppo range available in 400 Dick Smith stores around Australia from July 14.
The Dick Smith deal has also resulted into a number of Oppo 'experience zones' being deployed in retail stores, allowing customers to trial the R7.
The Oppo R7 features a 5-inch Full HD screen, has an aluminium alloy unibody frame and a Qualcomm octa-core processor running at 1.5 GHz. A 2,320 mAh battery, a 13-megapixel rear camera and 3GB of memory round out the specs. The R7 also features Oppo's VOOC Flash charging technology: The phone can get to a 75 percent charge in 30 minutes and as little as five minutes charging can power a "2-hour phone call," according to the company.
According to Oppo, Optus will offer the R7 on a AU$40 a month plan with no handset repayments. The plans will feature unlimited calls and text and 500MB of data. The total minimum cost over 24 months is AU$960. The phone is also available for purchase outright from both Oppo and Dick Smith for AU$449.
An Optus spokesperson later clarified that the R7 was available from August 3 in-store but would not be offered online until August 4.
Updated 3.10 p.m. AEST: Added comment and clarification from Optus.