The only time you’d feel good about having grass on your phone!
Aside from the cover, the package comes with a disassembly tool (guitar pick), a bamboo-themed SIM tray and an instruction manual. Unfortunately for me, the installation wasn’t as easy as following the instruction manual or imitating the YouTube videos due to the fact that the cover was far too firmly locked in at the edges and had to be eventually pried off with fingernails as the guitar pick wouldn’t even fit in the gap. Still, it wasn’t a matter of great concern for what I assume to be a one-time process.
For what it’s worth, my somewhat imprecise scale tips the phone at 179g after installation and the older Sandstone cover at 17g. The numbers don’t add up when compared to the official figures and I wish I could weigh the Bamboo cover separately to confirm it. However, I had done the installation away from home and there is no way I am going to attempt to take it off again to weigh it. Having said that, the phone doesn’t feel heftier if you are already used to the weight.
The cover itself has a real good finish at the back and feels good to touch. The sides of the cover and the SIM tray are made of plastic and don’t seem as much aesthetically pleasing. I am personally glad to get rid of all the additional logos (especially since I seldom use Cyanogen) and prefer the clean look with only the 1+ logo. NFC works fine, but the cover itself is much thicker which is evident by the fact that the camera housing now sits inside the cover instead of protruding out of it as in the original cover. One might say the original Sandstone back had a far better grip, but based on my personal experience, it wore down far too quickly and after 3 months or so, it had none of its original roughness and essentially became a scratch magnet. So, much remains to be seen on how OnePlus’ assurances of damp-proof and scratch resistance hold up.
The price of Rs. 1499 seems a fair one when compared to the normal US pricing of $50, but is still a bit high in the Indian context of accessory pricing. The box bears a MRP of Rs.1799, so perhaps it will only go up in the future. On the whole, it is a really good replacement for the original cover and worth the price for those who want to differentiate their OPO while feeling practical doing it.
Originally published on Amazon on 1st June 2015.
