 Chances are the smartphone in your hand or your pocket was designed by an American, Korean, or maybe even a Taiwanese company. But a handful of companies are looking to change that and make names for themselves in the West with competitive devices at bargain prices. The most well-known Chinese companies in the West have been Huawei and ZTE, but neither has been very successful in breaking into the mainstream, high-end smartphone markets in the US and Europe. But Oppo and its recent offshoot OnePlus are taking a different tack. Instead of trying to buddy up with carriers, they are selling their phones unlocked, direct to Western consumers. Oppo's new Find 7a and the OnePlus One are strikingly similar from the outside. In fact, apart from slightly different button placements, the only differences between the two phones are the software that they run and the prices that they sell for. Both phones are a nerd's dream in terms of specs. They have 5.5-inch 1080p displays, current quad-core processors, support for European and American LTE networks, 13-megapixel cameras, and clean, plastic designs with solid build quality. The $499 Find 7a runs Oppo's custom version of Android, dubbed ColorOS. Based on Android 4.3, ColorOS is a heavily modified version of the platform, similar to HTC's Sense or Samsung's TouchWiz. Virtually everything about the software has been touched by Oppo's designers and looks significantly different than what comes out of Google's software labs. Oppo's software design feels a bit heavy-handed more often than not, but it doesn't seem to affect the Find 7a's performance and it's not nearly as ugly as some of the custom interfaces that we've seen from other manufacturers. Conversely, the $299 OnePlus One is the second phone on the market to run Cyanogenmod out of the box. Cyanogenmod is a very lightly tweaked version of Google's vision for Android, and its software looks and behaves very similarly to a Nexus 5. There are a few more customization options with Cyanogenmod, and the OnePlus has a custom lock screen, but for the most part, it's a stock Android experience. But what's most impressive about the Find 7a and the OnePlus is the level of quality that they're offering at hundreds of dollars less than other, more popular smartphones. With the exception of Google's Nexus series and perhaps Motorola's Moto X, lower-cost phones have typically offered inferior screens, slower processors, lousy cameras, and cheap build quality. But that's not the case at all with these two, which have great-looking, high-resolution displays, impressive camera performance, lots of speed, and batteries that can last all day and more. And the build quality on either phone is better than even some of the most popular phones available today. There's still a few things that will likely hold the Find 7a and the OnePlus One back from really taking the market by storm. They are rather monstrous and impossible to use with one hand, and the average consumer in the US isn't likely to order a phone online, sight unseen, from a manufacturer that they've never heard of. But buying habits are changing, and as more customers in the US make it worthwhile to purchase a phone out of contract instead of taking a subsidy, Chinese manufacturers are poised to capitalize on that opportunity. After all, when there's a price difference of nearly $400 between the OnePlus One and another high-end Android phone, what would you choose?
 Chances are the smartphone in your hand or your pocket was designed by an American, Korean,
 or maybe even a Taiwanese company.
 But a handful of companies are looking to change that and make names for themselves
 in the West with competitive devices at bargain prices.
 The most well-known Chinese companies in the West have been Huawei and ZTE, but neither
 has been very successful in breaking into the mainstream, high-end smartphone markets
 in the US and Europe.
 But Oppo and its recent offshoot OnePlus are taking a different tack.
 Instead of trying to buddy up with carriers, they are selling their phones unlocked, direct
 to Western consumers.
 Oppo's new Find 7a and the OnePlus One are strikingly similar from the outside.
 In fact, apart from slightly different button placements, the only differences between the
 two phones are the software that they run and the prices that they sell for.
 Both phones are a nerd's dream in terms of specs.
 They have 5.5-inch 1080p displays, current quad-core processors, support for European
 and American LTE networks, 13-megapixel cameras, and clean, plastic designs with solid build
 quality.
 The $499 Find 7a runs Oppo's custom version of Android, dubbed ColorOS.
 Based on Android 4.3, ColorOS is a heavily modified version of the platform, similar
 to HTC's Sense or Samsung's TouchWiz.
 Virtually everything about the software has been touched by Oppo's designers and looks
 significantly different than what comes out of Google's software labs.
 Oppo's software design feels a bit heavy-handed more often than not, but it doesn't seem
 to affect the Find 7a's performance and it's not nearly as ugly as some of the custom interfaces
 that we've seen from other manufacturers.
 Conversely, the $299 OnePlus One is the second phone on the market to run Cyanogenmod out
 of the box.
 Cyanogenmod is a very lightly tweaked version of Google's vision for Android, and its software
 looks and behaves very similarly to a Nexus 5.
 There are a few more customization options with Cyanogenmod, and the OnePlus has a custom
 lock screen, but for the most part, it's a stock Android experience.
 But what's most impressive about the Find 7a and the OnePlus is the level of quality
 that they're offering at hundreds of dollars less than other, more popular smartphones.
 With the exception of Google's Nexus series and perhaps Motorola's Moto X, lower-cost
 phones have typically offered inferior screens, slower processors, lousy cameras, and cheap
 build quality.
 But that's not the case at all with these two, which have great-looking, high-resolution
 displays, impressive camera performance, lots of speed, and batteries that can last all
 day and more.
 And the build quality on either phone is better than even some of the most popular phones
 available today.
 There's still a few things that will likely hold the Find 7a and the OnePlus One back
 from really taking the market by storm.
 They are rather monstrous and impossible to use with one hand, and the average consumer
 in the US isn't likely to order a phone online, sight unseen, from a manufacturer
 that they've never heard of.
 But buying habits are changing, and as more customers in the US make it worthwhile to
 purchase a phone out of contract instead of taking a subsidy, Chinese manufacturers are
 poised to capitalize on that opportunity.
 After all, when there's a price difference of nearly $400 between the OnePlus One and
 another high-end Android phone, what would you choose?