OnePlus One buyers can enter to win one of 33 OnePlus 10 Pro 5G phones being given away

On April 23rd, 2014, the OnePlus One was released. At the time, the OnePlus brand was unknown and since the company had no idea how much demand there would be for the device, consumers had to obtain an invitation to buy it. This was done in order to keep a balance between supply and demand. The last thing a new phone manufacturer needs to do is overbuild the quantity of phones it can sell.

Fast forward to today and the OnePlus 10 Pro, already unveiled in China at the beginning of the year, will be unveiled for the U.S., Indian, and European markets on March 31st. Globally, OnePlus has established itself as a reliable manufacturer of Android phones and is one of the few Chinese smartphones available in the states including Lenovo's Motorola, TCL, and ZTE. 

OnePlus announced that it was merging with Oppo last June and is part of BBK Electronic's stable of smartphone brands including Vivo, Oppo, and Realme. OnePlus is giving away 33 free OnePlus 10 Pro units in a contest open only to those consumers who can verify that they purchased the very first OnePlus One handset.

To enter, head to OnePlus' Power of Ten website. There, you will need to verify your purchase of the OnePlus One by posting the unique IMEI number of that device and the Order Number. You can submit your entry now through April 3rd at 11 pm EDT (8 pm PDT). The drawing will be held at 5 am EDT (2am PDT) on April 4th.

Prizes will be handed out via each winner's OnePlus account and each OnePlus One can be entered only one time. While the contest is valid only in the U.S. and Canada, it is excluded in New York, Florida, and Quebec. To enter, you must be 18 years of age and older.

The unveiling on March 31st will be live-streamed starting at 10 am EDT/7 am PDT. It can be viewed from the OnePlus YouTube channel. Click on that link now and you can set a notification to alert you when the event is about to begin.

OnePlus is allowing consumers to reserve a OnePlus 10 Pro pre-order position for $1 which will result in the receipt of some perks when the phone is released. One such perk is a pair of OnePlus Buds Pro in Matte Black or Glossy White, and "early" shipping.

The OnePlus 10 Pro features a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 1440 x 3126 resolution (a tall and thin 20:9 aspect ratio) and a 120Hz refresh rate. Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the device will be available with 8GB of memory and 128 GB/256GB of storage, or 12GB of memory with 256GB/512GB of storage.

On the back are camera sensors weighing in at 48MP (wide), 8MP (telephoto with 3.3x optical zoom), and 50MP (ultrawide). The front-facing selfie snapper uses a 32MP camera. sensor. A 5000mAh battery keeps the lights on and charges at 80W (wired) and 50W (wireless).

U.S. pricing has yet to be announced. A German consumer electronics retailer's website (called MediaMarkt.de) leaked a price for the OnePlus 10 Pro with 8GB of memory and 128 GB of storage at 900 euro (equivalent to $989).

Speaking of OnePlus, company co-founder Carl Pei, who left OnePlus to start Nothing, might be competing against his old firm when the Nothing phone (1) is unveiled this summer. The phone will be Nothing's second product after it released the Nothing ear (1) true wireless earbuds last year.

Can Pei repeat the difficult task of taking a new smartphone company and turning it into a well known brand? What do you think? It sure is hard enough to do it one time without having to repeat the feat starting again from scratch.