Canadian carrier Telus has reduced the price of the Essential PH-1 smartphone to CAD 650 ($510) off contract. This is a drop of CAD 400 from the original cost. The move follows a similar development south of the border, where the PH-1 is now $499 after a $200 cut a couple of weeks ago.


Unveiled at the end of May, the startup's first and only smartphone has been available in the US and Canada since early September, a rather late arrival. Even so, 20 days later the number of units sold was estimated at just 5,000 - quite low for such a popular device.