buygoogle.com: May 2015

mi 5, mi 5 launch, Mi 5 Plus, xiaomi phone launch

Xiaomi is Launching two phones Mi 5 and Mi 5 Plus in November-15 !!

03:32 MiuiOS.in 0 Comments

mi 4 windows rom, windows 10 rom for mi 4, windows xiaomi rom, xiaomi windows phone

Xiaomi Mi4 Windows 10 ROM available from June First Week

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mi in USA, mi usa launch date, usa launch date

MI USA online Store open from 1st Jun 2015

02:07 MiuiOS.in 0 Comments

000mAh Mi power bank, 000mAh power bank, 16, 5, Mi power bank, xiaomi power bank

Xiaomi has launched two new power banks, the 16,000mAh and 5,000mAh Mi power banks for the Indian market.

02:03 MiuiOS.in 0 Comments

Hugo Barra, mi in USA, mi phones in USA, xiaomi usa

Xiaomi haven’t picked a date yet for Launich Xiaomi Smartphones in USA :Hugo Barra

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ecomerce, mi in Europe, mi in USA, mi.com

Xiaomi Is trying to divert all Global fan to buy product from mi.com

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mi 5 launch, mi 5 launch date, xiaomi mi 5

XIAOMI is Laughing next Flagship MI 5 In Nov-15

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redmi 2, Redmi 2 dark grey, snapdeal

Redmi 2 dark grey variant to go on sale on May 25 via Snapdeal , registrations now open

05:22 MiuiOS.in 0 Comments

Xiaomi is all set to conduct flash sale for the Redmi 2 dark grey color variant on May 25, Monday. The sale will take place at 12 noon on Snapdeal. The company will make available only the dark grey variant of the Redmi 2 in the sale. The registration for the sale is now open.

Xiaomi has not yet revealed the total number units of Redmi 2 dark grey variant it will put on sale. It has followed the flash sale model and hence registrations for May 25 sale is a must. The sale will only be conducted on May 25. This time Xiaomi choose Snapdeal over Flipkart to sell the Redmi 2 dark grey variant. Customers can also buy the white color variant of Redmi 2 which is already available without any flash sale model on Snapdeal, Flipkart and Amazon.

Another thing worth noticing is that customers tend to have enough choices as theXiaomi Mi 4i and Lenovo A6000 Plus are also going on an open sale on May 25 and May 26. Registration for these sales is not required.

Also Read: Xiaomi Redmi 2 Review

As far as the specifications are concerned, the Redmi 2 brings in quite a few improvements over its predecessor. It flaunts a 4.7-inch HD (1280×720 pixels) IPS laminated display with a pixel density of 312ppi and protected by Asahi Dragontrail. Under the hood is a 64-bit 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor paired with Adreno 306 GPU.

Also included is 1GB of RAM, and 8GB internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 32GB using a microSD card. On the photography front, it features an 8-megapixel rear camera with BSI sensor, f/2.2 aperture and 28mm wide-angle lens, supplemented with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The smartphone also features a 2,200mAh battery, which is not only 10 percent bigger than its predecessor, but thanks to QuickCharge 1.0, charges 20 percent faster as well.

Connectivity options include dual-SIM card slots with supporting LTE (TDD-LTE Band 40 2300MHz and FDD-LTE Band 3 1800MHz), Wi-Fi, USB OTG, Bluetooth. On the software front, it runs on MIUI 6 out-of-the-box.

source: bgr.in

Meizu M1 Note vs Xiaomi Mi 4i

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Following Xiaomi's India exclusive smartphone Mi 4i, another Chinese smartphone maker Meizu debuted in India with its budget phablet M1 Note. Though the two smartphones differ in size, they share several identical specifications. Curiously, there is not much difference in their prices.

Xiaomi launched the Mi 4i for ₹12,999, while Meizu's M1 Note is ₹1,000 cheaper at ₹11,999.

Confused? Don't worry. To make things easy for you, we bring you comparison based on specifications of both the phones. Here you go.

Build Quality

Xiaomi and Meizu have given a unibody design to the Mi 4i and the M1 Note respectively. Measuring 150.7x75.2x8.9mm, the M1 Note is 1.1mm thicker and weighs 15g more than the Mi 4i. But that is because M1 Note features a bigger display than Mi 4i.

Both Mi 4i and M1 Note feature a compact body. While the M1 Note features a curved bezel, the Mi 4i sports a little square-shaped design. We have been using the Mi 4i for the past few weeks and have found the device is quite ergonomic and easy to operate with one hand.

Display

The M1 Note boasts of a 5.5-inch, 1080x1920, 403ppi display, while the Mi 4i sports a 5-inch display with similar resolution but higher PPI count (441 PPI). As the PPI count differs according to screen size, you can ignore this parameter.

Processor & RAM

M1 Note is powered by an octa-core MediaTek MT7752m chipset, while the Mi 4i packs a Snapdragon 615 SoC. The SoC featured in M1 Note has also been featured in Lenovo A7000, which is why the device scored much higher in comparison.

Both the device pack 2GB RAM memory. In our test, the Mi 4i achieved 688 single-core and 2401 multi-core in GeekBench and 23151 in Quadrant. A Mobile Geek review of M1 Note shows the M1 Note scored 808 and 3973 in GeekBench and 14988 in Quadrant.

Software

While the Xiaomi Mi 4i runs on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, the Meizu M1 Note still runs on the dated Android KitKat 4.4.4.

Camera

Both the devices pack similar 13MP rear and 5MP front camera. Interestingly, they feature Samsung made cameras on the rear so they are expected to deliver similar quality pictures too. During our review of the Mi 4i, we found both the cameras were quite impressive, so we expect the M1 Note cameras also won't disappoint users.

Battery & Storage

Both the devices pack 16GB storage and sacrifice the Micro SD card slot. The Mi 4i occupies around 4GB of the storage space, leaving 12GB for the user. We expect M1 Note to offer similar amount of free storage space.

The M1 Note packs a 3140mAh battery, while the Mi 4i is powered by a 3,120mAh battery. Both the devices last for a full day for a full charge.

Our Take

Though both the devices match each other in several departments, it's pretty clear that if you're looking for a bigger device, M1 Note should be your choice and if you're looking for a compact one, Mi 4i is suggested. The M1 Note is actually a better buy than Mi 4i for two other reasons - better performance and lower price.

Specs	Meizu M1 Note	Xiaomi Mi 4i
Dimension	150.7x75.2x8.9 mm	138.1x69.6x7.8 mm
Weight	145g	130g
Battery	3140mAh	3120mAh
Processor	MTK MT6752 processorARM Cortex-A53 1.7GHz x 8Mali T760 MP2/700MHz GPU2GB LPDDR3 RAM 4-channel ISP chip	Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615Quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.1 GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 405 GPU
Display	5.50-inch	5-inch
Front Camera	5 megapixels OV5670 camera4-element lensƒ/2.069° wide angle lens FotoNation smart selfie enhancement Face AE light boost technology	5MPf/2.0
Rear Camera	13 megapixels Samsung camera4x digital zoom, 300° panoramic lensBlue glass IR filterCorning® Gorilla® Glass 3 5-element lens, ƒ/2.2 30 photos per second	13MP Samsung Camera128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flashGeo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR
Display	Dimensions: 5.5-inch Sharp/AUOResolution: 1920 x 1080Brightness: 450cd/m2, 2,048 adjustable brightness levelsMaterial: Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Display technology: IGZO (Sharp) Manufacturing technology: GFF full lamination	Dimensions: 5-inchResolution: 1920 x 1080Material: Corning Gorilla Glass 3Display technology: OGS Manufacturing technology: Full lamination
RAM	2GB	2GB
Storage	16GB	16GB
OS	Android 4.4.4	Android 5.0.2
Network	FDD-LTE / WCDMA / GSM	GSM/HSPA/LTE

leadcore technology, Leadcore Vs Snapdragon, xiaomi leadcore tie up

With Leadcore tie-up , Xiaomi is inching toward patent self-sufficiency !!

04:51 MiuiOS.in 0 Comments

The rollout of Xiaomi’s Redmi 2A last month may have marked the beginning of a new era for the company. The low-cost smartphone was the first to feature a chipset from Chinese fabless chipmaker Leadcore rather than usual vendors Qualcomm and Mediatek. The much-speculated upon partnership illustrates the convergence of interests between a central government keen to encourage home-grown technology and Chinese companies seeking greater IP protection.

This blog first covered the linkup between the two companies back in November, when Leadcore was reported to have transferred 4G technology to Beijing Songguo Electronics (of which Xiaomi is part-owner) in a deal worth RMB103 million (US$16.8 million). It was also rumoured in some corners that the fast-growing smartphone company would take a 51% stake in the chipmaker. Speaking this week to EE Times, Leadcore vice president Marshal Cheng dismissed the notion: “It’s not possible. One third of our parent group — Datang Telecom Technology and Industry Group — is still state-owned.”

But whether or not there is an ownership relationship, the two are working together very closely. Cheng said his company is collaborating with Xiaomi at “all three different levels — product, technology and patent”. He said Lei Jun’s company is eager to design its own processors, like rivals including Huawei do, in order to differentiate its products from those of the many smaller companies which use Qualcomm and Mediatek chips, as well as to have greater control over its own supply chain and product cycles.

Working with the partially state-owned enterprise also gives Xiaomi access to a trove of government-developed intellectual property. Datang is descended from the China Academy of Telecommunication Technology (CATT), which has had a hand in creating important communications standards in China including TD-SCDMA 3G. Cheng acknowledges that these and other standards patents are an important driver in the relationship: “The modem technology that’s ready in silicon and patent portfolio created by CATT including LTE and LTE-A make us very attractive to Xiaomi.”

These IP goals dovetail nicely with those of Datang and Chinese authorities. Leadcore clearly stands to gain if it can get its systems into products as hot as Xiaomi devices. And as for the central government, its desire to ramp up China's semiconductor industry is no secret. This is partly attributable to the fear that foreign-manufactured chips could have back doors allowing surveillance, but just as important is the wish to help domestic industry save on production costs. It is no surprise then, that Xiaomi phones will not be the only ones to feature Leadcore chips. Cheng doesn’t say which other brands might be involved, but we can assume they will be smaller Chinese manufacturers targeting the lower end of the market.

Could the move away from foreign chips also have an impact on licensing and the potential for litigation? Xiaomi will hope that bringing some of its processor design in-house (or at least closer to home) can keep production costs down, while developing its own patents could reduce royalty costs by giving it more leverage in licensing negotiations with third parties. For now though, we are only talking about Xiaomi's cheapest offerings; premium devices will continue to rely on technology developed overseas. Whether they can progress to designing higher-end chipsets that can compete with the big boys, hardware-wise, will tell us a lot about Xiaomi’s and Leadcore’s innovation bona fides.

Back in March this blog examined Huawei as an example of a Chinese company whose patent strategy clearly goes beyond bulk acquisition; one that contributes to standards and creates technologies that competitors actually want to use. We wondered whether Xiaomi would someday do the same. A move toward vertical integration shows that this may well be on its leadership's mind. Though don’t count us surprised if Xiaomi makes more splashes on the acquisitions front.

source: iammedia

mediaTek, Xiaomi, xiaomi flagship

Xiaomi May Use MediaTek Helio X20 SoC in Future High-End Flagship Phones

04:46 MiuiOS.in 0 Comments

A new report emerging out from China claims that Xiaomi might choose MediaTek's latest Helio X20 processor over Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 for future high-end handsets.

The report citing industry sources suggests that the upcoming flagship smartphones (such as the Mi 5 and Mi Note Pro's successor) will likely be powered by MediaTek'slatest chipset. Previous reports however contradict the current one, and have suggested that the upcoming flagship, believed to be dubbed Mi 5, will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor. The sources expect that MediaTek will attract orders for the Helio X20 SoCs from Xiaomi.

The Taiwanese chipmaker launched the new Helio X20 earlier this month and claimed it to be the 'world's first mobile processor with tri-cluster CPU architecture' and first deca-core SoC for smartphones and tablets.

It's worth noting that Xiaomi used the v2.1 or the third edition of the Snapdragon 810 on its Mi Note Pro, and even announced it worked with Qualcomm to refine the processor.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 SoC had its share of controversies as many claimed overheating issues on the chipset, which led Samsung to opt for its own Exynos chipset for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Recently, LG also ditched the Snapdragon 810 processor in favour of a lower-powered Snapdragon 808 SoC for theG4, with the company possibly worried about overheating and battery issues. It was certainly quick to tout all-day battery life with the Snapdragon 808. Qualcomm however has been rubbishing any such reports or rumours of heating issues on Snapdragon 810.

A recent leak suggested that a new Xiaomi handset with Snapdragon 808 SoC would be priced somewhere between the company's Redmi and Mi series handsets. Earlier this month, a leaked roadmap hinted that Xiaomi, after launching the Mi 4i in India last month, would launch the Xiaomi Mi 4s in June. The Xiaomi Redmi Note series will get a successor named the Redmi Note 2 in July; while the Redmi Note Pro is also on the cards to be launched in the same month.

asus vs zte, Xiaomi vs Asus, ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini vs Xiaomi Mi 4i vs Asus Zenfone 2, ZtE vs Xiaomi

ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini vs Xiaomi Mi 4i vs Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML)

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Earlier this week, Nubia, a subsidiary of ZTE, released a new smartphone, Z9 Mini, in India.

ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini sports a sturdy metallic frame around the edges and has 64-bit class Snapdragon 615 Octa-core CPU, 2GB RAM and 2,900mAh battery enough to last for over a day.

All in all, the device possesses all required features of mid-range smartphones available in Indian market, but the only drawback is its ₹16,999 price tag. It is a bit steep compared to the popular Chinese rival Xiaomi Mi 4i and Asus Zenfone 2, which house similar features.

To provide a better perspective on these phones, we have briefly described the key specifications of ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini, Xiaomi Mi4i and Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML).

Display:

The new ZTE Nubia Mini and the Xiaomi Mi 4i sport a 5.0-inch full HD display having pixel density of 441ppi (pixels per inch) and are protected by Gorilla Glass 3 shield.

One notable feature of Xiaomi Mi 4i is that it boasts Sunlight Display technology. This dedicated processor inside the Mi 4i enables the device to make changes in display brightness automatically based on the lighting conditions of the environment. It is done by brightening only the darker regions, so the resulting image becomes clearer to the users' eyes irrespective of the surroundings.

Asus Zenfone 2, though it sports an energy-efficient full HD super AMOLED screen, its big display foot-print (5.5-inch size) reduces the pixel density close to 401 ppi (pixels per inch).

Processor & RAM Storage Capacity:

All three competitors house 64-bit class SoC (System on Chip) and 2GB RAM configuration; But, Xiaomi Mi 4i and Nubia Z9 Mini have a slight edge over the Asus Zenfone 2, as they are shipped with Snapdragon 615 Octa-core SoC (System on Chip), manufactured by the industry leader, Qualcomm.

Snapdragon 615 chipset comes with H.265/High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) which enables faster computational operations. It is aptly backed by Adreno 405 graphics engine and 2GB DDR3 RAM.

The only drawback of Xiaomi Mi 4i is that it lacks microSD card slot for memory expansion.

On the other hand, Asus Zenfone 2 -ZE551ML (2GB RAM model) houses a 64-bit class based 1.8GHz Intel Atom processor Z3560 respectively. It is backed by with PowerVR G6430 graphics engine and expandable memory (+64GB via microSD card).

Camera Specifications:

ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini ships with feature-rich 16mp camera on the rear-side with LED flash, Sony IMX234 Exmor RS sensor, f/2.0 aperture and an 8mp front camera with f/2.4 aperture, 80-degree wide-angle picture capture feature.

Asus Zenfone 2 is no less of a competitor. It too boasts top-of-the-line 13mp camera on the rear-side, backed by proprietary PixelMaster technology, Backlight (HDR) mode, f/ 2.0 aperture, and 5mp snapper on the front with 88-degree field of view and also comes with ZenUI Selfie Panorama mode, which can capture panoramic selfies with up to a 140-degree field of view.

Xiaomi Mi 4i too features a 13mp Sony/Samsung camera with dual-tone LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, auto-focus, HDR, touch-focus, full HD video recording ability and a 5mp snapper with 80-degree wide-angle lens, f/1.8 aperture with full HD video recording ability which is certain to please the selfie aficionados.

[Note: More mega-pixel count in the camera does not guarantee a good quality photograph. It all depends on the type of the lens, size and aperture.]

Mobile operating system:

In this aspect, all phones stand even as they run on same Android mobile OS platform, but differ in OS version and user interface.

Xiaomi Mi4i, ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini and Asus Zenfone 2 ship with Lollipop OS accompanied with respective custom interface MIUI v6.0, Nubia v2.8 and ZenUI respectively.

Price:

Price is one of the most important aspects of this comparison article as it plays a crucial role in the minds of the price-sensitive middle-class working population, which forms the biggest chunk of the India's demography.

Zenfone 2 (2GB RAM/16GB memory) model costs ₹14,999, whereas the new ZTE Nubia Z9 comes with a hefty ₹16,999 price tag.

Xiaomi Mi 4i comes with a budget-friendly price tag of just ₹12,999 and is likely to sway more buyers who don't mind with limited 12GB (4GB used for system OS and apps) memory.

Key Specifications of ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini, Xiaomi Mi 4i and Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML):

Models	ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini	Xiaomi Mi 4i	Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML)
Display	5.0-inch full HD (1,920x1,080p) screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield Pixel density: 441ppi (pixels per inch)	5.0-inch full HD (1,280x720p) IPS screen with Sharp / JDI OGS (One Glass Solution) full lamination; 178° wide viewing angle; Sunlight Display technology Pixel density : 441ppi	5.5-inch full HD (1,920x1,080p) IPS screen with wide 178-degree viewing angle. It also boasts of ASUS TruVivid display technology and is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 shield Pixel density: 403ppi
OS	Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with Nubia 2.8 UI	Android 5.0 Lollipop with MIUI 6.0	Android 5.0 Lollipop OS with custom Zen UI
Processor	64-bit class Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 series Octa-core CPU	2^nd Generation 1.65GHZ Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Series Octa-core (1.7GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A53 + 1.0GHz quad-core A53) CPU	1.8GHz Quad Core Intel® Atom Z3560 with PowerVR G6430 GPU
GPU	Adreno 405 graphics engine	Adreno 405	PowerVR Series 6 - G6430, with OpenGL 3.2 support Intel Exclusive 3D Tri-Gate Transistor Technology
RAM	2GB	2GB LPDDR3	2GB
Storage capacity	16GB, expandable up to 128GB	16GB (eMMC), not expandable	16GB (+ 64GB via microSD card)
Camera	Main: 16mp camera with LED flash, Sony IMX234 Exmor RS sensor , f/2.0 aperture, full HD video recording ability, Blue Glass filter Front: 8mp camera with f/2.4 aperture, 80-degree wide-angle picture capture feature	Main: 13mp Sony/Samsung camera with dual-tone LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, auto-focus, HDR, touch-focus, full HD video recording ability Front: 5mp camera with 80-degree wide-angle lens, f/1.8 aperture with full HD video recording ability	Main: 13mp camera with PixelMaster technology, Backlight (HDR) mode, f/ 2.0 aperture, Real Tone flash , Zenflash (Xenon) Front: 5mp camera with 88-degree field of view and also comes with ZenUI Selfie Panorama mode which can capture panoramic selfies with up to a 140-degree field of view.
Battery	2900 mAh; Talk time: up to 43 hours Standby time: close to 750 hours	3,120mAh can power the phone for close to 1.5 days under mixed usage	3,000mAh;Comes with fast-charge technology where-in phone can get re-charged close to 60% battery capacity within 39 minutes
Network	3G/ 4G-LTE	4G-LTE	4G-LTE (Cat 4: 150/50 mbps), Wi-Fi (802.11ac), Bluetooth, DSDA (Dual SIM Dual Active) SIM slots (type: micro), Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac dual band up to 433Mbps), Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP
Add-ons	Dual-SIM slots (Nano+ Nano), Bluetooth v4.1, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n/ac), NFC, micro-USB slot (OTG), microSD card slot, Dolby 7.1 surround sound technology	Visual IVR (Interactive Voice Response), Dual-SIM (micro+ micro) slots, Wi-Fi (802.11 ac; MU-MIMO), GPS/GLONASS, uni-body design,	ZenMotion is a collection of intuitive touch gestures, each providing a new way of interacting with ZenUI, and allowing quick and easy access to frequently-used features such as One Hand mode or Do It Later. SnapView is a security feature that ensures privacy for apps, photos, and files. SnapView lets users easily keep their personal and business information separate. Trend Micro security is integrated with the ZenUI browser for the total mobile web browsing security. ZenUI Instant Updates is a seamless new method of keeping ZenUI apps up to date. With ZenUI Instant Updates, ASUS app developers can make updates available immediately, avoiding delays between app releases and ensuring the best experience for ZenFone 2 users.
Dimensions	141.30x69.8x8.2mm	138.1x69.6x7.8mm	152.5x77.2x3.9 ~ 10.9mm
Weight	147g	130g	170g
Price	₹16,999/-	₹12,999/-	2GB RAM/16GB memory model (ZE551ML): ₹14,999/-

source: itimes

xiaomi companies, xiaomi investment

Companies behind Xiaomi’s most innovative smart accessories

04:31 MiuiOS.in 0 Comments

Xiaomi might be known for its aggressively priced smartphones but the world’s largest “startup” is increasingly getting into the connected devices and Internet of Things space. Its Rs 999 Mi Band fitness tracker has been highly successful, with Xiaomi selling over a million bands in just three months. Xiaomi’s Mi Power Bank is another product, batches of which gets sold out within hours of them going on sale. But few know that Xiaomi doesn’t make these devices, unlike its smartphones. Instead Xiaomi ties up with other Chinese startups that at times sell them under the Mi brand and rarely under their own brand name in association with Xiaomi.

It is a win-win situation for both Xiaomi and other startups. Xiaomi gets interesting products, which are not its core focus at the moment. Meanwhile, the startups get Xiaomi’s global brand presence, its online store and distribution, as well as enables them to scale up quickly and raise new funding. For instance, earlier this week Xiaomi opened the doors to its US and Europe store and all of the products sold on the store were third-party products.

Here are some of the relatively unknown companies that make some of Xiaomi’s best selling products.

Huami – Mi Band, Mi Smart Scale, Yi Cam

We love the Mi Band. You can just strap it on your wrist and forget about it, the Mi Band would automatically track your activity and sleep without you having to do anything. Priced at Rs 999, it is ridiculously cheap and you don’t have to remove it while going to the shower either! But guess what, it isn’t made by Xiaomi.

The Mi Band is a product from another Beijing based startup, Huami, which was founded in January 2013. Xiaomi had invested in the startup in its initial round.

The same company is behind the Yi Cam ($64) and the Mi Smart Scale ($15). The company last raised $35 million in its Series B round last December at a valuation of $300 million. Xiaomi did not participate in that round, which included Banyan Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Morningside Capital.

ZMI – Mi Power Bank

There are power banks and then there is the Mi Power Bank. Xiaomi turned the accessory industry on its head by launching its 5,200mAh and 10,400mAh power banks, both priced below Rs 1,000. The Mi Power Bank weren’t just good value for money but also extremely well designed. They turned out to be so popular that an entire ecosystem of fake Mi Power Banks spawned, probably a first for a Chinese product.

As you may have guessed, the Mi Power Bank was also not made by Xiaomi. Its maker is a little known company called ZMI. It was founded in Wuxi in 2012 and seems to have raised some angel investment.

1More – Mi In-ear Headphones (Piston Design)

For its audio products, Xiaomi turned to 1More, a startup founded by ex-Foxconn GGV Capital invested an undisclosed amount in the company in its Series B funding.

executives who started the company to launch quality audio products at affordable prices. The Shenzhen-based company has already won a few IF Design awards.

Yeelink – Mi Yeelight

Xiaomi had announced four connected devices last year, one of them being a smart bulb, which could be controlled with an app. Called Yeelight, it was put up for beta testing.

The Yeelight, again, is not a Xiaomi product. It was started by a startup that participated in the HAX Accelerator. The company has also put up the Yeelight on a dedicated website and apart from Xiaomi, has Misfit as a partner.

xiaomi europe, xiaomi in us, xiaomi usa

Xiaomi enter U.S. Market With Accessories And Sells Out

04:26 MiuiOS.in 0 Comments

Xiaomi is a busy company. The fast-growing Chinese smartphone maker, which is valued at $45 billion, sold 61 million handsets last year, mostly on its home turf. It’s now going after other big markets like India, and testing the waters in the United State andEurope.

This week, Xiaomi opened up its Mi online store for U.S. and Europe consumers. Everything sold out within 30 minutes, suggesting Xiaomi’s affordable-yet-high-quality formula resonates with consumers in the West.

Mind you, the Mi store didn’t offer Xiaomi’s slick smartphones to Americans or Europeans. It sold four accessories: two battery packs for $10 and $14 respectively, a pair of headphones for $80, and a fitness tracker for just $15. Shoppers snapped up a combined 200,000 units, before the store’s virtual shelves were empty.

“There’s a market for lower price point, mass market, high quality goods in the U.S. and Europe,” said Hans Tung, managing partner at venture capital firm GGV Capital, who was an early investor in Xiaomi. “This was a huge number — you just don’t see that with U.S. products.”

Tung is also an investor in Wish, a mobile shopping application that sells cheap goods mostly sent directly from China, and which just recently raised more than $500 million at a $3 billion valuation.

Xiaomi is using its Mi store as a way to test the appeal of its brand in the West well before it attempts to sell phones to U.S. and European consumers. At an event in San Francisco in February, Hugo Barra, the former Google executive who is now in charge of Xiaomi’s global expansion said that getting phones certified in the U.S. and setting up logistics for their distribution will take time.

The four devices sold in the Mi store were built by Chinese startups that are part of Xiaomi’s growing ecosystem. Their quality is nothing to sniff at. 1More, the maker of the headphones, was founded by Gary Xie, a 10-year veteran of Foxconn who worked on manufacturing major U.S. devices like the Apple's AAPL +0.92% iPod and Amazon’s Kindle. Zimi, which makes the power packs, sold 20 million of them last year. The companies are among an expanding stable of Chinese hardware makers that offer low-cost products that are comparable in quality to anything a U.S. company has to offer.

Xiaomi plans to incorporate more of these device makers into its ecosystem as long as they follow “the Xiaomi way,” which includes listening to customer feedback, responding with updates quickly, and working collaboratively with other Xiaomi partners.

“The startups need to believe in the Xiaomi way of doing things,” said Tung.

Additionally, Xiaomi will sometimes invest a minority share into one of these companies. Xiaomi already has around 100 partners — mostly in hardware — and invested in 30 so far. (Tung has invested in several of the Xiaomi partners, like 1More and Zimi.)

Tung said the idea of working with an ecosystem of device partners came from Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun in 2013. Jun, who founded Xiaomi in 2010, realized the company needed to sell more than just phones to satisfy China’s technology-hungry consumers but would lose focus if it tried to diversify too quickly.

“If Xiaomi tries to do everything themselves, it’s going to be hard to scale,” said Tung.

Xiaomi and its ecosystem partners are able to keep its devices cheap by cutting expenses like marketing and by relying on the sale of services to go along with the devices.

“We have no sales and marketing overhead,” said 1More CEO Gary Xie. “The whole team only does one thing, listen to customers opinion. And the more customer recommendation, the better we do. Everybody is just focused on product, and this product gets more people coming. A single bad comment matters a lot.”

This approach sits in stark contrast to the Apple and Samsung, who rely on high-margin devices.

“It’s much more flexible and the supply chain is much more cooperative,” said Tung. “Samsung has more of a Japanese tradition of totally controlling the market.”

There are some trade offs in partnering with Xiaomi, notably that manufacturers have to share a large chunk of their revenue with the company. But the partnerships allow the startups can scale much faster than any U.S. hardware startup ever could and ride on Xiaomi’s coattails.

Tung advises hardware startups to follow Xiaomi’s low-cost model and to emulate its go-to-market strategy which is launch in China, before jumping to other high volume markets in Southeast Asian, India and Brazil. “Everybody in the U.S. cares about high margin and wanting to be the next Apple of their category,” said Tung. “But that doesn’t make sense. If you make it more affordable, more people are going to try it out.”

orignal artical at forbes.com

apple, apple killer, Xiaomi, xiaomi vs apple

Is Xiaomi really Apple Killer ?

04:22 MiuiOS.in 0 Comments

The Macalope would suggest that Apple must be a cat what with the number of times it's been purported to have been killed, but a cat only has nine lives so Apple would have to be, what? A dozen cats? A dozen smiling, unconcerned cats, defiantly licking their crotches, because they can?

"China's would-be Apple killer is starting U.S. sales" (tip o' the antlers to @mylestaylor)

That's the headline on this piece. The page title is simply "Apple killer Xiaomi is starting U.S. sales" because Apple is dead, you see, having been killed by Xiaomi. This according to Fortunewhich fancies itself a business magazine.

Unlike Fortune, the Macalope believes in due process so it should really say "alleged" or "accused Apple killer" until such time as Xiaomi can be brought to trial for murder. How do we even know that Apple didn't slip on a bar of market share in the shower and accidentally impale itself on the knife of cheap smartphones?

Admittedly, based on the coroner's report, it would have had to do that 14 times, but it could have happened.

OK, well, let's jump from the Xiaomi slash fic page title to the merely Xiaomi fan fic headline and body.

Xiaomi is about to open an online store for the American and European markets.

Only doom can follow.

For now, the retail sites are a test bed that offers only four electronic accessories for sale.

Electronic accessories... of doom.

Xiaomi’s initial products for sale are a $15 fitness tracker, a pair of $80 headphones, a $10 USB power pack for charging mobile devices, and a bigger model for $14.

TREMBLE IN FEAR, ALL YE CUPERTINO DENIZENS, AT THE... UH... FITNESS TRACKER AND... UH... THOSE USB POWER PACKS. THEY'RE CERTAINLY... USEFUL... I GUESS. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A SMARTPHONE. DEFINITELY FEAR-INDUCING.

Huh. Wonder why Xiaomi is starting out with a collection of nick-knacks. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that the minute it starts selling its phones and tablets in the U.S., it'll get slapped with a lawsuit faster than you can say "Hey, Siri, has Xiaomi been slapped with a bunch of lawsuits yet?"

“Expansion into countries with strict intellectual property laws, such as the U.S. or Japan, has long been a challenge for most Chinese smartphone brands, including Xiaomi,” said Neil Mawston, executive director of researcher Strategy Analytics.

Nnnope, no reason to worry about that. Looks like it's nothing but smooth sailing ahead for Xiaomi on its way to all the Apple killing.

Well, now let's leave the wonderful world of Xiaomi fan fiction and come back to boring ol' planet Earth where our dreams of glorious Apple killing in the name of... well, we're not really sure why Apple must die so repeatedly. Possibly it was Hitler in a former life. That would explain why so many seem hell-bent on seeing it die.

Anyhoo, Xiaomi had been enjoying a pretty nice ride up the charts in China. Until the last two quarters, when its share has dropped and Apple's has shot up. Apple's share has risen so much in China of late that it was the number one vendor there last quarter.

A funny thing happened on the way to all the killing. Xiaomi did really well beating Samsung at its game, but it doesn't even play the same game Apple plays.

source: macworld

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