Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to release first tablet

[cirr]

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to release first tablet: sources

BEIJING/TOKYO Fri May 9, 2014 10:22am EDT

A user of Xiaomi uses his mobile phone to take a photo at a launch ceremony of Xiaomi Phone 2 in Beijing August 16, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Jason Lee

BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) - Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi will soon release its first tablet, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, expanding the fast-growing company's product lineup in a potential challenge to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc.

Xiaomi this week said it would hold a launch event in Beijing on May 15, but declined to give details or comment further. The sources could not confirm whether the tablet would be unveiled at that event.

The four-year-old Chinese company, which reached the No. 5 spot in its home market in the final quarter of last year according to Chinese research firm Analysys, is a standout among China's crop of emerging smartphone makers that are expanding the market with lower-priced products.

They are also creating new opportunities for parts suppliers in Japan, including display makers Sharp Corp and Japan Display Inc, as they bolster their offerings of high-specification features to compete with global brands. Xiaomi lists Sharp as a display supplier on its website and the sources said Sharp would make the displays for the Xiaomi tablet.

Xiaomi scored a hit last year with the Mi 3, its flagship smartphone that sold 100,000 units in 90 seconds when it was released online in October. Its low-cost Redmi handset has also sold strongly in China and was recently launched in Singapore.

Xiaomi, which is more than doubling its sales every year with plans to sell 40 million phones this year versus 18.7 million last year and 7.2 million the year before, has cemented its reputation in the expanding high-end Chinese smartphone market to compete against the likes of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Lenovo Group Ltd.

Following the March launch of a 5.5 inch-screen "phablet", Xiaomi will next release its first tablet, fitted with a 7.9 inch screen, and has already ordered parts, the sources said. It will likely be called the "MiPad", they added.

Xiaomi, which was founded in April 2010 by entrepreneur Lei Jun, is among a host of young homegrown handset brands in China that also include Oppo and Coolpad.

They are now looking to expand abroad after winning over Chinese consumers with advanced features at lower prices than comparable handsets from Apple and other well-known brands.

(Reporting by Paul Carsten in Beijing; Reiji Murai and Sophie Knight in Tokyo; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Mark Potter)

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to release first tablet: sources| Reuters

Chinese Smartphone Maker Xiaomi Got 15 Million Pre-Orders For Its Newest Phablet

Steve Kovach0 May 2, 2014, 12.00 AM

Xiaomi, the buzzy Chinese smartphone maker, had 15 million pre-orders for its latest device, the RedMi Note.

That's a mind-boggling, impressive number.

But earlier today, Xiaomi had a lot of people freaking out when it tweeted that it got a whopping 122 million pre-orders for the phone.

Twitter


According to a Xiaomi spokesperson, the tweet is wrong. The company actually got 15 million pre-orders for the RedMi Note. That's still huge though. Apple, for example, sold 9 million iPhones the weekend the iPhone 5S launched.

It's unclear why Xiaomi tweeted the wrong number. In fact, the tweet links to a report from news a site that's not even affiliated with Xiaomi. It's possible something got lost in translation here.

The RedMi Note is Xiaomi's first phablet. It has a 5.5-inch screen, 13 megapixel camera, and a large battery for extended use. But what's more impressive is that the phone only costs about $130. Most high-end phablets cost at least $600.

Xiaomi phones are growing in popularity in China. Through its online store, the company often sells out new models within a few minutes. It also has a devoted fan base, so some people have called it the "Apple of China."

This year, Xiaomi plans to ramp up its international expansion. It already sells phones in Taiwan and Singapore. Soon, it'll move to other emerging markets like India and Brazil.

Chinese Smartphone Maker Xiaomi Got 15 Million Pre-Orders For Its Newest Phablet | Business Insider India

 

[cirr]

China’s Fast-Growing Android Phone Maker, Xiaomi, Launches An iPad Mini Competitor

Posted 35 minutes ago by Natasha Lomas (@riptari)

China’s Xiaomi has announced its first tablet, expanding a device portfolio that has been focused on selling lots of smartphones running its MIUI Android firmware. The announcement confirms earlier rumours that a Xiaomi slate was incoming.

Prior to today, Xiaomi was also selling its own wi-fi routers and set-top boxes — as well as offloading plush toy merchandise to its army of teenage fans — but the addition of a tablet to its portfolio fills an obvious gap for consumers.

It is also potentially a big opportunity for Xiaomi, with the Android tablet space still not dominated by any one device in the way that Apple’s iPad has dominated the category.

Indeed, that’s something that company founder, Lei Jun, who has been dubbed the ‘Steve Jobs of China’, played up in comments made today at the Beijing launch event for the new Mi tablet — where he reportedly said: “We hope to put pressure on Apple.”

Specs wise, the tablet is an iPad mini-esque 7.9 inches. But more like the iPhone 5c, it comes in a range of colours — six in all, including blue, pink, yellow and green. The URL for the tablet’s webpage on Xiaomi’s site even names it the ‘mi pad’: 小米平板 做最好用的安卓平板- 全球首款搭载 NVIDIA Tegra K1 192核PC架构的GPU / 夏普、友达7.9英寸全贴合视网膜屏:

Screen resolution is 2048 x 1536, and there’s a 2.2GHz Tegra K1 processor powering the slate, along with 2GB of RAM.

The wi-fi only Mi is priced at 1,499 yuan ($240) for the 16GB version, or 1,699 yuan ($270) for the 64GB version.

The company is doing a beta launch of the tablet initially — something it’s done with prior hardware releases — offering it to a limited group of users next month, ahead of a full product launch at a later, as yet unconfirmed date.

Xiaomi shipped 11 million smartphones in Q1 this year, and has a target of 60 million by year’s end — fueled by its first major international expansion steps. Expanding its portfolio to include a flagship tablet, alongside its smartphones, is the next natural step.

It’s previously said it’s planning to launch products into Malaysia, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, Turkey, Brazil, and Mexico this year, in addition to its existing market footprint of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

China’s Fast-Growing Android Phone Maker, Xiaomi, Launches An iPad Mini Competitor | TechCrunch

 

[ephone]

I want one but not in U.S. market yet.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to release first tablet: sources

BEIJING/TOKYO Fri May 9, 2014 10:22am EDT

A user of Xiaomi uses his mobile phone to take a photo at a launch ceremony of Xiaomi Phone 2 in Beijing August 16, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Jason Lee

BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) - Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi will soon release its first tablet, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, expanding the fast-growing company's product lineup in a potential challenge to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc.

Xiaomi this week said it would hold a launch event in Beijing on May 15, but declined to give details or comment further. The sources could not confirm whether the tablet would be unveiled at that event.

The four-year-old Chinese company, which reached the No. 5 spot in its home market in the final quarter of last year according to Chinese research firm Analysys, is a standout among China's crop of emerging smartphone makers that are expanding the market with lower-priced products.

They are also creating new opportunities for parts suppliers in Japan, including display makers Sharp Corp and Japan Display Inc, as they bolster their offerings of high-specification features to compete with global brands. Xiaomi lists Sharp as a display supplier on its website and the sources said Sharp would make the displays for the Xiaomi tablet.

Xiaomi scored a hit last year with the Mi 3, its flagship smartphone that sold 100,000 units in 90 seconds when it was released online in October. Its low-cost Redmi handset has also sold strongly in China and was recently launched in Singapore.

Xiaomi, which is more than doubling its sales every year with plans to sell 40 million phones this year versus 18.7 million last year and 7.2 million the year before, has cemented its reputation in the expanding high-end Chinese smartphone market to compete against the likes of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Lenovo Group Ltd.

Following the March launch of a 5.5 inch-screen "phablet", Xiaomi will next release its first tablet, fitted with a 7.9 inch screen, and has already ordered parts, the sources said. It will likely be called the "MiPad", they added.

Xiaomi, which was founded in April 2010 by entrepreneur Lei Jun, is among a host of young homegrown handset brands in China that also include Oppo and Coolpad.

They are now looking to expand abroad after winning over Chinese consumers with advanced features at lower prices than comparable handsets from Apple and other well-known brands.

(Reporting by Paul Carsten in Beijing; Reiji Murai and Sophie Knight in Tokyo; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Mark Potter)

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to release first tablet: sources| Reuters

Chinese Smartphone Maker Xiaomi Got 15 Million Pre-Orders For Its Newest Phablet

Steve Kovach0 May 2, 2014, 12.00 AM

Xiaomi, the buzzy Chinese smartphone maker, had 15 million pre-orders for its latest device, the RedMi Note.

That's a mind-boggling, impressive number.

But earlier today, Xiaomi had a lot of people freaking out when it tweeted that it got a whopping 122 million pre-orders for the phone.

Twitter


According to a Xiaomi spokesperson, the tweet is wrong. The company actually got 15 million pre-orders for the RedMi Note. That's still huge though. Apple, for example, sold 9 million iPhones the weekend the iPhone 5S launched.

It's unclear why Xiaomi tweeted the wrong number. In fact, the tweet links to a report from news a site that's not even affiliated with Xiaomi. It's possible something got lost in translation here.

The RedMi Note is Xiaomi's first phablet. It has a 5.5-inch screen, 13 megapixel camera, and a large battery for extended use. But what's more impressive is that the phone only costs about $130. Most high-end phablets cost at least $600.

Xiaomi phones are growing in popularity in China. Through its online store, the company often sells out new models within a few minutes. It also has a devoted fan base, so some people have called it the "Apple of China."

This year, Xiaomi plans to ramp up its international expansion. It already sells phones in Taiwan and Singapore. Soon, it'll move to other emerging markets like India and Brazil.

Chinese Smartphone Maker Xiaomi Got 15 Million Pre-Orders For Its Newest Phablet | Business Insider India

 

[Skull and Bones]

Ipad'ish, and has a huge prospect.