Showing posts with label mi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mi. Show all posts
Friday, April 3, 2015
Xiaomis Jain Says Mi 3 Not Discontinued Wont Confirm When Sales Will Resume
After reports on Wednesday that Xiaomi was discontinuing the Xiaomi Mi 3 in India, NDTV Gadgets spoke to Manu Jain, head of Xiaomi India, who clarified that the reports were off the mark.
"For the next few weeks, we will be focusing on the Redmi 1S, but we have not discontinued the Mi 3 in India," said Jain. "I cant give an exact timeline because we dont have any data on the Redmi 1S right now, but we are certainly not discontinuing the Mi 3 right now."
In light of the extremely short availability of the Mi 3 in India - just over a month of sales, followed by the Redmi 1S launch, many people felt that India was being used solely for stock clearance of older Mi 3 models, but Jain dismissed the notion.
"We had not expected the kind of demand we got at all," he said. "Both the Mi 3 and the powerbank have been selling out completely. The powerbank, we believed, experts told us, the market was around 30,000 to 40,000 units per month. The demand has completely outstripped that."
With the Mi 3 too, the demand has hugely outstripped the supply, which is the only reason, Jain insists, that the company does not have any units available at the moment. However that does not mean they can simply pick up extra units from other markets and bring them to India, he clarified.
"We are 100 percent committed to India. But everything, from the software, to the manuals, to the charger, to even the packaging, has to be localised," said Jain. "Each country has its own set of regulations, whether its writing the SAR value or getting everything cleared, and the units we sell in China cant be sold just like that in India."
Over time, he says, fresh stocks could be readied for India, depending on the market data being gathered now.
Once Xiaomi has more data about the demand for the Redmi 1S, he says, then it will be able to make better decisions about the kind of stocks required for all products, and react to the market in accordance.
But does this mean that at least at the time of launching new handsets, Xiaomi will only sell one device at a time, adding others later if demand permits? Jain said that it is too soon to say what the official policy is going to be.
"We are still a very young company, and were still learning," he said. "We are just five weeks old in India, and we are figuring out what works for the market.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Xiaomi Mi 3 vs Xiaomi Mi 4
The Xiaomi Mi 3, one of the most popular smartphones in China, is up against its own successor, the Mi 4. Two generations ready to clash: boxes opened, benchmarks loaded, audio on, cameras rolling, batteries charged.
The Xiaomi Mi 4 has more RAM and a third-gen Snapdragon 801 chipset, along with LTE connectivity - all that in a slimmer, more compact shell. The upgraded specs go with an entirely new look with a handful of exchangeable rear covers to choose from.
Xiaomi Mi 4 official pictures
The Mi 3 on the other hand is powered by the previous version of that same chipset and is still a perfectly good package for the price. The big things missing are 4G data and 4K videos - both easily rendered irrelevant if a) theres no LTE network where you live or b) you go for the 16GB version. With things like Gorilla Glass 3 and NFC surprisingly missing, is the Mi4 worth the upgrade?
Xiaomi Mi 3 official pictures
In a matter of hours well be reminded again of the difference between one particular phone and all others. Six full editions thereof and a couple of in-betweens - blessed and cursed, loved and hated, admired and imitated. Made in China, to the very last one.
The reminder we need though is that the difference between Chinese (as in "Cant pronounce the brand name") and the "Made in China" stamp on the back of an iPhone isnt what it used to be. A vast market with soaring smartphone demand, the growth of 3G and 4G networks, combined with improved skill and expertise, have seen a number of Chinese makers emerge from the pack with self-awareness and confidence.
Xiaomi has a prominent spot on that shortlist and plenty of reasons to be called "Apple of the East", both right and wrong. Still one foot in the copycat phase, but a couple of generations of flagships too that can compete with the best of them. Now, theyll compete against each other for a change.
Xiaomi Mi 4 over Mi 3
- Higher CPU clock speed - 2.5GHz vs. 2.3GHz
- 3GB RAM vs 2GB RAM
- Improved camera sensor with wider aperture
- 2160p video recording
- 8MP front-facing camera vs 2MP
- LTE connectivity
- IR blaster
- TV-out via MHL-enabled microUSB port
- Rich set of exchangeable rear covers
Xiaomi Mi 3 vs Mi 4
- Polycarbonate premium unibody vs cheap plastic with metal frame
- Gorilla Glass 3
- Dual LED flash vs single-LED
- NFC connectivity
So, Xiaomi has two smartphone generations in less than a year, impressively equipped and competitively priced. Theyre officially meant for the Asian Pacific region, the domestic market probably the main target, but the build quality and features for the price will get enough attention elsewhere.
Both devices are available as we speak at less than $400 for the Mi 3 and $500 for the Mi 4 - thats the price of the 64GB version. The upgrade comes in at a little over $100 - more than a reasonable premium if you can make the best of the LTE and the 2160p video. That makes the Mi 3 the budget option but the obvious underdog has enough going for it.
Xiaomi Mi 3 • Xiaomi Mi 4
As usual, well try to look beyond the dry specs and put things in perspective. Our side-by-side hardware comparison follows right after the break.
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