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Posts tagged ‘Xiaomi’

2
Feb

Xiaomi: US Mobile is unauthorized to sell Xiaomi smartphones


xiaomi-headquarters

Xiaomi released a statement today, saying that US Mobile was unauthorized to sell their smartphones. US Mobile made a big announcement yesterday, saying that consumers could now buy hot Xiaomi devices on the network, such as the Redmi 2 and Mi 3.

There was a slight suspicion that these smartphones were imported, considering that none of them had the correct cellular bands to operate on US Mobile’s LTE network, meaning they’d be stuck on a 3G connection or worse. Unfortunately, those suspicions were right.

US Mobile is actually not authorized to sell Xiaomi smartphones in the US, and Xiaomi currently has no plans of bringing its smartphone brands to North American shores. Here’s the full statement from an Xiaomi spokesperson, speaking to IBT:

“Recent reports have indicated that Xiaomi products will be available in the US. Xiaomi only offers a small selection of accessories for sale in the US through Mi.com. There are no plans to sell smartphones through any authorised distributors in the US. US Mobile is not authorised to sell Xiaomi products in the US.”

The statement is certainly disheartening, removing any hope that Xiaomi had plans of branching out into the US. Unfortunately, according to the spokesperson, Xiaomi currently has no plans in place to sell smartphones in the US.

Hopefully the company will change their plans eventually, as smartphones like the Redmi 2 or the upcoming Mi 5 would no doubt be a hot seller with some small software alterations.

source: International Business Times

Come comment on this article: Xiaomi: US Mobile is unauthorized to sell Xiaomi smartphones

2
Feb

Xiaomi phones hit US soil… but we’re not all that stoked


Mi4 wood covers

Xiaomi has arisen as a massive player in the global smartphone arena. The upstart Chinese company has proven to be a scrappy champion of the middle market, and over the last few years, they’ve risen to a place of prominence throughout Asia. Their aggressive sales and refreshing marketing tactics have made them competitive even with the big dogs, but to-date it’s been incredibly difficult to get your hands on a Xiaomi smartphone if you’re living in a Western country. That is, until now.

US Mobile just revealed that they’re importing Xiaomi and Meizu phones for use on the T-Mobile network. But puzzlingly, the devices they’ve selected aren’t exactly the cream of the crop, and they aren’t optimized for use in the states. US Mobile is now selling the Xiaomi Redmi 2, the Mi 3, and the Mi 4, as well as the Meizu Note 2. What we want to know is, where is the Mi Note in that lineup?

Sure, the $199 to $219 price range is nice, and you do get some pretty incredible hardware for what you’re paying, but none of these devices are optimized for US mobile networks. That means no LTE for you, and to make matters worse, the handsets all come pre-loaded with Chinese apps and services that won’t work in the US.

We’re scratching our heads a little bit at this move. US Mobile is effectively taking the hassle out of importing these products by doing the heavy lifting themselves instead of leaving you with a bunch of hoops to jump through. Nevertheless, this isn’t official arrival of Xiaomi’s boots on US soil that we’ve been hoping for. If you’re looking for an inexpensive device to experiment with, maybe one of these smartphones is for you, but as for an everyday driver… we’re going to keep waiting for something a bit more official.

What are your thoughts regarding the arrival of these devices? Think you’ll be picking one up anytime soon, or will you be waiting like we are? Let us know your opinion in the comments below!

Next: Xiaomi Mi 5 will be shown off at MWC 2016

2
Feb

Xiaomi and Meizu gain first U.S. carrier sales via T-Mobile MNVO


Cheap high quality Chinese phones are coming to the U.S. We’ve been telling you for a while about how cheap phones are getting better, and good phones are getting cheaper. Now, we’re seeing the first step in these super mid-range Chinese phones invading the States.

US Mobile announced on Monday that they’ll begin to sell phones from two Chinese companies, Xiaomi and Meizu. On US Mobile’s online shopping portal you’ll soon have the option to pick up popular options from Apple, Samsung, LG among others, and now, the Xiaomi Redmi 2, Mi 3, and Mi 4 as well as the Meizu Note 2. All of these phones range from $119 to $219, and come factory unlocked.

xiaomi-redmi-3

Xiaomi RedMi 3

 

 

It’s important to point out that US Mobile is acting as more of an online storefront for Omni Electronics HK who will import the English language versions of the Chinese phones. The phones will be sold 100% unlocked. Since US Mobile is working in partnership with this importer, they don’t ever have the possibility to lock the devices to their network. You can buy the phone and have it work on any GSM network

There are a few caveats with these phones, biggest among them being the lack of LTE.

China and the United States use different LTE bands so you’ll be limited to 3G speeds on the devices. If you’re the type of person that is constantly connected to WiFi, this may not have a huge impact on you, but there are options out there from Chinese manufacturers that still offer excellent value, while supporting US LTE bands. If the lack of LTE bands is a killer for you, you may want to seek one of those phones out.

xiaomi-mi4

Xiaomi Mi 4


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Another large sacrifice that customers will be asked to make is to use an outdated operating system. The Redmi 2, Mi 3, and Mi 4 will come with Android 4.4 with Xiaomi’s MIUI skin on top. Xiaomi are sometimes called “Apple of China” because of their similar skin and phone design. MIUI has no application drawer, and while they generally rely on internet services to expand the functionality of the device, those features won’t be making the trek across the Pacific.

When Xiaomi does decide to invade the US, it’s going to be big news. With Ex-Googler Hugo Barra seemingly guiding the ship, they’ve sold more phones globally than established players like LG, Sony, and Lenovo. They’re consistently in the top 5 of cellular device shipments each quarter with the big boys like Samsung and Apple, and their devices are low cost, high performance handsets that deliver a heavily skinned, highly connected experience.

This is the first foray into the United States for China’s largest cell phone maker. While mid-range phones are getting more popular, Xiaomi hasn’t officially announced plans for the United States. This could be a test balloon for carriers, and companies like Xiaomi to see how well their devices could do here. But, to truly have an impact in the huge US market, it’s going to take more than rebranded Chinese devices sold through a third-tier carrier’s online storefront.

150104-xiaomi-redmi-2-official-06

Xiaomi RedMi 2

Looking toward the future, it’s within reason to think we could see major releases from these companies in a first-tier carrier in 2016. Xiaomi is the world’s third largest phone maker with over 70 million phones sold last year without even entering the US market.

The mind goes toward T-Mobile first since the carrier conducting this trial balloon, US Mobile is a T-Mobile MNVO. T-Mobile is not afraid to try something new. It was the first company to start paying for your ETF fees, and have offered consumer friendly services like Music Freedom and Binge-On. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that it start selling high quality phones from Xiaomi to its budget conscious customers.

It’s looking like 2016 is going to be the year of the moderately priced Chinese smartphone.

Source: PCMag via Fierce Wireless

The post Xiaomi and Meizu gain first U.S. carrier sales via T-Mobile MNVO appeared first on AndroidGuys.

1
Feb

US Mobile announces that it’s the first American carrier to offer devices from Xiaomi and Meizu


US-Mobile

Earlier today, US Mobile announced that it’s the first carrier in the United States to offer customers a choice of contract smartphones from Chinese manufacturers Xiaomi and Meizu. Subscribers will be able to choose either the Xiaomi Redmi 2, Mi 3, Mi 4i or Meizu M2 Note, with prices ranging between $120 and $220.

Here’s what Founder and CEO of US Mobile, Ahmed Khattak, had to say:

“U.S. consumers have traditionally had to compromise to afford incredible devices. Now, with the launch of our marketplace, we are thrilled to offer complete range of exceptional smartphones for low monthly payments and to give our customers access to exceptional phones otherwise not available in the U.S.”

All units being shipped to the United States have, of course, been optimized for the region’s LTE bands, meaning that customers will be able to take advantage of US Mobile’s affordable pay-monthly plans, which start at as little as $9 per month for 100 minutes, 100 texts and 100MB of 4G data.

Source: US Mobile

Come comment on this article: US Mobile announces that it’s the first American carrier to offer devices from Xiaomi and Meizu

1
Feb

Xiaomi topped China’s smartphone market in 2015


Xiaomi Redmi Note 3-5

Although Xiaomi may not have shipped quite as many smartphones last year as some had been expecting, data from Canalys and Strategy Analytics suggests that Xiaomi was still the largest smartphone manufacturer in China in 2015. Last year, Xiaomi missed its 80 million sales target by just under 10 million units. This figure was already revised down from a 100 million global target that had been set earlier in the year.

Looking at the yearly results from Strategy Analytics, Xiaomi led China’s market with 67.5 million shipments throughout the year, followed closely by rival Huawei which shipped 62.2 million. Apple secured itself third position in the country, followed by Vivo and OPPO in fourth and fifth places.

https://live.amcharts.com/wYmEx/embed/

Although Xiaomi may still hold the top spot in China, it is Huawei which now looks to be the fastest growing of the two. Huawei saw its shipments increase from 41.3 to 62.2 million year over year, a huge growth rate of almost 51 percent. Xiaomi saw a growth rate of just 17 percent, while Vivo and OPPO grew by 52 and 49 percent respectively. Interestingly, the research notes that Huawei’s average smartphone selling price rose from $216 to $306 last year, while Xiaomi’s fell from $189 to $149.


Xiaomi Mi Home storeSee also: Xiaomi aiming to double Chinese store sales this year17

Overall, the Chinese smartphone market grew by just 3.4 percent, its slowest rate to date. Combined with the big growth of the leading manufacturers, this suggests that a number of other players are being pushed out of the Chinese market. Samsung saw its market share hit new lows in Q4 2015, according to Canalys, falling from some 11.6 percent to just 7.8 percent over the space of one year.

It was inevitable that the Chinese smartphone market would show signs of saturation, but it may have happened sooner than many had expected. Chinese consumers look to be turning their preference towards higher-end products, which has worked to the favour of Huawei and Vivo, but has slowed Xiaomi’s march. That said, Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 5 handset is right around the corner.

31
Jan

Android Authority this week – January 31, 2016


why i switched to iphone aa (15 of 18)

Hello Android fans! Are you excited for MWC yet? This week we’ve got a slew of reports about devices coming at MWC, including the Galaxy S7, LG G5, and the Xiaomi Mi 5. A set of credible Galaxy S7 press renders leaked out, along with info about Samsung’s upcoming upgrade program. We’ve also got a glimpse of the LG G5, while LG cleared out an issue affecting many G4 owners. Google brought out updates to many of its apps, including the troubled Hangouts. Several big companies released their quarterly earnings, giving us an idea of their financial health. And the first major One M10 leak happened, courtesy of @evleaks.

Inside AA HQ

Our Josh Vergara took some well deserved time off late last year and he thought about trying something new. For the entire month of December, Josh used an iPhone. Oh my, I know what you’re thinking. What was Josh thinking and how could he betray Android like that. No worries, Josh returned to work and to the Android ecosystem come CES, so nothing really changed, but he did come with some interesting conclusions out of the whole experience. Check the full story out right here.

We gave out some excellent prizes over the years, including some of the hottest smartphones of the moment. This Sunday Giveaway is a little different, because the manufacturer of the prize is less well known. That said, the Nuu Mobile X4 is definitely worthy of your attention, and we’re giving away five of them right now. Good luck everybody!

NUU Mobile X4-5

The stuff you shouldn’t miss

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News of the week

The Next Galaxy

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LG comes clean on G4 issue

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LG G5 details surface

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Google apps updates

Google Calendar Holidays

Earnings season

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One M10

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MI 5 @ MWC 2016

Xiaomi Mi 5 Pink

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30
Jan

Get the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Android Lollipop smartphone for just $199


The Redmi Note 3 is one of the major smartphones Xiaomi is looking to reach big sales numbers with in 2016. It is a budget priced smartphone with premium specs like a full 1080p 5.5″ display, Helio X10 processor, 32GB of memory and 3GB of RAM. Right now you can pre-order the Redmi Note 3 for just $199 at everbuying.net.

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Even better is the all metal and sleek build of the Redmi Note 3, and the included fingerprint reader on the back that unlocks the phone within 0.3s. Those are two features mainly found on more premium devices. $199 gets you the Redmi Note 3 and free shipping with a 30-day money back guarantee.

Check it out at everbuying.net.

201511251418066857

Main Specs:

Display: 5.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 Pixel Screen with 403 PPI
CPU: Helio X10 64bit Octa Core 2.0GHz
GPU: PowerVR G6200
System: Android 5.0
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM
Camera: 5.0MP with f/2.0 aperture front camera + 13.0MP with 78 degree wide-angle, f/2.2 aperture back camera
Sensor: Light sensor, G-sensor, Proximity sensor, Hall Sensor
Feature: GPS/ A-GPS / Glonass / Beidou
Bluetooth: 4.1
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, dual Micro SIM cards
Network:
2G: GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz

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The post Get the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Android Lollipop smartphone for just $199 appeared first on AndroidGuys.

28
Jan

Smartphone sales crossed a record 1.4 billion in 2015


If the latest figures are anything to go by, smartphone industry is witnessing a slow growth rate as the overall shipment increased only by 12 percent in 2015. While overall global shipments surpassed 1.4 billion devices during the last year, the growth percentage the fourth quarter grew only six percent in comparison to the year before.

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), the slow growth can be attributed to the fact that most people in major mobile markets already own smartphones so the bubbling phase that we saw over the last few years cannot be matched.

Among OEMs, Samsung continues to take lead by having shipped 81.3 million units globally in the Q4, which is nine percent up from the same period in 2014. However, Apple has felt the pinch of the slow growth as it only managed to shipped 74.8 million devices in the fourth quarter in comparison to 74.5 million iPhones it sold in 2014. The research company advised that Apple should look to emerging markets such as India to ensure a steady growth.

On the third spot is Huawei, which only saw two percent growth from 2014 by selling 32.4 million handsets. Lenovo that acquired Motorola last year has seen a 24 percent year-on-year growth by shipping 74.0 million smartphones in 2015 in comparison to 59.4 percent. In the Q4, it shipped 20.2 million units while which is six percent up from the same period last year. On the fifth place remained Xiaomi that sold 18.2 million phones compared to 16.5 million units the year before. Check the table below to know more about the survey conducted by IDC.

Vendor 4Q15 Shipment Volumes 4Q15 Market Share 4Q14 Shipment Volumes 4Q14 Market Share Year-Over-Year Growth
1. Samsung 85.6 21.4% 75.1 19.9% 14.0%
2. Apple 74.8 18.7% 74.5 19.7% 0.4%
3. Huawei 32.4 8.1% 23.6 6.3% 37.0%
4. Lenovo 20.2 5.1% 14.1 3.7% 43.6%
5. Xiaomi 18.2 4.6% 16.5 4.4% 10.0%
Others 168.3 42.1% 174.0 46.1% -3.3%
Total 399.5 100.0% 377.8 100.0% 5..7%
Lenovo + Motorola 20.2 8.1% 24.7 6.5% -18.1%

 

Vendor 2015 Shipment Volumes 2015 Market Share 2014 Shipment Volumes 2014 Market Share Year-Over-Year Growth
1. Samsung 324.8 22.7% 318.2 24.4% 2.1%
2. Apple 231.5 16.2% 192.7 14.8% 20.2%
3. Huawei 106.6 7.4% 73.8 5.7% 44.3%
4. Lenovo 74.0 5.2% 59.4 4.6% 24.5%
5. Xiaomi 70.8 4.9% 57.7 4.4% 22.8%
Others 625.2 43.6% 599.9 46.1% 4.2%
Total 1,432.9 100.0% 1,301.7 100.0% 10.1%
Lenovo + Motorola 73.9 5.16% 93.7 7.20% -21.1%

 

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, January 27, 2016

The post Smartphone sales crossed a record 1.4 billion in 2015 appeared first on AndroidGuys.

28
Jan

Xiaomi Mi 5 will be shown off at MWC 2016


Xiaomi Mi 5 MWC teaser

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve aged considerably waiting for my first look at Xiaomi’s anticipated Mi 5 flagship, the phone has forever been right around the corner. Fortunately the waiting is almost over, as Hugo Barra just posted a teaser to Facebook stating that the Mi 5 will be making an appearance at the 2016 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, marking a first for the company.

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Xiaomi will be holding an invitation-only media preview for the handset at MWC 2016 on February 24th, which will be hosted by Hugo Barra himself. Xiaomi is also holding another launch event in Beijing on the same day, China being the company’s home and largest market. A couple of days ago, Xiaomi confirmed that the smartphone would be launching on Feb 24th and now we get an early look at the phone in Europe too.

There have been plenty of rumors about the smartphone over the past months. The most recent ones suggest that the Mi 5 will feature a 5.2-inch QHD (2560×1440) display, a 16 megapixel rear camera with an 8 megapixel front facing camera, a decent sized 3,600mAh battery and 4GB of RAM. The handset is also expected to be powered by Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 820 flagship processor, and the SoC designer’s logo features prominently on the teaser poster. Is the colon missed from “820 AM” right above the Snapdragon logo just a little typo?


Xiaomi Mi 5 Gear Best rendersSee also: Xiaomi Mi 5 leaked: launching Feb 20, employees working overtime to meet demand17

Tune in on February 24th at 8:20 AM CET for all the Xiaomi Mi 5 details. The phone is then expected to go on sale the following week.

26
Jan

Hugo Barra: Xiaomi to launch Mi 5 on February 24


Xiaomi-Mi5_Launch

Xiaomi’s VP of International, Hugo Barra, took to Twitter to confirm that the Xiaomi Mi 5 would be the company’s first 2016 product, and is set for a February 24 launch.

While there weren’t any further details than that, this confirmation does put an end to all of the rumors and speculation as to when Xiaomi would be launching its next flagship smartphone.

Here’s the full tweet from Barra:

Again, we still don’t have any firm details on the Mi 5, but some of the latest rumors indicate that it will sport a 5.2-inch Quad HD display, a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM and a massive 3,600mAh battery. Some other little details that will allegedly be included in the device include a fingerprint scanner and laser autofocus for what will reportedly be a top-of-the-line rear camera.

A leaked render of the upcoming Mi 5.

A leaked render of the upcoming Mi 5.

In related news, Xiaomi recently caused an Internet fire storm by sending out an over-the-air update that locked the bootloaders on many Xiaomi-made devices. Customers are livid, but that doesn’t seem to be quenching the excitement around the upcoming Mi 5.

We’re not quite sure where Xiaomi plans on holding the launch event, whether that be in Shanghai or at MWC 2016, though if it’s the latter, the company will face some stiff competition with Samsung and LG set to announce both of their new flagships at the event.

We’ll get the full scoop on the new Xiaomi’s new flagship come February 24, so be sure to stay tuned!

source: Hugo Barra (Twitter)

Come comment on this article: Hugo Barra: Xiaomi to launch Mi 5 on February 24

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