Xiaomi 5-inch MI3 smartphone: for $327
Rising star Chinese smartphone builder Xiaomi has released its latest smartphone the Xiaomi MI3 with a starting price of just $327.
Xiaomi plans to offer two versions of the phone, one for China Unicom with Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, and another for China Mobile with a Nvidia Tegra 4. China Mobile is the largest carrier with over 700M users, representing 67% of Xiaomi’s installed base.The phones won’t work on wireless networks outside of China.
The phones feature a 5-inch screen from LG with 1920 × 1080 resolution, a 13-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB to 64 GB of storage, a 3050 mAh battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and GLONASS. It measures 5.7 × 2.9 × 0.32 inches (8.1- mm thick) and weighs 5.1 ounces. The phone will sell for $327 with 32 GB, and $410 with 64 GB.
The Xiaomi MI3 is the first phone to be available with a 1.8-GHz Tegra 4 processor, Fast-growing Xiaomi, which is valued at $10 billion, has been in the limelight lately after snagging former Google VP for Android Hugo Barra (who introduced the phones in Beijing last week).
What do we think?
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon isis in the previous smartphone from Xiaomi, the MI2. Nvidia breaking into Qualcomm’s stronghold will give Nvidia a big boost in proving the Tegra 4 is suitable for smartphones. The new phone Xiaomi is remarkably similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Note.—J.P.