Xiaomi overtook both Apple and Samsung to become the top selling smartphone in China

no surprise. Flagship specs for an affordable price.

Hugo Barra did a wise thing going to Xiaomi when he did.

When will they start to venture overseas?

EbookReader said:

in December 2013. (didn't have room in the title)

China is the #1 smartphone market in the world (USA is #2).

http://www.zdnet.com/windows-phone-...ope-xiaomi-beats-samsung-in-china-7000025613/



Xiaomi is basically the Chinese version of the Nexus 4/ Nexus 5 / Kindle Fire / Kindle HD / Kindle Fire HDX. High specs smartphone / tablets at nearly break-even prices.






http://bgr.com/2014/01/01/xiaomi-2014-smartphone-shipments/

Xiaomi is projecting 40 million smartphones sales in 2014.

2012 actual: ~7 million
2013 actual: ~19 million
2014 projection: ~40 milllion



Here's why Google and Amazon is SCARY to OEM. They can sell hardware at break-even.

Google makes more money as more people have access to the internet.
Amazon makes more money as more people shop on the internet.

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Neither Apple, nor Google are afraid of Xiaomi. Most Chinese can't afford an iPhone or even a Nexus device. They can afford a Xiaomi. The Chinese government also prefers having Chinese buy homegrown products. (It also doesn't help that China blocks Google apps and services.)

All Apple and Google can do is sell their products to a portion of the Chinese market. Chinese will buy them, just not in the quantities of the cheaper phones.

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ChazUK said:

Hugo Barra did a wise thing going to Xiaomi when he did.

When will they start to venture overseas?

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Believe I heard in a podcast recently that Xiaomi won't be venturing outside of China anytime soon. I think it was on the podcast All About Android last month?

They are already venturing outside of China. Granted, it's still in Asia but they'll have to start somewhere.

Also, they are optimizing their software for international use slowly, but steady.

ChazUK said:

Hugo Barra did a wise thing going to Xiaomi when he did.

When will they start to venture overseas?

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The guy must have a special in interest in Asia/China, otherwise I can't see him enjoying it for long. Also, Beijing isn't exactly a healthy place...

Back in the day, I thought Meizu would be the one company to be put in this position. Congrats to Xiaomi (pronounced Shao-me for anyone wondering). I know The Woz is a believer in them.

If Xiaomi can improve their build quality, they would no doubt be even more successful as Lenovo and Huawei based on global sales. The Asian market is very, very competitive.

EbookReader said:

$$$$$$$$

They must have offered him quite a bit of money to take him away from Google.

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Hugo Barra left because Sergey Brin left his wife and stole Barra's girlfriend

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Goog...e-Hugo-Barra-s-Former-Girlfriend-379033.shtml

Xiaomi Mi3 was released here in the Philippines yesterday through Lazada online store. Only 3000 were available and it took over an hour until it was sold out. Slow based on Xiaomi's standards as they usually sell out under 10 minutes.

Price is equal to $243 US dollars. The specs and benchmark scores are quite remarkable. This was released in China last Fall and still defeats the Samsung Galaxy S5 with a Snapdragon 801 in benchmark scores. Perhaps the fastest phone to ever carry the SD800 chip. I watched reviews and comparisons of the Mi3, and it might even still be among the Top 3-5 smartphones of today. Very few weaknesses. Build quality, camera, and battery life are all good which can be issues for other flagships at 3x the cost. And it is cheaper than the Nexus 5 and OnePlus One which are bargains in their own right. I have no qualms with MIUI skin. Only downside is no expandable memory (though there is a 64 GB variant) and no LTE. And the phone is quite tall and wide for me but probably something I will get used to. But for under $250 with specs of $700-$800 flagships, there is alot more to love here. The only major downer is it is hard to get it. Like OnePlus One, once it is sold out, buyers become sellers and they just mark up the price.

Xiaomi could be the future brand worth watching. Apple and Samsung were underdogs too back then. I know OnePlus is trying to emulate Xiaomi and I hope Amazon does the same.

Flagship phones at 200-300 $ are not a reality and they are damaging for the industry. Thats why samsung and apple reap all the profits, not good at all for the future

Now, if people could only view beyond their wallets we could maybe stop this senseles commercialism and the eternal race to the bottom.

beosound3200 said:

Now, if people could only view beyond their wallets we could maybe stop this senseles commercialism and the eternal race to the bottom.

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Not sure if serious

That's like saying that DVD players should've stay at $1,000 minimum. Or HDTVs at $8,000.

Or heck, that cell phones stayed at $4,000 like the DynaTAC and only work in certain areas!

It's not a race to the bottom. It's the natural progression of consumer electronics products: more features for less money.

You didntt even mention the word quality...

Is there a unit of measurement for that kind of thing, cheapness? Smth like 'feature per buck'?

I just saw one reviewer compare the two price "disrupters" in the OnePlus One vs Xiaomi Mi3, and he said the Mi3 was one of the best he ever had but gave the OnePlus perhaps a slight edge. Maybe Cyanogen Mod over MIUI but it is like splitting hairs. If the Moto E/G's and Nexus devices are the value in the Western Hemisphere, OnePlus and Xiaomi are the price saviors of the Far East.

Personally, I am waiting for Xiaomi to release the Redmi 1s (aka Hongmi or "red rice") in my country. I watched a video of Hugo Barra show random Mi products including the Mi bunnies stuff animals. The Mi3 is definitely the flagship and most stylish of the bunch, but I'm giving the Redmi 1s a second look. It is plastic but the back and battery is removable, has expansion slot, dual sim, good dimensions, and priced far cheaper at $135! And if not that, the $150 phablet Redmi Note with octa-core which beats the Galaxy S4 in benchmark scores.

I don't feel the need to ever pay higher than $200-$250 for a decent phone now that Xiaomi is here. Moto G, Moto X, and Nexus 5 start looking expensive by comparison with Mi specs which can blow away the flagships from last year and the Mi3 is still outclassing some flagships from this year. Xiaomi isn't your typical Chinese brand with cheap parts. They use parts from Sharp, Samsung, Sony, Qualcomm, and use audio components that are used in BMW's and Rolls Royce. It is a future brand to remember.

Savor said:

I just saw one reviewer compare the two price "disrupters" in the OnePlus One vs Xiaomi Mi3, and he said the Mi3 was one of the best he ever had but gave the OnePlus perhaps a slight edge. Maybe Cyanogen Mod over MIUI but it is like splitting hairs. If the Moto E/G's and Nexus devices are the value in the Western Hemisphere, OnePlus and Xiaomi are the price saviors of the Far East.

Personally, I am waiting for Xiaomi to release the Redmi 1s (aka Hongmi or "red rice") in my country. I watched a video of Hugo Barra show random Mi products including the Mi bunnies stuff animals. The Mi3 is definitely the flagship and most stylish of the bunch, but I'm giving the Redmi 1s a second look. It is plastic but the back and battery is removable, has expansion slot, dual sim, good dimensions, and priced far cheaper at $135! And if not that, the $150 phablet Redmi Note with octa-core which beats the Galaxy S4 in benchmark scores.

I don't feel the need to ever pay higher than $200-$250 for a decent phone now that Xiaomi is here. Moto G, Moto X, and Nexus 5 start looking expensive by comparison with Mi specs which can blow away the flagships from last year and the Mi3 is still outclassing some flagships from this year. Xiaomi isn't your typical Chinese brand with cheap parts. They use parts from Sharp, Samsung, Sony, Qualcomm, and use audio components that are used in BMW's and Rolls Royce. It is a future brand to remember.

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nothing good comes cheap, thats the lesson i learned multiple times. manufacturers cut corners to bring the price down. you only see the price, not which corners were cut. thats why a stopped looking at a price and started looking at brands and their history.

http://forums.oneplus.net/threads/why-i-will-no-longer-support-oneplus-warning-very-long.45332/

beosound3200 said:

nothing good comes cheap, thats the lesson i learned multiple times. manufacturers cut corners to bring the price down. you only see the price, not which corners were cut. thats why a stopped looking at a price and started looking at brands and their history.

http://forums.oneplus.net/threads/why-i-will-no-longer-support-oneplus-warning-very-long.45332/

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Your evidence comes from one forum post from a disgruntled user on the net?

fredaroony said:

Your evidence comes from one forum post from a disgruntled user on the net?

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no, it comes from the basic principles of capitalism and mass production

the post is the outcome

Consider most of their phones offer Dual-Sim, FM Radio, or both.

No LTE? I won't consider any more devices that don't have most of, if not all of the lLTE bands.

beosound3200 said:

nothing good comes cheap, thats the lesson i learned multiple times. manufacturers cut corners to bring the price down. you only see the price, not which corners were cut. thats why a stopped looking at a price and started looking at brands and their history.

http://forums.oneplus.net/threads/why-i-will-no-longer-support-oneplus-warning-very-long.45332/

Click to expand...

Alternatively....

A Tiny Chinese Startup Has Made My Favorite New Smartphone Of The Year - Business Insider

There is a difference between being cheap, and being less expensive / greedy.

For example, the OnePlus 64GB model is only $50 more than the 16GB model. That's simply being less expensive / greedy than certain other manufacturers who would charge $200 more.

kdarling said:

Alternatively....

A Tiny Chinese Startup Has Made My Favorite New Smartphone Of The Year - Business Insider

There is a difference between being cheap, and being less expensive / greedy.

For example, the OnePlus 64GB model is only $50 more than the 16GB model. That's simply being less expensive / greedy than certain other manufacturers who would charge $200 more.

Click to expand...

I've read that. But ask yourself this, can any meaningful r&d come out of thin margins? Can there be a healthy industry with razor-thin margins?

I want manufacturers from whom i buy products bathing in cash so they can make distruptive moves revolutionising the industry not penny-pinching and cutting corners. What can oneplus one do except put more downward pressure on the already very unhealthy smartphone industry in the perpetual race to the bottom?

I have absolutely no respect for manufacturers who compete solely based on price. I dont care about the price, only about quality and features. What do xiaomi and oneplus have to offer?

beosound3200 said:

I have absolutely no respect for manufacturers who compete solely based on price. I dont care about the price, only about quality and features. What do xiaomi and oneplus have to offer?

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You are the 1%

Hugo Barra: North America is in Xiaomi’s pipeline – Exclusive

http://www.androidauthority.com/xiaomi-north-america-pipeline-hugo-barra-391732/

aeboi said:

You are the 1%

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No, im not, but a few hundred dollars more or less for smth ill be using for couple of years isnt going to make me hungry.

Especially when youre buying subsidized.

Im talking about cheap people, not poor people. And i wouldnt bet there is more poor people...