Xiaomi
Latest
Xiaomi Phone 2 preps Hong Kong and Taiwan launch, seeks early local testers on Facebook
We knew Xiaomi's keen to bring its phones out of China and into the European market, but before taking that long-haul flight, the Chinese company is going to make a couple of stops in Asia. According to the latest updates on the company's Twitter feed and a freshly-made Facebook group (under "Xiaomi Asia"), the Xiaomi Phone 2 will be hitting Hong Kong and Taiwan "in the near future," and folks living in those two regions can enter a draw for a chance to become a guinea pig help test the phone's localized MIUI ROM (in traditional Chinese, naturally) ahead of launch. CEO Lei Jun had previously stated that his company would expand into Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore by the end of this year, but due to the overwhelming demand of Qualcomm's 28nm chipsets throughout the year, it's unlikely that Xiaomi can realize its original plan in time. Regardless, from what we know, Xiaomi may partner with Chunghwa Telecom to sell the Xiaomi Phone 2 in Taiwan, whereas in Hong Kong it may utilize the same old online direct sale model to begin with -- unlike Meizu who has a physical shop in the city, as well as a partnership with local carrier PCCW. Now, how about a full schedule for your world domination, Mr. Lei?
Inevitable: Oppo Find 5 meets Xiaomi Phone 2 and Meizu MX2
With all three major Chinese phone makers now showing their quad-core cards, it's only natural for us to take a friendly portrait of their latest flagships: from left to right we have the Meizu MX2 (due December 19th), the Xiaomi Phone 2 (already out) and the freshly announced Oppo Find 5 (due January). At 8.86mm thick, the Find 5 is subtly slimmer than our two other 10.2mm-thick phones when compared visually, but the five-inch 1080p screen is clearly a winner in terms of size and pixel density -- the latter is made more obvious by the fine details on the tactfully designed icons; just too bad you won't be able to fit much 1080p video content into the 16GB built-in storage. As for aesthetics, we're currently leaning towards the Find 5 for its less obvious bezel around the glass panel, and the phone's shape is also a nice change from the usual rectangle-with-evenly-rounded-corners form factor. Still, the feel and contour of the Meizu MX2's crystal back cover gave the most comfortable grip out of the three, only to be hampered by the Flyme OS' eccentric UX. Obviously, we shall do a more detailed comparison once we have our review unit, so stay tuned.
Xiaomi Box taps the Chinese smart TV market on the cheap, flirts with AirPlay (hands-on)
The Apple TV may not be officially available in China, but there are already plenty of cheap Android TV dongles and set-top boxes over there to keep the folks occupied. That said, many of them don't offer a satisfying multimedia experience, so even for a latecomer like Xiaomi, there's still space for competition. Having just launched the much anticipated Xiaomi Phone 2, the Chinese startup recently announced that it had acquired digital content provider Duokan for some time, and the first fruit is this conveniently named Xiaomi Box. Even with the bundled one-meter HDMI cable, the pebble's priced at a competitive ¥399 (about $64) and we've been told it'll be available in mid-December. Better yet, it claims to be compatible with AirPlay right out of the box! Read on to see if that's the case with our pre-production unit.
Xiaomi Phone 2 review: high-end specs in a surprisingly affordable package
As mobile phones have become more powerful, prices for many flagship models have managed to linger were they always were -- at the top end. The Xiaomi has always been one exception, though. Last year, this Beijing startup launched its very first namesake phone at just CN¥1,999 ($320), which was rather impressive given that this was the first Chinese device to feature the 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon MSM8260 chip (not to be mistaken with the Krait-based MSM8260A). This stimulated two fronts of the smartphone war: the price-per-performance ratio kind, and the cheap-as-hell kind. With regards to performance, we're looking at competitors like Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo and good old Meizu; while the price battle involves taking on MediaTek-powered devices under various new brands -- many of which have done so well that they've now set up stores in Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei area. Needless to say, Xiaomi is now facing a greater challenge -- one that barely existed a year ago. But on the brighter side of things, the company now has three Android devices spanning two price tiers: two editions of the Xiaomi Phone 1S for ¥1,299 ($210) or ¥1,499 ($240), and the quad-core Xiaomi Phone 2 -- the star of this review -- for ¥1,999, which is well below its ¥2,350 ($380) raw cost, according to CEO Lei Jun. There's no doubt that Xiaomi could recoup some of the costs from its vast range of accessories, and with the imminent launch of the Xiaomi TV set-top box next month, it's clear that the company's hoping to profit from content. Still, as mama said, it's the first impression that counts (especially for consumers outside China, anyway), so read on to see how we coped with Xiaomi's second-gen flagship phone.%Gallery-170578%
Xiaomi Phone 2 officially launching in China on October 30th, 16GB and 32GB flavors offered
With all these Snapdragon S4 Pro phones popping up here and there, Xiaomi's finally announcing its launch plan for the retail version of its very own Xiaomi Phone 2 aka MI-Two, which is also powered by Qualcomm's APQ8064 SoC. Here's what's going to happen: on October 30th, the company's online store will release the first 50,000 units, followed by another 250,000 units (approximately) in mid-November. Additionally, the device will be offered in both 16GB and 32GB flavors, which are priced at ¥1,999 (about $320) and ¥2,299 (about $370), respectively. Folks who reside in China can now register online for a quota, but it'll probably be just a matter of time before we see these on eBay, anyway.
Xiaomi Phone 2 pre-production units available on September 22nd, limited to 600 lucky buyers
Much like the run-up to the previous flagship product launch, Qualcomm-backed Xiaomi has just announced that it'll be selling a small batch of pre-production second-gen Xiaomi Phones, in the hopes to get some keen users to perform last-minute checks before mass production. To be exact, only 600 of these quad-core Jelly Bean phones will be made available online at local time 10am on September 22nd (that's 10pm ET on the 21st); and even if you have CN¥1,999 ($310) to spare, you'll still need to be one of the 1,200 expert members from the Xiaomi and MIUI online communities to be able to hit the "order" button. Nice hype drive, if you ask us. Later on, successful buyers can simply swap their engineering units in for a final version of the 16GB or 32GB Xiaomi Phone 2 -- the latter a new addition that co-founder Lei Jun announced on Sina Weibo last Saturday (where he also cheekily asked if anyone need a 64GB flavor). For those who qualify but would rather avoid the digital bloodshed next week, we suggest you wait until the official Chinese launch in the second-half of October; or try Taiwan by the end of the year.
Xiaomi Phone 1S ships August 23rd with avalanche of backorders
You know you're doing well when even your warmed-up, older smartphone is triggering queues before it's on sale. Xiaomi has just promised that the Phone 1S will reach the market on August 23rd, but with 200,000 units to share -- a slight shortfall when there are 1.3 million reserved phones. The company hasn't said how quickly it will catch up to the backlog for its revived Android flagship. We hope it's soon; it wouldn't do to have customers still waiting for the 1S by the time the Phone 2 rolls around in October, after all. We'd say it's a nice problem to have, and it bodes well for sales of the true sequel.
Xiaomi Phones may enter Europe next year, because China ain't big enough
Here's a bit of good news to soak in over the weekend. After the unveiling of the Xiaomi Phone 2 (aka Mi2) in front of some 3,000 people yesterday, a reliable source informed us that the Chinese startup is already looking to bring its highly affordable phones to Europe next year. Alas, we couldn't get a more specific time frame, but assuming Xiaomi wants to deliver its first quad core device to the Europeans as well, it'd likely be within the first half of next year, well before the next August 16th announcement (the company's managed to stick to the same date so far). Of course, it all depends on whether Xiaomi can scale its business model for the unknown territories, and it'll certainly need some solid partners to do so -- much like its collaboration with local retail channels China Unicom, China Telecom and Vancl. Luckily, the MIUI developer will be doing a warm up first in Taiwan. As reported by Business Next last month, chairman Lei Jun made a high profile visit to several Taiwanese carriers in the hopes of breaking into their market by the end of this year. If successful, Lei should be able to meet his ambitious sales target of 6 million Xiaomi Phones accumulated -- still some way away from the 3.52 million units sold so far. Judging by the madness at the event this week (see gallery below), it should be no problem. %Gallery-162748%
Xiaomi Phone 2 now official: 4.3-inch 720p IPS, quad core and Jelly Bean for just $310
At last, no more secrets. Announced in Beijing just now is the Xiaomi Phone 2, and with the exception of the appearance, most of the specs match the many leaks we've come across: 4.3-inch 720p IPS display by Sharp and JDI, Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 quad-core chip, 2GB RAM and 16GB memory. To power this beast, Xiaomi's throwing in a 2,000mAh cell, but you can also purchase a 3,000mAh version if you don't mind the extra 2mm thickness on the phone. As for photography, you get a 28mm two-megapixel imager at the front along with a 27mm F2.0 eight-megapixel BSI camera on the back -- we saw some stunning untouched shots from the latter at the launch event. The good news doesn't stop there. On the software front Xiaomi's decided to jump straight to Android Jelly Bean for the phone's MIUI ROM, which itself packs several new features as well. Just to name a few: enhanced security, phone finder, Chinese voice assistant (apparently with 85 percent comprehension accuracy), more interactive themes and 5GB of cloud storage service with online client. As you can already see, all of this will cost just ¥1,999 (about $310) -- the same as the original Xiaomi Phone announced this time last year -- when it launches in October, and local carriers China Unicom plus China Telecom will also be offering the DC-HSPA+ handset at subsidized prices. Interestingly, Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun even admitted on the stage that the phone's raw cost is ¥2,350 ($370) per unit, so hopefully it'll go down sooner than later for his sake. But if ¥1,999 is still too much, there's also the ¥1,499 ($235) Xiaomi Phone 1S which, as we've already seen, is very much just the original Xiaomi but bumped up from 1.5GHz to 1.7GHz, along with a front-facing camera. Until we get hold of the phones to play with, here are some photos from the event. Update: Now we have some photos from our very brief hands-on -- each person was only given 90 seconds with the beta units! That said, the Xiaomi Phone 2s already felt pretty solid and the UI animation was slick, so we look forward to the more refined engineering samples next month. Update 2: Forgot to mention that both devices support WCDMA 850、1900 and 2100MHz. So yes, it'll work just fine on AT&T! %Gallery-162591% %Gallery-162598% %Gallery-162599%
Next-gen Xiaomi Phone outed by certifications ahead of launch, will again come in three variants (updated)
Having seen the next-gen Xiaomi Phone's more colorful yet rejected designs, we're rather baffled by these dull-looking certification images of the real deal. According to a filing from the good old TENAA, this new device from Xiaomi goes by the codename "2012051" and packs WCDMA radio, but that's pretty much it in terms of specs. Eagle-eyed readers may have already spotted the striking resemblance to the original Xiaomi Phone (aka MI-One Plus), but it appears to be getting an extra front-facing camera and, for some reason, a smaller speaker grill on the back. But wait, there's more! We dug up two additional models in the China Compulsory Certificate database: there's the "2012052" also with WCDMA radio, plus the "2012053" with CDMA2000/WCDMA dual radio. Bearing in mind that the current Xiaomi Phone has three variants, our guess is that its successor will follow a similar pattern: the WCDMA flavor may again have a 1.5GHz version followed by a slower and cheaper version (much like what the Youth Edition aka MI-One is to the MI-One Plus); and depending on Xiaomi's arrangements with China Unicom and China Telecom, the CDMA flavor for the latter may or may not be launched alongside its WCDMA cousin. Let's hope for the best when this alleged quad-core phone gets announced next Thursday. Update: Another possibility is that the design pictured above only applies to the lower-end model, which may just pack a dual-core chip (hopefully a Snapdragon S4). We shall see.
Xiaomi Phone 2 may debut on August 16th, packaging will withstand 180kg of weight (update: event confirmed!)
Amid rumors that Chinese startup Xiaomi will soon be bringing out its next-gen Android smartphone, various spy shots have been circulating around the web. However, a company representative has already shot them down by claiming they were all rejected designs, though the same person told CNMO that the so-called "Xiaomi Phone 2" will feature a larger display as well as Qualcomm's quad-core chip clocked at 1.5GHz. If true, this would make the new Xiaomi Phone officially the first smartphone to pack the beefy APQ8064 silicon, which should be no surprise given the tight partnership between Xiaomi and Qualcomm -- not to mention that the latter is also a notable investor of the phone maker. As to when we'll know the truth, Sina Tech is reporting that according to an insider, Xiaomi will be hosting the launch event on August 16th and will, oddly enough, offer tickets to non-media attendees for ¥199 (about $30) per head. On the contrary, fans were able to just walk into the unveiling of the original Xiaomi Phone -- three million of which have been sold as of June. Meanwhile, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun and his colleagues have been showing off the minimalistic, eco-friendly packaging of their upcoming second-gen smartphone -- more pics after the break. And as before, the company pulled the standing-on-box stunt again, only this time they bumped the weight from 85kg to 180kg which obviously required an extra fellow, as you can see in the intimate photo above. Looks like the new MIUI flagship device is all set for a safe delivery -- all we need now is a price. Update: We now have confirmation from Xiaomi about the launch event -- it's all true! We'll be there so stay tuned. Also, Lei Jun said that all proceeds (make that ¥199 times 1,000 tickets!) will go to charity, but paying attendees will receive some nice gifts as well.
Next-generation Xiaomi Phone rumored to house quad-core processor, 720p display
Following last year's launch of its potent, price-savvy Android smartphone, Xiaomi is already purportedly crafting its even more powerful successor. Alongside a bundle of blurry cam images, leaks from within factories making the next iteration say that it'll pack a 720p screen, one of Qualcomm's quad-core processors and a dual-flash setup alongside the camera. There's still the curious absence of a front-facing camera, but this should to help ensure the phone lands with a price tag just as attractive as Xiaomi's last device. While rival manufacturer Meizu priced its latest quad-core phone at around $480, the Foxconn-based moles reckon this next-generation (likely MIUI-powered) slab could land at just over of $300. If all these rumors (and that price) have piqued your interest, you can head on the source for a handful of extra images.
MIUI reaches Google Play as MiHome Launcher, gives that Xiaomi look
Xiaomi's MIUI interface for Android has been available to load up for some time, but unless you were willing to flash your firmware, you might as well have just imported one of the company's phones instead. Now, however, getting much of that heavily customized (if slightly familiar) layer is as quick as heading over to Google Play. Dedicated versions are available both for Android 2.3 and 4.0 that provide the same core navigation as well MIUI Locker to replace the current lock screen. It won't quite replicate the experience of the real deal, but it will certainly be the most trouble-free.
Xiaomi Phone gets a Youth Edition, a less powerful, cheaper alternative for students
Many of you are already familiar with the Xiaomi Phone and its reverence in the MIUI community, but now the Chinese manufacturer has introduced a less expensive counterpart to the original, which is aptly known as the Youth Edition. Priced at 1,499 yuan ($237), this smartphone will sell for a full 500 yuan less than its elder and will retain many of its components, which include a 4-inch, 854 x 480 display, an 8-megapixel camera, 4GB of ROM and a 1,930mAh battery. In fact, the only significant changes are the dual-core 1.2GHz CPU (which is down from 1.5GHz), and 768MB of RAM instead of the original 1GB. Xiaomi will produce 150,000 Youth Edition handsets, which seems like a healthy number, but if you want to stake your claim to one, you'd best join in the pre-registration process, which runs now through May 18th.
7-inch Eden Tab launches in Japan this weekend, could become the Xiaomi tablet
For those who've been keeping an eye on Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, you should already know that after the Xiaomi Phone's successful launches (most recently in collaboration with China Telecom), the man's been pondering over whether the Chinese tablet market is worth tapping into. Funnily enough, it turned out that during CES, Kingsoft's Japanese subsidiary Mobile In Style announced the 7-inch Eden Tab, which just so happened to be co-developed by Xiaomi and shares the same ODM, Inventec, as the Xiaomi Phone. This is no surprise considering Lei Jun also chairs both Xiaomi and Kingsoft, and the two companies have announced partnerships before; though it doesn't seem like this tablet uses the former's MIUI software. Read on to find out more.
Xiaomi Phone review
Xiaomi Phone to get vanilla Android 2.3.5 next month, Ice Cream Sandwich in January Xiaomi Phone hands-on redux: dual partition system explained (video) Xiaomi Phone with MIUI OS: a $310 Android with 1.5GHz dual-core SoC and other surprises Any seasoned Android enthusiast would have no doubt come across Xiaomi Corporation's MIUI at some point. For those who haven't, here's a quick intro: MIUI is a heavily customizable Android ROM based on the works of CyanogenMod (at least on the driver level, so we've been told), and currently the Chinese startup is officially offering its free software for 12 well-known Android handsets, including the HTC Desire, Samsung Captivate and Motorola Droid. Of course, we'll also have the Xiaomi Phone on the list when it launches in China next month. Using Foxconn's tooling and Inventec's manufacturing resources, the aptly named Xiaomi Phone is the company's first attempt at developing its own hardware, and boy, it's done one helluva job here with the specs: a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260 SoC (note that this isn't just an overclocked 1.2GHz chip), 1GB RAM, 4GB ROM, eight megapixel camera and the usual wireless bundle including WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS (plus the rare GLONASS). By now you must be thinking: surely there must be a tradeoff somewhere for that tempting price of ¥1,999 ($310)? Read on to find out if this is the case. %Gallery-134691%
Xiaomi Phone to get vanilla Android 2.3.5 next month, Ice Cream Sandwich in January
By now most of you may already know that the attractively priced Xiaomi Phone will support both MIUI and vanilla Android ROMs (though not simultaneously on its dual-partition system); but earlier today, CEO Lei Jun confirmed that October will see the release of said device's vanilla Android 2.3.5 ROM, meaning the keen beans won't have to wait long after the Xiaomi Phone's launch in the same month. More interestingly, Lei also announced that his Beijing-based chums will be rolling out a vanilla 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich build in January, which is about two or three months after Eric Schimdt's expected launch date. Sounds about right if you look at previous releases, and we shall look forward to observing the epic 4.0 battle between the Xiaomi Phone, the ASUS Padfone and the rumored Nexus Prime.
Xiaomi Phone hands-on redux: dual partition system explained (video)
Not long ago Xiaomi, a Beijing-based company with around 250 staff, shocked the industry with the announcement of its conveniently named Xiaomi Phone. We're looking at a well-built device packing a 1.5GHz dual-core SoC, 1GB RAM and 4GB ROM, 4-inch LCD, GPS plus GLONASS, and a generous 1,900mAh battery. Set at an extremely competitive price point of around $310 for October, this has no doubt made other local manufacturers -- Meizu in particular -- think twice about their current strategy. But let's ignore the competitors for now and focus on Xiaomi. Many Android enthusiasts might already recognize this small startup as the star behind the popular MIUI, an Android ROM that offers a vast range of user customization along with the promise of great performance. Alas, we only had a glimpse of this at the Xiaomi Phone launch. Worse yet, it turned out that due to some miscommunication, the prototype unit we handled with actually had a very old firmware, which didn't do justice for the developers. Luckily, we were offered a second chance to take a closer look at a much more up-to-date device. Read on to see what we discovered. %Gallery-131828%
Xiaomi Phone gets dissected, phone status confirmed
The Xiaomi Phone managed to pique our interest by packing a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor into a fairly sleek, inexpensive package -- and, like all interesting new devices, it's now been torn completely apart. You can thank the folks at LeiPhone for doing the hard work in this case, the results of which can be found at the source link below. We'll soon also have some more impressions of the (intact) phone ourselves, and it looks like Xiaomi will be giving its own forum members the first crack at pre-orders for the device. Those start at 10PM Eastern tonight for those with the requisite number of points, and we're told that the first 600 orders (200 each day from the 29th to the 31st) will receive an "engineering special edition" version of the phone -- not to mention a slight discount off the list price. [Thanks, Adam]
Engadget Mobile Podcast 100 - 08.21.2011
We're 100. 100! If you're like us, you totally can't believe it's been more than two years since we first started Mobile Podcasting but you totally can believe it at the same time because that's just how we roll: dedicated. To celebrate we've brought along Engadget Chinese editor Richard Lai and Noah Kravitz of TechnoBuffalo to weigh in on stuff like the Xiaomi phone and Symbian Belle leaking its way into the world. And...a couple of other things. We're old. It's a mobile party. You just got your pentaband invite to click on the play or download links below. Don't sleep on it: before you know it we'll be 200.Hosts: Myriam Joire (tnkgrl), Brad MolenGuests: Richard Lai, Noah KravitzProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Daestro - Light Powered (Ghostly International)00:02:45 - HP will 'discontinue operations for webOS devices', may spin off Personal Systems Group00:21:55 - Google acquiring Motorola Mobility00:42:45 - Motorola's new Droid HD makes cameo alongside Droid Bionic01:04:30 - BlackBerry Bold 9930 review01:05:43 - AT&T streamlining individual messaging plans August 21st, leaving unlimited as the sole survivor01:15:00 - Xiaomi Phone hands-on (updated with video)01:25:40 - Symbian Anna now available for download on Nokia N8, E7, C7 and C6-0101:26:30 - Symbian Belle download leaked to N8 community, quickly pulled from site (update: Anna available on NaviFirm)01:30:57 - CNET: RIM in talks to squeeze out BlackBerry music service01:32:50 - Motorola Photon 4G review01:36:53 - Samsung Hercules, HTC Ruby available from T-Mobile on October 26th?01:38:56 - Samsung Hercules gets its Telus on in leaked glamour shots01:39:38 - HTC Holiday prototype shows up on Craigslist, gives us reason to celebrate (update: AT&T-bound)01:45:55 - Why is LTE equipment being installed in an Apple Store?Hear the podcastSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)Contact the podcastpodcast (at) engadgetmobile (dot) com.Follow us on Twitter@tnkgrl @phonewisdom @engadgetmobile
