No matter how much talented you claim to be, there would be at least one Asian more talented than you. And by Asian, I meant anybody except an Indian.
China is what I expected as the answer.
Almost a third of San Francisco’s air pollution comes from China and Xiaomi sees a demand of the Mi Air Purifier in India. #Funny *Didn’t see that coming*
Nearly 700 million people in China drink contaminated water because the ground water of 90% of Chinese cities is polluted. Well, In that case, they should launch a water purifier so that Indians can demand that too. *See, Sarcasm*.
You must be wondering what this Xiaomi is. Right? They are the so called smartphone making giants, headquartered in Beijing, China.
Xiaomi, also called “Apple of China”, has emerged as one serious ass kicker when it comes to manufacturing smartphones. Doesn’t matter if youngsters today are not able to speak XIAOMI correctly (It is pronounced as sh-ow-me), they still own one from their what they claim to give Apple and Samsung a taste of defeat line-up.
And the Indians who own their smartphone and think of the last line as the truth, I just can give those people a pat on the back and a statement full of sarcastic sympathy. But, I have to agree that they have caught everyone’s attention and have created a hype in Indian market. What I find is all this hype is because every smartphone owner wants the best tech in his hands but at a reasonable and affordable price too. This is where Xiaomi comes in mind. Samsung and Apple devices seem a luxury in front of what Xiaomi and alike companies offer at a reduced price.
Okay. Enough of bantering, let’s see what makes this company the third largest smartphone maker in the world, behind the giants Samsung and Apple at first and second places respectively.
Mi 3
Xiaomi entered the Indian market with this very product and hoped for a success and they weren’t disappointed by us. With a 5.0 inch screen with approximately 441 ppi, powered with Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 along with Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 processor and 2 GB RAM, a 13 megapixel camera makes it a full package. At just INR 14,000, features provided in it are unmatched.
The first 100,000 pieces sold out within 40 minutes of its release on Flipkart. A second sale of 10,000 was seen going off within 5 seconds. Such is the impact. Well done China. And I am starting to realize why people are mad for this company’s phones.
REDMI 1S
Second release was of this product, Redmi 1S in India as if Mi 3 wasn’t enough to give companies here a touch run. I guess not. Priced at just INR 6000, this piece offers 4.7 inch screen, Qualcomm MSM8228 Snapdragon 400, Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex A-7 processor boosted with Adreno 305 and 1 GB RAM. 8 megapixel primary camera is all what you’ll get with this one. A low budget, fully featured smartphone.
Third. Okay. A 5.0 inch screen, Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801, Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 330 with 3 GB RAM and 13 megapixel rear camera and 8 megapixel front camera. Priced at 19,999, it has got more than enough features than what Samsung and Apple offer at this price.
5.5 inch screen, Qualcomm MSM8928 Snapdragon 400, Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex A-7, Adreno 305 and 13 megapixel rear camera. Priced at INR 9,999. NEXT.
Mi NOTE
This one is classic. 5.7 inch screen with Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 and Quad-core 2.5 Ghz Krait 400 processor, it comes with 3 GB RAM and a 13 megapixel camera. Priced at INR 23,000.
Mi NOTE PRO
Another phone? Stop it, already. Please. Well, just like their population, they ain’t gonna stop. They have clear intentions to flood Indian market with their smartphones.
This phone is a masterpiece though. It is slighter thinner than iPhone 6 and better in terms of features it provide. You can have this phone at just INR 33,000, as it is packed with Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810, Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex A53 & Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex A57 and not only this, it comes with a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5.7 inch screen with approx. 515 ppi. *AMAZING*. A little on the lower end when compared to Samsung Galaxy Note 4 which costs around INR 55,000, but not that low that I would be ready to pay that extra 20,000.
BAN ON XIAOMI SALE IN INDIA
The Delhi High Court has put a halt on Xiaomi’s surging sales in India by passing an ex-parte injunction order. Ericsson India filed a case against Xiaomi for infringement of patents under the IPR Rules, 2007. But it was partially lifted meaning they can still sell the smartphones which have a Qualcomm chipset.
Meanwhile, OnePlus, another Chinese smartphone manufacturer, came into limelight when its phone OnePlus One got people’s attention.
OnePlus One comes with a 5.5 inch screen, Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801, Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 330 and 3 GB RAM, I find it similar to BlackBerry’s Passport only with price half of what BlackBerry offers at.
With all these models, what idea do we get?
What I can make out from all this is that Xiaomi believes to provide the technology at a much cheaper price than other manufacturers. What China thinks is that the Indian market is too sensitive to changes. I, to some extent, agree. But, let me make things clear here.
Xiaomi may be at the top spot in China, but they are not anywhere else. That is because even a mouse considers itself a lion when it is in its own house.Same is with Xiaomi. Though they have proved to be giants in China and somewhat otherwise too, but there is no way they can steal the loyal customers from Samsung and Apple.
Micromax, an Indian company, piped South Korean giants Samsung off the first position in terms of sale of all the featured phones in Q4 2014 in India.
Xiaomi missed the top five smartphone vendor list in Q4 2014 in India even after it saw its shipments grow almost 250 percent quarter-on-quarter. In support of this fact, Samsung shipped 27.4 percent of smartphones in India in Q4 2014 while Micromax shipped 19.5 percent in that same period.
Crossing 1 million mark in terms of cumulative shipments since its entry into the Indian market is remarkably good. But even after this, they weren’t anywhere near to Intex, Lava, Karbonn and more.
People don’t trust Chinese products as they die soon. I will not be surprised when people will put these phones in that category too. But we people get so damn fascinated by the features and the price these companies offer that we tend to forget some important things that might cause a total upset to us in the future. Because just selling is not everything. After sales service fails miserably just like when these phones will in future.
Notable mention of other Xiaomi products other than smartphones:
The Yeelight smart light bulb
Mi smart power plug
Mi smart remote center
Ants smart webcam
And obviously, the Mi air purifier. *Wink*.
-By Aayush Gupta
(Views are his personal)
