The Zenfone 4 and Zenfone 5 have sold considerably well in India, and Asus (TPE:2357) is now looking to continue that momentum this year with the launch of its latest handset, the Zenfone 2. Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the Zenfone 2 grabbed headlines in the tech community as being the first device to feature an astounding 4GB RAM.

Launched in Taiwan in the month of March for what amounts to $295, the 4GB variant (ZE551ML) features great hardware for the price, including a 5.5-inch full-HD display, Intel’s quad-core 2.3GHz Atom Z3580 CPU, 64GB internal memory, microSD slot, dual SIM and LTE connectivity and a 13MP camera at the back along with a 5MP front camera and 3,000mAh battery. Software-wise, the Zenfone 2 features the latest version of Android 5.0 with Asus’ Zen UI rounding off the customizations.

While devices such as the Zenfone 2 are highly anticipated in Western countries, in India, the handset will encounter fierce competition from the likes of Lenovo (HKG:0992), Xiaomi and Huawei, all of whom offer stellar hardware at an affordable price. The differentiator for Asus, at least in India, will be the 4GB ZE551ML variant, which will make it the first device to offer that much memory.

In terms of hardware, the Zenfone 2 is up there with the likes of Xiaomi’s Mi Note, which the Chinese vendor has dubbed the “best smartphone available today.” Xiaomi has become a force to reckon with in India, but Asus has also enjoyed a healthy dose of attention from consumers with its budget offerings. Furthermore, the brushed metal design of the Zenfone 2 looks far more polished than the glass back on offer with the Mi Note. Pricing may also turn out to be a factor that determines the fate of either device in the country, with Xiaomi already showing that it can offer its products for as low as what they are available in China.

There isn’t an exact launch date mentioned for the Zenfone 2 in India, but it should be making its debut sometime before the end of the month. Along with the 4GB model, there will be several affordable options that offer 2GB RAM and a lower resolution screen.

The post Asus Zenfone 2 To Launch In India By The End Of April appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) latest plan to get Windows 10 for phones on more devices involves collaborating with Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi in offering a custom Android ROM that effectively allows devices like the Mi 4 to run Windows 10.

From what has been revealed thus far, the deal seems less like a partnership and more like Microsoft trying to gain feedback from Xiaomi’s community of fans, who are some of the most vocal when it comes to sharing their thoughts on new software updates.

As part of the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft will partner with Xiaomi to offer Windows 10 free downloads to a select group of Xiaomi Mi4 users. Xiaomi Mi4 users will get the ability to flash their phones with the new Windows 10 OS and provide feedback to Xiaomi and Microsoft on their experience.

This partnership will allow Xiaomi and Microsoft to get direct user feedback and continue to improve the experience for China. Microsoft is thrilled to see Xiaomi embracing Windows 10 and offering this great value to their customers. We’re excited to see the feedback we receive from this audience.

Since Xiaomi actively encourages users to install custom ROMs on its hardware, Microsoft’s Windows 10 is seen as just another alternative among the likes of CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android and AOSP builds.

An image of a Mi 4 — which comes with hardware that is better than anything currently available on Windows Phone — running Windows 10 was posted on the MIUI forum, with the statement that the ROM would be made available to the community shortly.

What Microsoft’s intentions at this stage in launching a ROM tailored to run Windows 10 is unclear, but with Windows Phone steadily coming to parity with Android at a hardware-level, it is possible that the software giant is looking to increase the number of devices that have Windows 10 installed without actually having to launch any.

By offering a ROM, Microsoft is allowing users to try and test out the features on offer from Windows Phone, which ultimately leads to an increased interest in the platform. Android’s customizability continues to be one of its strong points, and if Microsoft can cater to that segment of power users, it stands to gain valuable feedback as well as a new outlet through which to increase the number of customers using its services.

The post Microsoft Wants You To Run Windows 10 On Your Android Device, Starting With Xiaomi Mi 4 appeared first on VR World.

Xiaomi is looking to expand its presence in India with the launch of 100 experience stores across the country later this year. The centers will allow prospective customers to get a hands-on look at all the products Xiaomi has to offer.

No devices will be sold at the stores, with Xiaomi stating that it will continue to sell products exclusively through Flipkart. There was talk of Xiaomi starting its own e-commerce portal, with the vendor set to reveal its plans at a later stage.

Xiaomi is also set to create manufacturing facilities in India, where the vendor will assemble the devices that will go on sale locally. Currently, all Xiaomi products are imported from China, but in the next 12 to 18 months, the manufacturer is looking to assemble handsets within the country. Xiaomi will also be looking to sell products assembled in India in neighboring countries as it looks to continue its global expansion.

Along with manufacturing facilities, Xiaomi is building an R&D division in India that will deliver an ecosystem of content and services tailored to customers located within the country.

The move to launch offline experience centers is a way to get more users to get some hands-on time with Xiaomi products, and to also dispel the negative image most consumers have with regard to Chinese vendors, which were notorious for selling low-quality knock-offs in the Indian market a few years ago. The centers will also offer service and support for Xiaomi’s devices.

Xiaomi is not the only vendor looking to increase its presence in India, as Motorola has also announced that it will also be launching similarly-themed experience stores in the country this year.

The post Xiaomi To Open 100 Experience Stores In India appeared first on VR World.

Indian manufacturer Micromax’s wholly-owned subsidiary Yu Televentures has started teasing its second handset, codenamed Project Caesar. The handset is set to launch sometime next month, and will continue to offer CyanogenMod out of the box following an exclusive partnership between the two companies in India.

In the teaser, Yu says, “Stay tuned, the fYUture is coming!” followed by an image of a lollipop and a finger of KitKat, with the tagline, “KitKat in the age of Lollipop? Give Me a break.”

The Me stylization is a reference to Xiaomi’s Mi branding in India, and the remark is concerning the fact that MIUI 6 — the latest version of the operating system found on Xiaomi’s products — is still based on Android 4.4 KitKat.

While the teaser is further proof that Yu’s upcoming smartphone will run CyanogenMod 12, which is based on Android 5.0 Lollipop, out of the box. The device itself is said to be a Qualcomm reference design with mid-range hardware that will be offered at an affordable price tag, as is the case with Yu Yureka, which is essentially a rebranded Coolpad F2 that offers a 720p display, Snapdragon 615 SoC, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, 13MP camera, 5MP front camera and a 2,500mAh battery for the equivalent of $150.

Yu has been steadily gaining attraction since launching the Yureka in India late last year, accruing over 175,000 sales thus far. The handset is set to make the switch to Android 5.0 in the coming weeks, with the possibility of the update coinciding with the launch of the second Yu handset looking likely at this stage. It is clear that Yu is positioning itself as a direct competitor to Xiaomi, with both vendors offering a differentiated software experience along with stellar hardware at an affordable price.

Xiaomi is set to launch the Mi Pad and Redmi 2 later this month, and it is entirely within the realm of reason that Yu’s next handset will target Xiaomi’s upcoming handset.

The post Yu Starts Teasing Its Upcoming Smartphone By Mocking Xiaomi On Twitter appeared first on VR World.

Recently security consultancy Bluebox Labs reported on some major security flaws found in the latest Xiaomi Mi 4 phone. Xiaomi didn’t take this criticism lying down, and has prepared a lengthy rebuttal to Bluebox’s claims.

While Xiaomi had already called the report “inaccurate” in a statement to VR World, Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s VP International responded to Bluebox Labs by saying the phone purchased by the company in China had been tampered with. It’s important to note that Bluebox had already tested the device to make sure that it was authentic and not a knockoff.

“We are certain the device that Bluebox tested is not using a standard MIUI ROM, as our factory ROM and OTA ROM builds are never rooted and we don’t pre-install services such as YT Service, PhoneGuardService, AppStats etc,” Barra said in his statement. “Bluebox could have purchased a phone that has been tampered with, as they bought it via a physical retailer in China. Xiaomi does not sell phones via third-party retailers in China, only via our official online channels and selected carrier stores.”

If Barra’s claim holds true, this brings up the very worrying issue of supply chain security, as Bluebox points out. If these — authentic — phones are modified by the retailer, or someone else in the supply chain, that’s incredibly concerning for device security and brand reputation.

Barra says that customers should only purchase Xiaomi phones from the official online store to ensure authenticity and “reputable retailers”. But what makes a “reputable retailer”? If the one Bluebox purchased its phone from — and it went to great lengths to ensure authenticity — isn’t reputable than which ones are? After all, China is home to fake Xiaomi stores (and fake Apple as well as Samsung stores too).

If indeed what Barra says is true, this is largely a lesson in supply chain security. All vendors need to ensure that the China side of their supply chain isn’t compromised by a man-in-the-middle attack. Because clearly even local companies aren’t immune.

UPDATE: March 9 2015 11:00 AM China Standard Time

Xiaomi emailed VR World further statements to expand upon what it told Bluebox Labs. Here’s the statement in full.

There are glaring inaccuracies in the Bluebox blog post. Official Xiaomi devices do not come rooted and do not have malware pre-installed. Our investigation based on information received so far indicates that the phone Bluebox obtained is a counterfeit product purchased through an unofficial channel on the streets in China. We’re gathering more information to fully confirm this and should have a final answer in the next 24 hours.

With the large parallel street market for mobile phones in China, not only is it somewhat common for third parties to tamper with the software sold on smartphones, but there are counterfeit products which are almost indistinguishable from the original products on the outside. This happens across all brands, affecting both Chinese and foreign smartphone companies selling in China. 

Furthermore, “entrepreneurial” retailers may add malware and adware to these devices, and even go to the extent of pre-installing modified copies of popular benchmarking software such as CPU-Z and Antutu, which will run “tests” showing the hardware is legitimate — fooling even very discerning buyers.

Xiaomi takes all necessary measures to crack down on the manufacturers of fake devices or anyone who tampers with our software, supported by all levels of law enforcement agencies in China. However, for the safety of our users, Xiaomi and all smartphone brands always recommend buying phones through authorised channels. Xiaomi only sells via Mi.com, and a small number of Xiaomi trusted partners including mobile operators and select authorised retailers, such as Flipkart in India. 

In addition, contrary to what Bluebox has claimed, MIUI is true Android, which means MIUI follows exactly Android CDD, Google’s definition for compatible Android devices, and it passes all Android CTS tests, the process used by the industry to make sure a given device is fully Android compatible. All Xiaomi devices sold in China and international markets are fully Android compatible.

The post Updated: Xiaomi Hits Back Hard at Bluebox Labs’ Claims appeared first on VR World.

After becoming the third largest smartphone vendor in the world in 2014, Xiaomi is looking to continue the momentum by setting itself a sales target of 100 million units. To do so, Xiaomi will focus more on its home market as well as India — which the vendor mentioned as its largest overseas market — before setting its sights on the West.

With devices like the Mi 3, Redmi Note and Mi 4, Xiaomi managed sales of 61.1 million in 2014. One of the main reasons for Xiaomi’s success was the remarkably low pricing of its handsets, which were sold at near manufacturing cost. Xiaomi’s global VP Hugo Barra mentioned that the Chinese brand was able to do so as it does not have any significant overhead in terms of marketing and advertising. All Xiaomi products are sold online in a flash sale model, and advertising for the brand is done solely through social media. The model seems to be working very well for the vendor, as it has over 10,50,000 fans on China’s Weibo microblogging service.

Xiaomi hits 100 million sales

Xiaomi will be looking to improve upon its sales numbers with the likes of the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro. Unveiled last month in China, both handsets are a departure from Xiaomi’s previous handsets in that they both feature glass backs. The 2.5D curved glass at the front and 3D glass surface at the back are both protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3, with the bezel at the front a mere 3.0mm. While the resolution of the 5.7-inch Mi Note is at full-HD, Xiaomi has mentioned that the panel used for the device offers adaptive dynamic contrast as well as a night mode that reduces glare in low-light conditions.

In terms of hardware, the Mi Note offers a quad-core 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801 SoC that features an Adreno 330 GPU, 3GB RAM, 16/64GB internal storage, dual-SIM connectivity, 24-bit/192KHz lossless audio playback, 13MP camera (IMX214) with OIS, 4MP front camera and a 3,000mAh battery.

The Mi Note Pro — as the name suggests — is the beefier of the two, and features a 5.7-inch 2K (2560 x 1440) display, 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 810 SoC, an astounding 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, 64GB internal memory based on the eMMC 5.0 standard, 13MP rear camera, 4MP front camera and LTE Category 9 connectivity along with a 3,000mAh battery.

The Mi Note is available for sale in China with prices starting at $370, while the Mi Note Pro will go on sale later this month at $530. During the initial months of a device’s launch, Xiaomi does not make a significant amount of money from sales, but as the lifecycle of the handset wears on and the cost of the components used comes down, the vendor manages to eke out a small margin. This is why all of Xiaomi’s handsets are manufactured have a limited production run as that decreases overall cost incurred.

Going after Apple in China

After targeting the likes of Samsung (KRX: 005930) and Lenovo (HKG: 0992) in its home markets, Xiaomi has raised the bar and is now setting its sights squarely on Apple, and the iPhone 6 Plus. Apple’s (NASDAQ: APPL) larger iPhone debuted in China to great success, with demand for the device far greater than supply.

Xiaomi called out Apple on several occasions during the launch of its latest handsets, making a reference to how the camera sensor on the Mi Note sits flush on the body, unlike the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6. Xiaomi also revealed how it was able to fit a screen that’s 0.2mm larger than what is on offer with the iPhone 6 Plus in a body that is thinner by 0.15mm.

The first few flash sales of the Mi Note have concluded, with the device selling out in mere minutes, which is essentially what is to be expected of a Xiaomi flash sale these days. A device’s success does not depend only on the hardware, however, and in terms of software, Xiaomi is looking to step up its efforts.

Both the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro come with the latest version of Xiaomi’s operating system, MIUI 6. With over 100 million global users, MIUI began life as a custom Android ROM, and is installed as standard on all Xiaomi devices. The latest iteration bears a slight resemblance to iOS 7, but there is a wide chasm when comparing the experience offered by the two operating systems. MIUI 6 offers a combination of settings and functionality that is geared at novice users as well as power users. The plethora of settings that allow users to customize all facets of the operating system are cleverly hidden away so as not to overwhelm new users to the ecosystem.  Xiaomi offers its own suite of software services, and with the Play Store banned in China, these are the main gateway for Chinese consumers to access mobile services.

Building a lifestyle brand

Xiaomi is known for its handsets, but the brand wants to be much more than that. By offering TVs, routers, smart home products and even air purifiers, Xiaomi is looking to become a lifestyle brand, with Barra stating as much during his MWC keynote. Xiaomi is looking to build an ecosystem of services and products that integrate with the vendor’s software offering, MIUI. Doing so will prove to be a challenge, but given Xiaomi’s loyal fanbase, most of whom are in their mid-twenties, as well as the brand recognition it commands in China, venturing into the IoT market as well as exploring new territories.

At a media event held in San Francisco on February 12, Xiaomi has announced that it will be launching its Mi.com store in the US later this year, through which the vendor will offer accessories such as the $15 Mi Band fitness tracker, Mi piston headphones and the Mi power banks. At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Xiaomi announced that it would be launching the accessory store in Europe as well. The goal behind making accessories available to customers in Westerns countries is to get feedback from a wider audience base and generate interest in Xiaomi as a brand.

With stellar handsets and a move into wearables, action cameras and smart home products, Xiaomi is trying for the first time this year to achieve vertical integration: tie in different products with a single software experience.

The post Xiaomi’s Goals For 2015: 100 Million Handset Sales, Expansion to the West appeared first on VR World.

After launching the Redmi 2 in Taiwan in February, Xiaomi is looking to bring the handset to India later this month, with March 12 cited as a possible launch date for the device in the country.

The Redmi 1S and Redmi Note got off to a great start in India, mainly due to their aggressive pricing and the stellar hardware on offer. Both devices were regularly sold out in under a minute during weekly flash sales, and formed the benchmark for affordable devices in the country. The hardware available with the Redmi Note in particular was far better than what was provided by other international vendors.

With Motorola launching an updated version of the Moto E in India on March 10, it makes sense for Xiaomi to do likewise since the Redmi 1S is now discontinued in the country. The Redmi 2 features better hardware from its predecessor in the form of a 4.7-inch 720p screen protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 2, 1GB RAM, quad-core Snapdragon 410 SoC, 8GB internal memory, microSD card slot, dual-SIM connectivity, 4G LTE, 8MP camera with BSI sensor, 2MP front shooter and a 2,200mAh battery.

In terms of software, the Redmi 2 features the latest iteration of MIUI, MIUI 6. There’s also a beefier version of the device that offers 2GB RAM and 16GB internal memory, but there is no word as yet if we’ll see that handset in India. Pricing of the device will be determined once it launches in the country, but it is believed to cost the same as the Redmi 1S, which retailed for $100. At that price, there won’t be a contender to the Redmi 2 that offers a similar set of features.

The post Xiaomi Set to Launch Redmi 2 in India Later This Month appeared first on VR World.

Xiaomi devices have taken Asia by storm, providing fierce competition to established players such as Samsung (KRX: 005930). Recently Xiaomi has been under the microscope for security issues, as it has been alleged that these devices serve as a conduit that allows Chinese intelligence services to siphon user’s data. However a new report by security consultancy Bluebox Labs shows that the real threat might come from sloppy coding.

The device tested by Bluebox researchers was the Xiaomi Mi 4. Like many smartphones from Chinese vendors, it ships with a forked (non official) version of Android branded as MIUI. Forked versions of Android do not undergo the same security vetting procedures from Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) as official versions do.

Being a forked version of Android means that Google services are not available on the device. For example, the phone ships with a Google Play alternative called Mi Market. However the researchers found that this version of Android appeared to be a combination of 4.4.4 and older versions. Doing a deep dive into the OS the researchers found some conflicts at the API level. The devices contains a mixture of API keys from Android 4.4 and Android 4.2 that are both test-keys (not for public use) and release-keys. As test-keys are not finalized they ship with more security bugs than their final counterparts. However the combination of both test and release keys could be incredibly problematic as bugs will no doubt arise just by combining the two.

Bluebox researchers did on the device was a scan for suspicious apps — malware, spyware or adware. They found three apps considered to be risky. The most problematic of which was an app called Yt Service as it disguises its developer package to make it look like it came from Google — which is not the case. Next up were apps called PhoneGuardService which was identified as a Trojan and AppStats which is classified as riskware.

Bluebox gives the device a low trustable score of 2.6. By virtue of the fact that it runs a forked version of Android, Xiaomi devices ship with security flaws that have been long ago patched by Google.

For its part Xiaomi has not responded to Bluebox’s attempts for responsible disclosure — approaching the vendor first before going public.

Bluebox told VR World that it did not accept outside funding for this study.

Update 4:50 China Standard Time:

Xiaomi sent in this response:

“We are investigating this matter now. There are glaring inaccuracies in the Bluebox blog post, as official Xiaomi devices do not come rooted and do not have any malware pre-installed. It is likely that the Mi 4 that Bluebox obtained has been tampered with.”

The post Bluebox Labs: Xiaomi Phones a Major Security Risk appeared first on VR World.

Inventec Corp (TPE: 2356), a mobile device maker and the major supplier for China’s Xiaomi, said that it will begin mass production at a new factory in India during the second half of 2015 as part of its overseas expansion.

Huang Kuo-chun (黃國鈞), Inventec’s general manager, said that the company’s new plant is located in Chennai, a southern city of India. The plan has been approved by the company’s board of directors on Jan. 26. Initial production is expected to start in the late second quarter or early third quarter before entering mass production in the second half of the year, Huang said.

Huang said that the new plant in India, where is the world’s third-biggest smartphone market, will be used to assemble smartphones as well as other electronic devices, while components will be purchased from local Indian suppliers.

“In addition to China, India will mark our first step toward expanding capacity,” Huang said.

In the meantime, Huang also said that it remains unclear how much the Indian factory will account for Inventec’s total capacity in the next two years.

“Inventec’s major customers are ‘optimistic’ about its investment in the Indian plant but noted that there are still some challenges for the company to enter the Indian market, including the diverse Indian languages and cultural differences,” Huang said.

For now, he said, Inventec has a smartphone assembly factory in Nanjing, China, where monthly production capacity has increased from six million units last year to eight million units currently and is estimated to reach 10 million by the end of this year.

During a press conference last month, Inventec Chairman Richard Lee (李詩欽) said that the company’s shipments of mobile devices were estimated to increase from 30 million units in 2014 to 50 million in 2015, helped largely by the increasing orders from major customers like Xiaomi and growth in tablet computers.

Xiaomi, the leading Chinese smartphone maker, sold a total of 61.1 million smartphones in 2014, tripled from 18.7 million units in 2013. The “Chinese Apple” aimed to ship 100 million smartphones this year, of which Inventec is expected to receive 50% of the orders.

The post Inventec Ready for Mass Production in India appeared first on VR World.

Lenovo-owned (HKG:0992) Motorola announced that it sold more than 3 million devices in India since re-entering the country in February 2014. The manufacturer is looking to increase its presence in the country, and will be establishing experience stores in the country this year.

Motorola’s growth in India

The introduction of the first-gen Moto G – which was the first device to be exclusively offered online – changed the dynamic of the e-commerce industry in India and paved the way for brands like Xiaomi and others that sell their wares exclusively online. Before Motorola made its re-entry into the Indian market, brick-and-mortar stores contributed to a majority of sales, and they were seen as a necessary component in marketing a handset in the country. That has changed over the course of 2014, with the e-commerce industry playing a more significant part when it comes to smartphone sales in the country.

Motorola saw heavy demand for the Moto G, reaching 500,000 sales in the first three months of the device’s availability. The Moto E also witnessed a similar demand, with Motorola selling over 280,000 units of the Moto E and 180,000 units of the Moto G within 30 days of their launch. The first-day sales of the Moto E totaled 55,000 units. The Moto X – which was introduced at the mid-tier segment – also did tremendously well in the country.

The manufacturer – which became the fifth-largest smartphone vendor in the country by August – reached the 2.5 million mark by November, with the last 500,000 sales occurring in under a month. The introduction of the second-generation Moto G and the new Moto X – with the wood and leather back options – allowed Motorola to challenge the likes of Xiaomi, as well as more entrenched vendors like Samsung (KRX:005930).

Maintaining momentum in 2015

Amit Boni, head of India operations for Motorola, said that the manufacturer is looking to redouble its efforts in the country, “which is a very critical market for us.” While not giving any specifics away, Boni mentioned that Motorola may unveil handsets in India. The Moto Maker customization utility, through which users can select custom colors, accents and back options for the Moto X, is also slated to launch in India soon, although a timeframe was not mentioned.

To continue its momentum in the country, Motorola will be establishing experience centers in major metropolitan areas, starting with Bangalore. The first store will commence operations in March, with subsequent stores following suit at a later stage in the year. Five to ten stores are planned for the next six to nine months. The stores will double up as service centers, and will also allow interested customers to try out Motorola’s devices before purchasing them.

The sales model itself is not going to change for Motorola as it continues to partner with Flipkart in 2015, but by having an offline presence, the vendor is looking to increase its visibility and market to a wider audience.

Increased competition

While the first-gen Moto G set the benchmark for affordable devices, the budget segment in India has become increasingly competitive since. Xiaomi’s Redmi 1S, for instance, offers a similar set of hardware features as the second-generation Moto G at half the price. Then there are alternatives from other vendors, like Huawei’s Honor Holly, Asus’ (TPE:2357) Zenfone 5, Yu Yureka and more.

Motorola has better build quality and brand recognition going for it, but other vendors are not far off in terms of offering a similar experience. Xiaomi has managed to sell over a million devices in the country since making its debut last July, and is intent on maintaining growth. Another area manufacturers are targeting is the software-driven services. Xiaomi is working on launching a series of features tailored to Indian users, while Micromax is working with Cyanogen in building a digital platform for Indian users. Samsung is also looking to refocus its efforts in this segment with the Z1, which is the South Korean vendor’s first Tizen-based mobile device.

With more and more companies adopting an online-only approach, Motorola will find it harder to maintain its growth. It should be interesting to see what the vendor has in store for 2015.

The post Motorola Crosses 3 Million Sales In India, Redoubling Efforts In The Country appeared first on VR World.

Xiaomi’s newly launched 5.7-inch flagship smartphone – Mi Note – seemed to help boost several Taiwanese contractors’ business.

On Jan. 15, Xiaomi unveiled the Mi Note flagship smartphone that features ultra-slim design, a more powerful processor, improved cameras and better display resolution.

Priced at US$412 for the Mi Note Pro and US$372 for the Mi Note in China, the former sports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and a quad HD display, while the latter is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 3GB of RAM, and a full HD display. The Chinese smartphone maker also touted the fact that unlike the iPhone 6 variants, the rear camera sits flush with the phone’s body, and does not protrude like the American flagship.

“The newly debuted flagship model is evidence of Xiaomi’s strategy to expand its product portfolio in 2015,” said Jasmine Lu (呂智穎), a Taipei-based analyst with Morgan Stanley. “Competition is intensifying in China and overseas expansion will take time to bear fruit, but we believe Xiaomi can still outgrow peers via a broader mix.”

Lu, meanwhile, estimated that Xiaomi will begin its mass production of the Mi Note sometime in February or March, with shipments forecast to total eight million to 10 million units during the whole product cycle.

Xiaomi sold a total of 61.12 million units of smartphones in 2014.

The analyst said that FIH Mobile (HKG: 2038), a unit for Taiwanese contract electronics maker Foxconn Technology Group (TPE: 2354) and one of Xiaomi’s suppliers, will benefit from a higher average selling price for casings and will gain about 50% of the assembly orders.

“This means that Xiaomi is expected to contribute around 13% of FIH’s total revenue in 2015 and more than 45% of its gross profits this year,” she said.

Lu also named FIH and Hong Kong-listed AAC Technologies Holdings Inc (HKG: 2018), the main sources of Xiaomi’s acoustic and RF solutions, as the top two picks in Xiaomi’s supply chain and maintained an “overweight” rating on both stocks.

One of the Mi Note’s highlights is its 13-megapixel rear camera equipped with Sony’s IMX214 sensor. The Note’s camera selection represents a potential boon to a lot of Taiwanese suppliers, including Sunnic Technology and Merchandise, a partnering distributor of Sony (TYO: 6758) parts and modules, camera lens maker Largan Precision (TPE: 3008), camera module makers Primax Electronics (TPE: 4915) and Lite-On Technology (TPE: 2301), and electronic manufacturing service provider Inventec (TPE: 2356).

Display panel suppliers Wintek (TPE: 2384) and TPK (TPE: 3673), however, will not be included in the list of Taiwanese companies set to benefit from Xiaomi’s phablet sales although these two screen and touch panel manufacturers have been Xiaomi’s partners since 2013, now that Xiaomi decided to commission Japanese competitors Japan Display (TYO: 6740) and Sharp (TYO: 6753) for the job.

In order to achieve the Mi Note’s 7-mm thickness, which is 0.1-mm thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus, Xiaomi had adopted the in-cell touch display technology made by the Japan Display and Sharp, over TPK’s touch-on-lens and Wintek’s on-glass-solution.

Xiaomi observed a sales drop during the fourth quarter last year. The sales drop was related to its then-supplier Wintek’s being beleaguered by ailing financial condition and is in the midst of a restructuring process. The Taiwan-based touch panel maker supplied touch panels for both Apple and Xiaomi. In an attempt to vie more orders, Wintek invested large sums of funds to increase its production yield. Much of the funds were used to build new facilities in Dongguan, China, and Vietnam. The much lower-than-expected demand for touch panels, combines with competition from Chinese rivals, however, caused Wintek great losses on assets. Wintek filed a petition to the court last October for seeking business restructuring.

The announcement surprised many of its clients, including Xiaomi, which was also forced to find a new touch panel supplier. With a new supplier, it also took more time for quality control and to increase capacity, which also affected Xiaomi’s smartphone shipments for the fourth quarter last year.

Xiaomi’s smartphone sales took a plunge by four million units during the fourth quarter last year following Wintek’s restructuring announcement in October.

The post Xiaomi’s Mi Note Helps Boost Taiwanese Suppliers’ Business appeared first on VR World.

The brand name Motorola was reintroduced in China again on Jan. 26, while the latest smartphone Moto X and four other devices were also introduced to regain market share lost to Xiaomi.

The Moto X is retailing online for US$412 each, while the Moto G phone will cost US$162 each when it was scheduled to be released on Feb. 10. Lenovo (HKG: 0992), Motorola’s mother company and the world’s largest maker of personal computers, is re-establishing the Motorola brand in the biggest smartphone market after a two-year absence.

Rick Osterloh, president and chief operating officer for Motorola, said that Motorola also planned the Moto X Pro phone, Moto 360 smartwatch and Moto Hint wireless headphones.

Lenovo, meanwhile, is expanding into mobile devices to fend off competition from Chinese rivals Xiaomi and Huawei Technologies (SHE: 002502) , foreign and domestic. The US$2.9 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility from Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) from last October gave Lenovo an established global brand and a technology licensing agreement with Google to help boost sales.

“The market is so competitive that it’s hard to think about only one competitor,” Osterloh said. “If you focus on competitors, you’re going to go astray. The focus is squarely on consumers.”

In addition to launching new products, Osterloh said, China will also be the first country in Asia to get the Moto Maker Service that lets users buy select custom materials for their phones.

IDC’s latest research and report said that Xiaomi has become the world’s third-largest smartphone vendor for the first time in the third quarter of 2014, with a share of 5.3%. Samsung (KRX: 005930) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) continued to be the top and second smartphone makers industry, while Lenovo was in the fourth place with 5.2%.

“Lenovo expects to replace Xiaomi in the No. 3 spot with the inclusion of Motorola and sell more than 100 million units,” said Liu Jun (劉軍), Mobile Business Group president and Motorola unit chairman.

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Global smartphone shipments continued to grow in 2014 while more and more Chinese brand names have shared a large portion of occupation in the global market.

A latest research report by TrendForce said that global smartphone shipments for 2014 totaled 1.167 billion units, a year-on-year increase of 25.9%, while 453.4 million units of them belonged to Chinese brands.

“ The year of 2014 was definitely an impressive year for Chinese brands as they gained more share of the global market,” said Avril Wu (吳雅婷), global smartphone analyst for TrendForce.

TrendForce’s research stated that Chinese vendors managed to encompass almost 40% of the global shipments and represent six of the top ten smartphone brands worldwide. The pooled shipments of numerous Chinese brands, however, still could not threatened global brand leaders – Samsung (KRX: 005930) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). TrendForce said that the total shipments for Samsung and Apple accounted for 518 million units.

“This shows that the fierce competition among the brands relatively and severely narrowed their profit margins,” Wu said.

Although its being listed as the top smartphone brand name with the most shipments, Samsung, however, has been through a difficult year in 2014 as its market share dropped to 28%, compared with 32.5% of the previous year. Wu said that Samsung’s large-size and high-end Galaxy Note series faced stiff challenges from Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus, while its midlevel and low-end smartphone shipments were undercut by inexpensive Chinese brands. Samsung’s overall shipment target had undergone downward revisions since the beginning of 2014, with annual growth in shipments only at 8.4%, which was about 326.4 million units.

In 2014, Apple maintained its high annual growth rate of 24.5%, which was about 191.3 million units shipped worldwide. With 16.4% market share, Apple was a solid number two in the worldwide smartphone rankings. Apple’s position was attributed to the success of its first large-size smartphone model, the iPhone 6 Plus. This new category addressed Apple’s lack of smartphones with above five-inch screens and thus significantly raised the fourth quarter shipping ratio.

For LG (KRX: 066570), TrendForce said that its strategy of “promoting high quality products at low prices” paid off with strong market reception to its flagship smartphone models, ranging from G2/G2 Pro to the newest G3.

“Right now G3 is the first smartphone outfitted with a 2K screen that gives users better viewing experience,” Wu said. “This showed LG’s advantage of having a display panel manufacturer as under its wings.”

For that reason, LG was the dark horse of 2014 with its ranking jumped up to number four and annual shipment growth at 75.4%, which was about 70 million units.

While Lenovo (HKG: 0992) officially completed its acquisition of Motorola from Google in the fourth quarter of 2014, the acquisition and reorganization process took almost a year since Lenovo’s announcement. Lenovo’s total shipments in 2014 exceeded 90 million units and its annual growth surpassed 100%. It ranked first place among Chinese smartphone vendors and third worldwide with its 7.9% global market share.

With the introduction of the Honor 6 model in 2014, Huawei (SHE: 002502) changed its strategy of using smartphone chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek for its high-end products. The Honor 6 is packed with Kirin 920, a 4G chipset developed by Huawei’s subsidiary HiSilicon. With approximately 70 million units shipped and an annual growth around 70%, Huawei was ranked number five in the 2014 worldwide smartphone shipments.

Xiaomi, meanwhile, was recognized as the “best cost-performance products.” Its flagship models cost between US$ 300 and US$ 350. Since Xiaomi was launched in China during the latter half of 2011, the “China’s Apple” has been able to more than double its growth each year, that its 2014 annual shipment growth exceeded 200% with 60 million units shipped, and at one point managed to edge out the leading vendors in China such as Samsung, Huawei, and Lenovo.

Xiaomi was ranked as the sixth on the same chart for 2014.

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Xiaomi said on Jan. 15 that the Mi Note, its brand smartphone with a 5.7-inch screen, will be available in Taiwan as soon as the second quarter.

In addition to Taiwan’s market, Mi Note is also facing direct competition from Apple’s iPhone 6 series as well as other phone-tablet hybrid handsets of similar size in both China and Taiwan. Despite the announcement of the plan to introduce Mi Note to Taiwan during the second quarter, Xiaomi, however, did not reveal more details of a specific date or even the price for the new handset.

Mi Note is regarded as a high-end device, that will come along with a 5.7-inch full-HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.5GHz quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel real camera, a 4-megapixel front-facing camera, a 3,000mAh battery and dual-SIM 4G LTE connectivity. The brand new smartphone will be sold at US$287 each for the 16G model and US$362 each for the 64G model when it is introduced to China’s market this March, Xiaomi said.

Mi Note Pro, a higher-end smartphone, is also introduced at the same time, while it will be sold at US$412 each for the 64G model. It will feature hardware improvements such as a 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor, a quad-HD display, 4GB of RAM and LTE download speeds of up to 450 mega-bits per second.

Xiaomi has been recognized as “China’s Apple” since it was founded in 2010, while most of its smartphones’ features are very similar to its iPhone counterparts. The Beijing-based phone maker sells low-cost feature-rich phones, including the flagship Mi series and low-end Redmi models, and has teamed up with many Taiwanese suppliers such as Foxconn Technology Group (TPE: 2354) and Inventec Corp (TPE: 2356).

Canalys, a market research firm, said that during the second quarter of 2014, Xiaomi overtook Samsung Electronics Co (KRX: 005930) as China’s top smartphone maker for the first time, holding a 14% share. Samsung and Apple, the only international vendors in the top 10, together accounted for a 18 percent share of the world’s largest smartphone market, Canalys said without disclosing individual market share for Samsung and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). IDC ranked Xiaomi as the world’s third-largest smartphone maker in the third quarter of 2014. Meanwhile, Xiaomi expects to ship 100 million smartphones this year, a leap from 61.1 million last year.

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China’s Cheetah Mobile Inc (NYSE: CMCM) CEO Fu Sheng (傅盛) announced a plan to set up a US$3.13 million program to fund Taiwanese startup companies in the mobile Internet business.

“It is time for Taiwan to deploy and integrate more resources to catch the tail end of the mobile Internet era, now that Taiwan almost missed it,” Fu said. “The program could start in the first quarter as the earliest.”

Fu made his remarks during the cross-strait Mobile Internet Conference in Taipei. He said that business ideas that may become a market trend in three to five years will be welcomed to the funding program, while participating startup companies will stand a better chance for potential strategic partnerships with Cheetah or even Xiaomi.

“We have been looking for talents and new business opportunities from Taiwan’s counterparts, and hope that the fund will break geographical barriers between us,” Fu said.

Fu said that his company sees Taiwan as an attractive place to recruit and develop talent because manpower costs here are cheaper than in Beijing.
 Taiwan also has a sizable pool of engineering talent with good English skills that is more internationally savvy than their peers in China.

Cheetah’s funding program, Fu said, will aim to mentor rather than just provide cash to help young Taiwanese talents establish their own business.

“It does not mean we will control any specific startup company although the money comes from us,” Fu said. “It is an investment, not a merger or acquisition.”

Echoing Fu, Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun (雷軍), who is also a cofounder of Cheetah Mobile, said that Taiwanese who wish to establish their own businesses should focus on mobile Internet and smart home devices.

“Many of my Taiwanese friends have complained that they are constrained by Taiwan’s rather limited market, but if you launch a mobile application on Google Play or Apple Store, you have the global market,” Lei said.

Lei said that he would foresee smart home devices that link to personal handheld devices via cloud computing will be the major market trend within next five years.

“Xiaomi is also working on it. But, to be honest, I have not seen many Taiwanese manufacturers working on this,” Lei said.

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Xiaomi’s Chief Executive Lei Jun (雷軍) said on Jan. 13 that his company will aim at becoming the leader in the global smartphone market within five to 10 years.

“Maybe our opponents will mock us for this, as we dream big. But a dream is not a dream if it does not sound impossible before we make it,” Lei said.

The founder for Xiaomi made his remarks when he attended the cross-Taiwan Strait Mobile Internet Conference in Taipei. Lei said that Taiwan’s former vice president Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) requested him to encourage Taiwan’s younger generation during their conversations. He believed that age does not matter when it comes to establish new business but attitude does, while “dreaming big” is an important issue for those who want to start business from nothing.

Lei quoted Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) founder Jack Ma’s (馬雲) remarks and said “a man like me failed college entrance exams for three times and, probably anybody can achieve something great if I can.”

“Xiaomi’s history is shorter than five years, while our smartphone has been introduced for only three years. But now, Xiaomi is the leader in the smartphone market in China and became the third brand name in the global market during the third quarter last year. We have accomplished something that we did not believe in the past,” Lei said.

In the meantime, Lei urged Taiwanese innovators to accelerate their development of intelligence-based home applications. He also laid out the directions he felt will be appropriate for Taiwanese start-up companies and young innovators for next five to 10 years – to create mobile apps that will go on sale globally through online stores like Google Play and App Store and to come up with more “smart home” applications.

“Mobile apps will expand the reach of Taiwanese firms from the domestic market to other regions around the world, and ‘smart home’ applications are ‘using mobile phones as a hub to connect with all intelligence-based equipment,’ including devices used at home and in the office,” Lei said.

Lei suggested that Taiwanese companies have been lagging behind their Chinese competitors in the development of smart home applications.

“I think many Taiwanese companies are capable for innovation like that but they must speed up to keep up with the competition,” he said.

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Xiaomi is continuing to roll out handsets that offer incredible value for money, with the latest offering being the Redmi 2. The successor to the Redmi 1S, the Redmi 2 has been officially unveiled in China over the weekend, and features even better hardware.

The handset features a 4.7-inch 720p display, which is exactly the same as the first-generation model, but this time around the innards are powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 410 SoC that contains four Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.2 GHz and the Adreno 306 GPU. Also included is 2 GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory, microSD card slot up to 32 GB, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS, GLONASS as well as Beidou. In terms of imaging, the device features an 8 MP camera sensor from OmniVision that offers a 28mm wide-angle lens and the ability to shoot full-HD video. The front shooter is a 2 MP variant. When it comes to software, the Redmi 2 is running Xiaomi’s latest MIUI 6.

A novel feature on the Redmi 2 is the dual-SIM LTE connectivity, with both SIM slots offering LTE. Not all variants have this feature, however, as the China Telecom edition limits the second SIM card slot to 2G connectivity. Part of Xiaomi’s strengths is that it is one of the few manufacturers that is keen on user feedback, and as such the Redmi 2 comes with settings to adjust the display’s color temperature.The microUSB 2.0 port comes with QuickCharge 1.0 support, which means that you can charge a certain percentage of the battery quickly.

The Redmi 2 is set to launch in China on January 9 to the equivalent of $110 (CNY 700). Currently, there is no word on when other countries will receive the handset. With the kind of momentum Xiaomi is witnessing in India, it should not be too long before the handset makes its way to the subcontinent. Xiaomi is also set to unveil its next-generation flagship this month, with rumors suggesting an official launch date of January 15.

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The Institute for Information Industry said on Dec. 29 that 70% of those Taiwanese people who are older than 12 possess their own mobile devices.

The institute’s latest research said that approximately 14 million Taiwanese people are mobile device users and the total number will continue to increase until 2016.

The research said that the total amount of those Taiwanese people who are older than 12 and possess mobile devices increased 1.01 million people during the past six months. Among them, approximately 5.27 million people are smartphone and tablet computer users.

The research also discovered that the total amount of smartphone users for the first six months and the last six months increased 7%, while at least 65.4% of Taiwanese people are now using smartphones.

The research said that Samsung (KRX: 005930) remains Taiwanese people’s favorite brand name, when it comes to smartphones, but the total amount of the Korean brand name fans is dropping 2.2%, while the same figure for Sony (TYO: 6758), Xiaomi and Asus (TPE: 2357) continued to grow 1% to 2% in 2014.

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India’s largest handset manufacturer Micromax has announced a new series of devices under the Yu moniker that will run CyanogenMod out of the box. With the competition in the hardware segment getting fiercer, Micromax is hoping to set itself apart with unique services.

Targeting a younger audience

After establishing a firm foothold in the Indian market, Micromax sought to differentiate itself from other local vendors like Karbonn and Xolo. The brand was said to be in talks with Microsoft over the manufacture of a Windows Phone device, but that did not materialize. Karbonn and Xolo have since beaten Micromax in launching Windows Phone handsets. The vendor then started focusing on distinguishing itself from the smorgasbord of mid-tier devices by offering an aluminium design and high battery life, as seen in the Canvas Turbo and Canvas Knight.  Both devices, however, failed to attract a lot of attention, even after aggressive marketing:

Micromax is now looking to emulate Xiaomi with its Yu series of handsets. Targeted at a younger audience, Micromax’s Yu handsets will run CyanogenMod out of the box. Like Xiaomi, the devices will be sold exclusively online, and there are plans of selling the handsets outside of India as well. “This will be a game changer not just in India but globally too. Yu has been envisioned for building an ecosystem of connected devices and offer customized experience to users.”

Micromax founder Rahul Sharma says that the devices will be targeting “tech enthusiasts who will be able to bootstrap the device and play with it.” Details of the hardware the initial batch of handsets would run were not provided, but considering the affordability that Micromax is targeting, it is unlikely they will offer anything extraordinary when it comes to hardware. With Yu, Micromax is going instead for software and services, where the brand sees a lot of potential. The similarities with Xiaomi do not end at online-only sales, as Micromax will also be looking to pay close attention to user feedback via forums, and will incorporated suggestions into software builds every fortnight.

Sharma also said that Yu Televentures, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Micromax, will also be heading into the wearable market, with smart bands and “smart shirts” set to launch within a year.

Mi, Myself and Yu

At this stage, it seems unlikely that Micromax will be able to successfully challenge Xiaomi with its Yu handsets. Although the CyanogenMod angle will get users interested, lack of powerful hardware would just as easily deter potential customers. And Micromax cannot iterate like Xiaomi does when it comes to hardware manufacturing, which means that it cannot match the Chinese vendor when it comes to value for money.

And while Sharma has stated that the brand will “engage directly with customers,” it will not be at the same level as what Xiaomi does with its user forums. The Mi India community is hard at work localizing Xiaomi’s MIUI for Indian customers, and has already started offering translated builds of the UI in several Indian languages. If that weren’t enough, Xiaomi is also establishing an office in India that is tasked with building an Internet platform centered around services that Indian users can leverage.

The question remains as to where Micromax’s Yu devices will slot in. At the entry-level segment, Google – in collaboration with Micromax, Spice and Karbonn – is offering the Android One handsets. The first generation devices all feature the same hardware, but the second-generation is said to bring more variety. The mid-tier segment seems like the ideal bet, but enthusiast users looking to get CyanogenMod on their devices would be looking to international vendors like OnePlus, which will be making its debut in India next month. If Micromax can match OnePlus’ quality and offer a device with similar specs at the $350 mark, it stands to carve out a niche for itself in the Indian market. But from what we’ve seen of the vendor thus far, that seems unlikely.

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Xiaomi announced Wednesday that it had made a $300 million strategic investment in iQiyi, Baidu’s video platform. This is the second major investment in video for the company, after it announced an undisclosed investment in rival video streaming platform Youku (NYSE: YOKU) earlier this month.

Xiaomi executives said in early November that the company plans to spend $1 billion investing in online video content, and funding the creation of original content. With the launch of its line of televisions and MiBox set-top box sets earlier this year Xiaomi now needs a plan for a multi-screen ecosystem of content to span both screens.

Both iQiyi and Youkou license a wide range of both domestic and Hollywood content. In addition the two companies produce their own feature-length and episodic content for the web.

“This round investment by Xiaomi shows that Xiaomi recognises the high value and future prospects of both the online video industry as a whole and iQIYI as a company. We believe that through Baidu, Xiaomi, iQIYI‘s joint efforts, we can usher in a new stage of development for the whole Internet industry, and create a vibrant and more complete, video ecosystem,” said Gong Yu, CEO of iQIYI, in a statement.

Chinese consumption of episodic and feature-length content from the web far surpasses that of users in the west. Traditional television in China, such as what is distributed over terrestrial broadcast, cable, satellite, or IPTV overwhelmingly consists of CCTV — China’s state broadcaster. The hunger for something not as banal and boring as a state broadcaster has driven a diverse and robust ecosystem of content producers developing media for online.

However companies such as Youkou and iQIYI have encountered something of a roadblock from China’s state censors,The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. The bureau said in September that it was considering imposing a limit that would see foreign content restricted to a maximum of 30%.  

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