Xiaomi launches low cost phablets in India

Chinese smart phone maker Xiaomi has recently introduced two phablets variants in India. Priced at a competitive price, the 5.5 inch Redmi Note 3G and Redmi Note 4G are targeted to grab the low cost smart phone market in India. While Redmi Note is prices at Rs 8999, 4G-LTE variant of Redmi Note 4G will be sold at Rs. 9,999.

To be available across the country from December 2, like its earlier products – Xiomi Mi 3 and Redmi 1S, the new products too begin its flash sale through leading shopping site with registration beginning on Flipkart from November 25.

The company has not fixed any sales target for Redmi products in the first phase.

Unlike Redmi Note, customers can also get Redmi Note 4G in Airtel stores in six Indian cities from the second half of December. However, they should first register their names to grab their Redmi Note 4G.

Xiaomi officials revealed at the launch event that the company has plans to open more than 100 service centres in India by 2015.

The Chinese phone maker had showcased Redmi Note initially in July at the Mi 3 launch and indicated its likely price.

Having dual-SIM facility with dual standby, Xiaomi Redmi Note is run by 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MTK6592 SoC featuring a Mali-450MP4 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Redmi runs on Android 4.2.2 with MIUI v5 skin on top.

Whereas Redmi Note 4G runs on quad-core 1.6GHz Snapdragon 400 CPU coupled with 2GB of RAM. A single-SIM device, Redmi Note 4G comes with Android 4.4.2 KitKat with the same MIUI v5 skin. Xiaomi said it will provide updates to Android 5 Lollipop to customers in future. 

Redmi Note and Redmi Note 4G has similar specifications. Both have 5.5-inch 720x1280-pixel IPS LCD screens and have 13-MP rear autofocus cameras with LED flashes as well as 5-megapixel front-end cameras for taking selfies.

Both Redmi Note 4G and Redmi Note come with 8GB built-in storage and microSD card slots for expansion. While Redmi Note supports cards up to 32GB, Redmi Note 4G can support an external storage up to 64GB.

Redmi Note models are compatible to GPRS/EDGE, 3G and hotspot functionality, a Micro-USB port with OTG support, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with Wi-Fi Direct and A-GPS. Both the devices are supplied with long lasting 3100mAh batteries.