Xiaomi might sound unfamiliar in our local market but they are one of the fastest growing smart phone companies in China. In terms of ranking, they currently ranked fifth, only behind Samsung, Nokia, Apple and Huawei. As part of their rapid expansion, Xiaomi is set to enter Singapore with a rather affordable smart phone.
Xiaomi however isn’t bringing in their high end devices but instead they are making their debut with a rather cheap S$169 Redmi smart phone (approximately RM443 in current rates). At this price range, you would probably expect a smart phone with low resolution display running on low end processors, but this Redmi smart phone is surprisingly decent. In fact, decent enough to give the Moto G a run for its money.
The Redmi comes with a rather large 4.7″ HD 720p display and it is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 2. It is not slouch either as it runs on a Quad-core 1.5GHz Mediatek MT6589T processor with 1GB of RAM. Storage wise, it comes with a paltry 4GB of space but luckily you are able to expand it with microSD up to 32GB. For better voice calls, the Redmi also features dual-microphone for noise cancellation.
The Redmi also comes with a 8MP main camera with f/2.2 aperture and 28mm wide angle lens while the front comes with a 1.3MP shooter. Unlike the Moto G which only shoots HD 720p videos, the Redmi is capable of recording videos at Full HD 1080p. It also comes with generous 2,000mAh battery capacity which should provide a decent battery life. Dimension wise, it is 9.9mm thick and weighs 158 grams. The Redmi also comes with support for dual-SIM with one sim running in 3G and the secondary in 2G.
Overall, this smart phone is a steal and certainly puts a lot of smart phones with double the price to shame. The Redmi will be available in Singapore next week on the 21st of February and we certainly hope that they will spread their wings to Malaysia soon. More info over at Redmi’s product page.
Head after the break for more product shots of the Redmi.
