Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi unveils latest hero phone, Mi-3

Shawn Knight

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Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi just unveiled their latest hero phone, the Xiaomi Mi-3. The impressive looking device could make serious waves in the smartphone market as the 16GB variant will retail for CNY1999 ($327) off-contract while the 64GB version will command just CNY2499 ($410).

The Mi-3 consists of a 5-inch display with a 1080p resolution from LG and either a 1.8GHz Nvidia Tegra 4 processor or a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 depending on which carrier one selects. Elsewhere is 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera from Sony with dual-LED flash, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, between 16GB and 64GB of flash storage, a 3,050mAh battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. It measures 5.7″ x 2.9″ x 0.32″ and weighs 5.1 ounces.

china xiaomi 16gb smartphone hugo barra mi-3

The Mi-3 is one of the first phones to launch with Nvidia’s Tegra 4 processor. For whatever reason, the chip hasn’t yet been able to cash in on the success that Nvidia had with the Tegra 3. It’s all a bit surprising as the Tegra 3 seemingly showed up in virtually every Android smartphone during its heyday.

If you recall, former Android executive Hugo Barra left Google late last month to fill the role as global vice president at Xiaomi. In fact, he even made an appearance at the Mi-3 unveiling in Beijing alongside Xiaomi founder Lei Jun. His joining the company could very well signal an interest to expand Xiaomi’s business internationally which could be big trouble for today’s top handset makers – Samsung and Apple.

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Ah, China...taking all the good parts from others and creating delicious hotpots of fun. In all truth, this looks like what Nokia *should* be producing. Very Meego-ish look to the UI, a great camera and rounded edges where its held and flat where its not. What could have been.
 
That picture looks just like the lumias... my 920 looks like that... did they just take the lumia body and put in droid parts?
 
Sure, it's a good looking phone, but it's only 3G CDMA which is compatible only with China mobile carriers. By the time, they slap a GSM and other radio chips on it, it won't be that thin and won't cost that low. I dismiss it.
 
Sure, it's a good looking phone, but it's only 3G CDMA which is compatible only with China mobile carriers. By the time, they slap a GSM and other radio chips on it, it won't be that thin and won't cost that low. I dismiss it.
no, mi3 has 3 versions for 3 carriers in china, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000, WCDMA
both 3 versions support GSM
 
Okay, let's see..
-the design is very much like Nokia Lumia 920
-their cloud service like apple appstore
-their icons like iOS' icons
-they have voice assistant like 'siri'

But, damn! I love this phone!
 
Any handset not using iOS is just crap. Android is the biggest crap OS ever invented. It has more bugs and susceptibility to viruses as the Amazon jungle. Any clever phone manufacturer who wants to get ahead, be it Samsung or Huwaei or others need to think of using iOS. The iphone/ipad isn't moving ahead because of it's hardware only but more so because of iOS.
 
Guest,
What rubbish! Over 80% of the world's smartphones use Android. That should tell you something. You need to get your head out of the sand. The latest iPhone 5s has not impressed the market, but the MI-3 has. Apart from its massive 5inch screen, it has several features which have not been mentioned on here. To know about them all, you need to see the English language introductory presentation.
Those who say it is not 3G enabled. You are wrong. It is. As for 4G, that will come, but does it matter? Few countries have 4G yet, and few smartphones are 4G capable anyway.
 
General release in China is scheduled for mid October, but many in the business have had a chance to test the MI-3. Contrary to what one poster says, all versions are GSM compatible, and we can expect to see them marketed around the world.
What is also very interesting is that this manufacturer is releasing TWO different products at the same time. The other is a VERY smart 40+ inch LED TV using top components from LG, Sony etc. and the retail price will be only 2999 RMB in China. Wish I can get one.
 
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