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Xiaomi Corp. logos are seen on the smartphones in Hong Kong. (Bloomberg) |
Xiaomi Corp., the Chinese smartphone maker valued at $10 billion, will sell a tablet computer as the Chinese company escalates its competition with Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
The device will have a 7.9-inch screen ― same as the iPad Mini ― and use a Nvidia Corp. processor, Lei Jun, founder and chief executive officer, said at a press conference in Beijing Thursday. The tablet will be made by Foxconn Technology Group, Lei said. The company also will sell a 49-inch, high definition television starting this month for 3,999 yuan ($640).
The four-year-old maker of phones, televisions and routers is broadening its lineup of consumer gadgets at the same time it expands beyond its home market. Xiaomi also sells smartphones in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore and will enter 10 new markets this year, Lei said last month.
The company keeps costs down by selling devices directly to consumers online. Xiaomi recorded 1.5 billion yuan ($241 million) in orders during a one-day Web sale in China on April 8 and is now the nation’s third-largest e-commerce site, the company said last month.
Xiaomi cut the price of its flagship Mi3 smartphone last month to 1,699 yuan from 1,999 yuan. The new price is less than half the 4,488 yuan cost of Apple’s iPhone 5C. The Mi3 has a larger and sharper screen than the 5C, a camera with higher- density pixels, and speedy quadcore processors from Nvidia or Qualcomm Inc.
The combination of high-quality hardware and low prices propelled Xiaomi to become the world’s sixth-largest smartphone vendor during the first quarter, even as 97 percent of its sales were in China, according to data released by market researcher Canalys this month. It outsells Apple in China.
Founded in 2010 as a company to make software for mobile devices running Google Inc.’s Android system, Xiaomi introduced its first smartphone in 2011. The company subsequently added the MiBox, a TV set-top box, and announced a TV that connects to the Web, running the Android operating system.
Xiaomi’s valuation hit $10 billion with a fundraising round in August. (Bloomberg)
