China is set to overtake the US as the world’s largest smartphone market by the end of this year. And in China’s booming smartphone market, a host of little-known local firms are primed with cheap and cheerful handsets to squeeze market share from the Apple iPhone.
In the latest local challenge to the iPhone, Xiaomi Technology on Thursday launched its second generation smartphone. The MI2 is hailed to have applications that exceed the iPhone 4S but sells for less than half its price. For more details about the smartphone, let’s talk to our reporter Yin Hang, who has just back from the launch.
YH: Well Xiaomi has certainly laid down the gauntlet. Smartphones from Xiaomi, founded only two years ago but already worth more than Blackberry’s maker RIM, have proved so popular they were sold out in minutes after being released online. And this afternoon, the young tech company was creating again a big buzz inside a huge green pot in Beijing’s eastern 798 art-zone.