Xiaomi to Kill Redmi 1S for More Redmi Notes
Xiaomi have been making waves for the past few months with several of its units getting sold in minutes. Nonetheless, despite the success of the Redmi 1S reports suggest that Xiaomi plans to kill the device to focus more on its Redmi Note series. Can Xiaomi deliver the same outstanding sales results?
Xiaomi's next big target has been India with the company launching a series of flash sales. It recently finished its 11th flash sale which may be the last before the Redmi Note hits the country. According to Flipkart, Xiaomi's official e-dealer, the Redmi 1S sold 65,000 units in the last event. The Chinese tech giant offered the handset with a complimentary Micro-SM Card and screen protector.
According to Francis Herald, Xiaomi often announces the flash event a one week earlier to prepare consumers for registration. Since the initial flash sale, the company has been selling Redmi 1s units like hotcakes. Units tend to be gone in just a few seconds. Despite the success of the last one, Xiaomi has not announced any more to happen.
There have been reports about the phone maker preparing instead for the launch of the Redmi Note in the country. The release could be sometime around third week or end of November. The hype increased when Hugo Barra, Xiaomi Vice President for International Relations, updated the official Facebook page saying: "Mi Indonesia: 10,000 Redmi Note out of stock in under 40 secs today! Redmi Note coming to India next."
The RedMi Note features a 5.5-inch HD display and runs on 1.7GHz MT6592 octa-core processor. It also comes with a 720P screen resoluction plus 2GB RAM. It offers 8GB internal storage along with dual SIM-card. The company has been receiving much success with its recent releases with analysts seeing its flash sales and gradual expansion a way to test the market. Xiaomi has tested and performed well in China that given the right approach it could be a formidable opponent for big names like Apple and Samsung across the globe.
In another report by Android Authority, Korean tech giant Samsung hinted during its Investors Forum 2014 that is not thrilled with Xiaomi who has overtaken the company in the Chinese mobile marketplace. Samsung Electronics Senior VP and Head of IR, Robert Yi, shared his thoughts about the company: "They are a mysterious entity. I don't know where they create profit."
Yi also questioned if the company's low cost approach to its sales and online-only promotion can effective outside China.
"They have created a good user experience that caters for the needs of Chinese consumers," he said. "But I don't know if it will work outside of China." He added.