Xiaomi Redmi 2 Pro to debut in the US; will go for US$200

Xiaomi launched its online store, Mi.com, in the United States and major European countries, including France, Britain and Germany, back in May to expand into the lucrative Western markets. And now, the leading Chinese smartphone maker is ready to launch its first ever smartphone in the U.S. with the Redmi 2 Pro.

Last week, Xiaomi President Bin Lin indicated the company may foray into the U.S. market soon, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Xiaomi initially started selling headphones, fitness trackers, USB power packs, smart wristbands and other accessories through its online store.

The smartphone showed up at the website of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the government’s telecommunications regulator. From the specifications, it appears the Redmi 2 Pro is a rebranded variant of the Redmi 2 Prime recently launched in India.

In the FCC documents, the device is listed as a GSM850/1900 phone with support for LTE bands 2, 4, and 7. In this context, it’s worth mentioning the FCC listing doesn’t ensure the Redmi 2 Pro will actually go on sale in the U.S.

The Redmi 2 Pro features a 4.7-inch HD display with 720 x 1280 resolution. With the MIUI 6 out-of-the-box, the device is powered by quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC (system on chip) with four Cortex A53 cores clocked up to 1.2GHz and an Adreno 306 GPU.

Sporting 2 GB of RAM, the smartphone offers 16 GB internal storage and houses 2200 mAh battery. The device supports 4G LTE bands 2, 4 and 7 along with, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz) connectivity features, as well. Thus, it should be attuned to AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s networks in the U.S., reports Liliputing.

Going by the price in other markets, it’s clear Redmi 2 Pro will be positioned for the mid-range market and prices less than US$200. A better understanding of the domestic market is expected to help Xiaomi foray into the U.S. where Motorola, Asus and BlackBerry are doing a good job.

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