China's Xiaomi unveils low-priced smart TV, new Tegra 4 smartphone

China's Xiaomi is bringing the low-price strategy that has driven its success in mobile phones to the country's smart TV arena with a new 47-inch television that it says is the most affordable on the market.

The Xiaomi TV runs the company's version of Android called MIUI, and will be sold for 2999 yuan (US$486) once it arrives in October. The TV features a quad-core processor from Qualcomm, and display panel technology from Samsung and LG, Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun said in a product unveiling on Thursday.

"This is our position for the Xiaomi TV. We want to build the first TV our fans will use," he said.

Xiaomi also unveiled its next generation flagship phone, called the Mi3. Like its predecessor, the Mi3 has high-end specs, but comes at a low price starting at 1999 yuan. The phone features a 5-inch 1080p screen, metal casing and a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera.

One version of the phone, built for China Mobile's network, will use Nvidia's Tegra 4 quad-core processor, making it the first handset to use the chip, Nvidia's CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said at the event. The phone will launch in October.

Two other versions, meant for China Unicom and China Telecom, will arrive in November and use Snapdragon 800 quad-core chips from Qualcomm.

Xiaomi may not be well-known abroad, but the company's smartphone business has propelled it to become one of China's hottest tech companies. Millions of consumers are pre-ordering its low-price phones, and hundreds of fans routinely gather for Xiaomi product events.

The company made news last week for hiring former Google executive Hugo Barra to help lead the company's international expansion. On Thursday, Barra spoke at the company's product unveiling and said, "I believe it's time for the entire world to know about Xiaomi."

Already, demand for Xiaomi handsets is building, and in the second quarter the company's smartphone shipments surpassed Apple's, making it China's sixth largest vendor, according to research firm Canalys.

China has become the world's largest market for smartphones, but smart TVs are also growing in popularity in the country. This year, smart TV sales are expected to reach over 16 million units, up 145 percent year-over-year, according to Beijing-based research firm Analysys International. Search giant Baidu and PC maker Lenovo have also entered the market.

In designing its smart TV, Xiaomi wanted to make the device more accessible and easier to use than competing products, Xiaomi's CEO said. The device comes with a remote that has fewer buttons, and along with the ability to stream online video, the TV also features games and can download and install apps.

Twenty-two-year-old Liu Yun Jie was at Thursday's event and said he was impressed by the TV's features and low price. But he was doubtful Xiaomi fans would clamor to buy the product in the same way they have gone for the company's phones.

"It's even cheaper than the other smart TVs, but I don't think people will want to immediately buy it if they already own a TV," he said. "Only people who are in the market for a TV will probably buy it."

Xiaomi products are only available in China and Taiwan. But the company is considering entering five other foreign markets next year.

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Can China's Xiaomi make it globally?

Like some other Chinese brands, Xiaomi doesn't exactly have the easiest name for westerners to pronounce. But on Thursday, the name was spoken worldwide after the company hired a former Google executive to lead its global expansion.

The hiring is the latest in a string of successes for a company that only began selling Android phones in China two years ago. Xiaomi product launches are so anticipated in the country that its phones routinely sell out, forcing millions of customers to wait for more stock. Expectations for the company are also high, with some saying Xiaomi is China's answer to Apple.

But to expand outside its home market, Xiaomi faces a difficult road that other Chinese handset makers are still trying to navigate, according to analysts. They point to challenges with raising brand awareness, potential patent disputes, and whether Xiaomi can go head-to-head against foreign tech giants with a history of innovation.

"There's still some debate as to how much is Xiaomi an innovative company, and how much of their innovation is just really good public relations," said David Wolf, a technology consultant at public relations firm Allison+Partners. "I think we are coming to the point where we are going to find out."

Xiaomi, pronounced She-ow Me, means "Little Rice" in English and was created partly because of its CEO's dissatisfaction with the handsets he owned.

"If I don't feel the phones are good enough, I want to change it. But I myself don't have the power to change the phones," Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said in an interview in May. "For example, if I gave my advice to Nokia's R&D vice president, will he change it? No, he won't change it."

"I wanted to force Nokia to do this, but they just wouldn't," he said. "Their model doesn't support this business."

As a result, Xiaomi founded itself on the idea of building phones by harnessing the power of user feedback. The company's handsets are installed with a customized version of Android called MIUI that Xiaomi engineers will update on a weekly basis with new tweaks and features culled from customer opinion.

The crowdsourcing model has been a major driver for Xiaomi's success, helping to generate word-of-mouth marketing and create loyal customers, according to Lei. But it is also an approach that he believes will be welcomed worldwide.

"If you are an American, and we go to the U.S. market, our product might not initially be good enough, but every week we will make changes, and so after a while I think Americans will think this product is very good," he said.

Xiaomi is joining the ranks of other Chinese smartphone vendors wanting to make it big in the international market. Telecommunication equipment vendors Huawei and ZTE have been selling handsets in the U.S., and PC maker Lenovo is also eyeing mature markets for its smartphone sales.

But so far Chinese branded phones have yet to gain the worldwide recognition their rivals Apple and Samsung Electronics enjoy. Instead, Chinese handset vendors have excelled more at selling affordable phones than at generating brand awareness.

The same can be said for Xiaomi. Adding to its appeal is that the company sells phones with high-end specs, but at low prices. Its newest handset features a quad-core processor, a 4.7-inch screen, and an 8-megapixel camera, for US$129 without carrier subsidies.

After announcing the phone, the company received over 7.4 million pre-orders for the device, Xiaomi said earlier this month. Demand for the company's products is so high that in this year's second quarter, Xiaomi surpassed Apple to become the sixth-largest smartphone vendor in the country, according to research firm Canalys.

But while Xiaomi phones are still only available in China and Taiwan, the company on Thursday signaled it was preparing to expand to foreign markets with the hiring of former Google vice president for Android product management Hugo Barra.

Barra is an important hire for Xiaomi because he can help the company cooperate with Google to deal with patent disputes that have hampered other Android smartphone makers, said Sandy Shen, an analyst with research firm Gartner.

"These legal issues have been a big problem. It can affect a phone's design and software," she added.

Barra could also aid the Chinese company in improving its customized Android interface for its phones, said David Wolf. But its unclear if Xiaomi's crowdsourcing model will be a boon or a burden for the company when it comes to foreign markets, he added.

"Can you trust the people who want you to add this feature on the phone? Or will it turn you from a market leader into a market follower?" he asked.

Xiaomi generated revenue of 13.3 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) for the first half of this year, but it's unclear how profitable the company is. Nevertheless, investors are flocking to the smartphone maker, and the company's valuation has reached $10 billion, Lei said in a post on Chinese Twitter-like site Sina Weibo earlier this month.   

A growing company like Xiaomi naturally wants to expand, earn more profits, and build up the manufacturing capacity for its products, Wolf said. But Xiaomi will face stiff competition, and perhaps needs to pick a new name for the company that's easier for international customers to pronounce, he added.

"I think the challenge is how much bandwidth can they devote to becoming an international company," Wolf said. "And its also about how can they be innovative when there are much more better funded and experienced companies out there."

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Xiaomi the money! Who is this mobile company that's poaching Tech's top shelf talent?

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Former Google executive to help Xiaomi to expand outside China

Up-and-coming Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has hired Hugo Barra, former Google vice president for Android product management, to lead its expansion worldwide.

The hiring of Barra is a high-profile move for Xiaomi, a company that only began selling smartphones two years ago, but has since become one of the biggest names in China's tech industry.

Barra announced his departure from the U.S. search giant in a posting on his Google+ page.

"In a few weeks, I'll be joining the Xiaomi team in China to help them expand their incredible product portfolio and business globally -- as Vice President, Xiaomi Global," he wrote.

Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun and President Lin Bin both confirmed that Barra would be joining the company in posts on Chinese Twitter-like site Sina Weibo on Thursday.

Xiaomi, which means "Little Rice" in English, has gained its popularity partly by selling high-end Android phones, but at low prices. For example, the company last month announced a phone built with a quad-core processor, 4.7-inch screen, and an 8-megapixel camera, for the low price of US$129 when bought without carrier subsidies.

At the same time, the company also uses a crowdsourcing model to encourage its customers to offer input on improving the user interface to its Android phones. This has helped the company generate word-of-mouth marketing and create loyalty among its customers, according to Xiaomi's CEO.

In this year's second quarter, shipments of Xiaomi phones surpassed Apple in China, making the company the sixth largest handset vendor in the nation, according to research firm Canalys.

Xiaomi's top management is already made up of Chinese employees who formerly worked at Google, Microsoft and Motorola, but the company's expertise has been geared toward the domestic market so far, said Teck Zhung Wong, an analyst with research firm IDC.

"Xiaomi knows the Chinese market, but when it comes to tackling the global market, I think this is where this person [Barra] will become useful," he said.

"It goes to show that Xiaomi's ambition is definitely not restricted to the Greater China market," Wong added. "It's definitely looking at ways to get into the overseas market, very likely mature markets, such as the U.S. and Europe."

The company's phones have started to sell outside of mainland China, in Hong Kong and Taiwan. But next year, Xiaomi could start expanding into five other foreign markets, its CEO said back in May.

Next week, Xiaomi is holding a major event in Beijing, where the company is expected to unveil its next flagship phone. Xiaomi has also been rumored to be developing a tablet.

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