Smartphone maker Xiaomi, who according to Hardwarezone briefly overtook the iPhone’s market share in China last year and recently hired Google’s former VP in charge of Android product management Hugo Barra, is looking to expand into Southeast Asia.
When asked for clarification by the Tech in Asia team, Barra, who is now VP at Xiaomi, said Singapore may be a starting point because it’s an important hub for the region. Since a lot of businesses start here, Barra said they decided to conduct research here first.
If Xiaomi does come to Singapore, we’ll have access to affordable smartphones with beautiful UI such as the MIUI, seven million of which was sold in 2012.
Xiaomi’s latets flagship the Mi3 packs some impressive features such as a 13MP Sony camera and sells for only about SGD400 — 500. And this is before telco discounts are applied.
Xiaomi might also bring their service centre concept to Singapore, where coffee shop type booths are set up in places away from electronic marts and malls to cater to consumers’ needs.
Photo: Xiaomi Mi3
Sources: Hardwarezone, Tech in Asia
