Mi Note

[misi]

http://www.cnet.com/news/the-xiaomi...=nl.e703&s_cid=e703&ttag=e703&ftag=CAD090e536

Xiaomi puts iPhone 6 Plus in its sights with Mi Note phablet
The Chinese phone maker's new device features a slightly bigger screen and a lighter, thinner body than Apple's biggest phone -- at less than half the price.

BEIJING -- Xiaomi, known for creating budget smartphones with stylish, Apple-like designs, took a step toward the premium end with the flagship Mi Note phablet.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun unveiled the phablet on Thursday at an event in the Chinese capital.

With a 5.7-inch, full high-definition display and a 13MP shooter, Xiaomi is going head-to-head with Apple's iPhone 6 Plus. The Note name suggests it is also targeting Samsung's Galaxy Note line, which kicked off the trend of jumbo-sized smartphones.

"Xiaomi 'going phablet' with the Note wasn't a surprise," says IDC analyst Bryan Ma. "It was an obvious gap in their portfolio that was only being serviced by a low-end Redmi Note before. High-end users need their phablets too."

It's the latest device from a white-hot company that has emerged out of nowhere to become the world's third-largest smartphone vendor over the past four years. Xiaomi is already the biggest smartphone brand in China. With its last round of funding, the company is the most valuable startup in the world. Xiaomi's success is the result of its strategy of selling more than 1,000 products at or near cost, with the primary goal of delivering software and services riding on top of those devices.

Competition is good.

Jony Ive, Apple's hardware and software design chief, has knocked Xiaomi for products that he believes look a bit too close for his comfort.

"I don't see it as flattery," he said. "When you're doing something for the first time, you don't know it's going to work. You spend seven or eight years working on something, and then it's copied. I have to be honest, the first thing I can think, all those weekends that I could have at home with my family but didn't. I think it's theft, and it's lazy."

Xiaomi vice president Hugo Barra said in October that he thought the copycat claims were overblown.

Would Apple sue them?
Not much hope to win in China.

 

[okeedokee]

They usually all sue each other.