Xiaomi isn’t letting up when it comes to bringing value for money mobiles to Malaysia. Hot on the heels of their Mi3 launch, the Chinese mobile upstart is bringing in their super value Redmi 1S, and their first phablet, the Redmi Note.
Though the specific launch date of both phones have yet to be announced, we can expect them on Malaysian shores “soon” according to Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s Global VP, when we recently caught up with him in KL.
So what can we expect from both these new entries from Xiaomi?
Let’s start with the Redmi 1S. Although we here in Malaysia never managed to officially get our sticky paws on the first Redmi, we’ll finally be able to enjoy some dual-SIM love with this refresh of the popular phone.
The Redmi 1S is essentially the Redmi. What’s different though is a souped up processor in the form of the 1.6Ghz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, and twice the storage from 4GB to 8GB. Everything else is exactly like its predecessor the Redmi. It still retains the same 4.7 inch, 720 IPS screen, 1GB of RAM, 8MP back and 1.3MP front cameras and 2000 mAh battery.
The next device in Xiaomi’s invasion into Malaysia is their phablet, the Redmi Note.
Like the Redmi 1S, the Redmi Note is also a dual-SIM device but with the added advantage of a ‘phabulously’ larger 5.5 inch 720p IPS screen. A larger screen size isn’t the only goody you can expect from the Redmi Note.
We here in Malaysia will be getting what Xiaomi calls the enhanced version of the Redmi Note. Forget the 1.4GHz 8 core Mediatek processr and 1GB of RAM that the standard Note comes with. We’re getting the 1.7GHz version with double RAM at 2GB.
And with some other decent specs to back up this phablet including a 13MP back and 5MP front camera, 8GB of storage and a 3200 mAh battery, you can expect the Redmi Note to make a splash.
Of course when it comes to Xiaomi, you can expect some pretty competitive pricing but are we going to get those prices here? If the Mi3 is any indicator, yes we are. Altough the local prices aren’t going to be announced until this 25 June, we can expect prices similar to what they are in China, which is RMB799 for the Redmi 1S and RMB999 for the Redmi Note.
Already Xiaomi Malaysia has launched a “Guess the price” contest for the Redmi Note and you can win F-codes for the phablet if you participate.
Want to know what to expect from both these new phones? Then stay tuned for our hands-on which we’ll be bringing to you pretty soon.
