I'd assume that since no one in china has a network based on FD-LTE it least I've never heard of one they'd have no reason to include it. As for TD-LTE who knows maybe they set the price point and then built the phone and adding LTE would've pushed it over 1999 Yuan it's also possible TD-LTE on Tegra 4 plus i500 isn't fully certified yet I know Nvidia said only Cat-3 FD-LTE would be ready for launch back in January but I've not seen any reports of TD-LTE being ready.
Wait? How is this not a premium device? A S800 5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display, a 13MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, 2GB of RAM, 16GB to 64GB of storage, a 3050mAh battery, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and GLONASS. It measures 5.7″ x 2.9″ x 0.32″ and weighs 5.1 ounces.
China doesn't have LTE and Xiaomi has stated plenty of time that currently, they are only focus on China market. So why would they add LTE which would increase the BOM.
many devices can shoot in raw, tho its rarely exposed. For example all Mediatek devices can shoot in raw format - forced by a tool called MobileUncleTools. Xperia C and many lenovo phones use MTK chipsets
You can try Aliexpress or other import shops, but there will be a large markup (+50% at the least). If you can find someone who knows Chinese, maybe you can persuade someone on Taobao to ship to you.
If the main factor for you is price, just buy a Nexus 5 when it comes out. You'll actually get a US warranty, properly-translated software and LTE.
According to sources from supply chain,the Xiaomi MI3 Tegra 4 ver is using baseband chip from Spreadtrum,since NVIDIA's Grey and Icera i500 haven't passed any mobile carrier's validation yet.
It's interesting that they are trying very hard to copy Apple (all the way to the iOS7 icons in their skinning) but they don't seem to "get" what Apple is really about. No way in hell Apple would have created the slides above, busy, cluttered, full of tech jargon. Same for their web site which has the gorgeous high quality photos of Apple, pasted onto a cluttered and uninspiring background.
The question is what's the long term plan here? Is the goal to simply out-Samsung Samsung --- be the best copier of Apple products in China? Or is there actually a higher ambition, to be become not simply a copier of Apple, but a legit Chinese equivalent of Apple, the one Chinese company that charges more for design because they actually DELIVER?
I'd say things aren't looking good for the second theory right now. But, it's early days. Maybe by this time next year they'll have hired some DESIGNERS rather than UI cloners? For the larger story here, the more interesting story, I think the place to look is not in the phones and other high profile devices but at the more mundane stuff like the marketing slides, the ads, the web page, and see what sort of sensibility (and unity or lack thereof) is driving them.
If you actually used MIUI, you would know it is nothing like iOS. I own a Mi2 and an iPhone 5 and I prefer the Mi2 as my daily phone. Just because there is an icon dock and icon folders doesn't make it a copy of iOS. Plenty of ROMs have these basic features. The iPhone 5 is a great device, but too restrictive for my needs so I use it as an iPod Touch.
What does the slides not looking like Apple slides have to do with anything? XiaoMi is not Apple. Your statement is irrelevant.
Companies in all industries take design cues from their competitors, "copying" is much too strong of a word. On the other hand, if XiaoMi is attempting to copy the SUCCESS of Apple, there is nothing wrong with that, every company would aim to do so. Marketing techniques have little to do with the actual technologies and products being sold. XiaoMi is trying to offer leading technologies at an affordable price, and Apple is not known for that latter area.
Just because you're an Apple lover (or a Chinese product hater) DOES NOT MEAN EVERY COMPANY YOU HAVE NOT HEARD OF IS COPYING APPLE. Ignorant fanboys need to keep quiet.
Xiaomi is constantly referred to as "China's Apple". This is simply a fact --- do a freaking google search. As such, it's perfectly reasonable to ask whether this is a sensible and reasonable designation.
Reason why it is called "China's Apple" because it is very successful in China. Similar to how Apple is a big hit in US. However, if you want to compare the functionality, they are very different. I have Mi2, S4 and iPhone4S and the closest one that is similar to each other are Mi2 and S4. iPhone4S has nothing on Mi2, if not worse, in terms of the UI and the horrendous (this is purely my own opinion) iOS7.
@Brian or Anand: I was wondering, in these new Snapdragon SoC, does Android take advantage (or even know) that the Snapdragon MSM8974 chips have Qualcomm's Voice Activation Feature (similar to the "NLP Core" in the Moto X)?
Does this mean that a separate "low energy" chip is no longer required (seeing how Motorola went with an older Qualcomm chip that did not have this feature, I assume is why they had to stick in a separate chip in).
"It's safe to say that Tegra 4 hasn't been the overwhelming success that NVIDIA had hoped for, nor able to continue the momentum that Tegra 3 built"
You guys act like this is the first tegra4 device...LOL. NV haters at anandtech these days, including YOU Anand. HP and Toshiba both are shipping devices, but you guys can't get something to benchmark? How long are you guys planning on pretending T4 is only in shield?...LOL. I don't see this phone being beat by any S4's in the link below and the benchmarks have been out since early July. It's 20%~ faster than everything else in the list in gpu here, and we already know the CPU rocks antutu in a tablet vs. S800 (36000+ if memory serves). Clearly T4i won't have a phone problem and I expect tegra sales to ramp with it. That's TWO tegra 4 phones now with ZTE's U988S. Once the list below is all shipping I suspect we'll see some decent T4 numbers in the Q report.
A paste of a comment I made elsewhere: T4 just started shipping end of July (basically only just over a month). Not sure how you can call it a failure yet: http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/03/toshiba-launches... 2 toshibas with T4 (and a 3rd with a T3) Vizio has a T4 (and T3) coming also that they showed at CES Also the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity, HP SlateBook x2 & an AIO device (20in?) both T4, not to mention Mad Catz MOJO (they are SEEKING deal T4 they said). BungBungame's Kalos tablet uses T4 also Xiaomi Mi3 handset http://www.phonearena.com/news/Xiaomi-Mi3-scores-h... Looks like T4 owns the top of the list right? Xiaomi phone is impressive. http://www.nextpowerup.com/news/1949/acer-prepping... Acer with TA2 coming with T4 Of course shield, and now maybe a tegra tab7 Q1? Surface RT rev2 coming shortly (I think RT kills anything, but it's another device) Couple those with Ouya, gamepop, wikipad etc and I think tegra has a pretty good year lined up even before the T4i. Hp, Toshiba, Microsoft, Asus, Acer all showing tegra 4 support. http://www.phonearena.com/news/NVIDIAs-rumored-Teg... ZTE also has U988S phone coming. I'm sure I'm missing a few devices but these are already coming.
Really not quite sure if all these devices will fail, but they're coming. Your statement is fantasy at best. Can you name that many S800 devices yet? T4 doesn't even have a modem, so imagine the use of T4i when it finally gets certification shortly and is aimed at $100-200 china market etc (expect Q1 devices and announcements by xmas or so probably for those products). These are devices that are going to sell in some quantity whether you like it or not. I expect Google's console to come with T4 also as they'll want to take advantage of the only company pushing mobile games (TEGRAZONE) right now: Nvidia. I'll be surprised if they don't use NV T4 or T5, depends on launch date, NV may have pushed up T5 to Q1 just for google, who knows.
Xiaomi is one of the best Chinese Android phone in 2013,but it is not easy to buy from their official site,not people can get the Xiaomi Mi3 on maomaomall.com on $345 by DHL freeshipping! Maomaomall.com is an online wholeseller for the Chinese Android phones and tablets,their price is more good,and they accept payment by paypal and send packages with tracking code,they have all the Chinese android phones and the tablets,like THL,ZOPO,Xiaomi Mi3,Lenovo,ZTE. Now use the coupon MMMNEWYEAR can get 8% off for the total order value,go hurry now!
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dabotsonline - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
Why is there not FD-LTE on the MSM8974AB variant and no TD-LTE on the Tegra 4/i500 one?duploxxx - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
A pitty they moved away from there rounding in the Mi2s, i like that design a lot for sure with the 4.3 specs and sizing.I have the mi2s phone for half a year now and it is awesome. whenever you see a high-end expensive commercial phone you can just lauch with it :).
SunLord - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
I'd assume that since no one in china has a network based on FD-LTE it least I've never heard of one they'd have no reason to include it. As for TD-LTE who knows maybe they set the price point and then built the phone and adding LTE would've pushed it over 1999 Yuan it's also possible TD-LTE on Tegra 4 plus i500 isn't fully certified yet I know Nvidia said only Cat-3 FD-LTE would be ready for launch back in January but I've not seen any reports of TD-LTE being ready.name99 - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
Uhh --- because these are MID-RANGE devices, not PREMIUM devices?Look at the damn prices.
max1001 - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
Wait? How is this not a premium device?A S800 5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display, a 13MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, 2GB of RAM, 16GB to 64GB of storage, a 3050mAh battery, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and GLONASS. It measures 5.7″ x 2.9″ x 0.32″ and weighs 5.1 ounces.
max1001 - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
China doesn't have LTE and Xiaomi has stated plenty of time that currently, they are only focus on China market. So why would they add LTE which would increase the BOM.weiln12 - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
OK, so how do I get this in the US.Second, although my Chinese is lacking it looks like the website shows that the camera can shoot in RAW format?! Seriously?!
martin13 - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
you are right. it supports RAWchavv - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
many devices can shoot in raw, tho its rarely exposed.For example all Mediatek devices can shoot in raw format - forced by a tool called MobileUncleTools. Xperia C and many lenovo phones use MTK chipsets
madmilk - Monday, September 9, 2013 - link
You can try Aliexpress or other import shops, but there will be a large markup (+50% at the least). If you can find someone who knows Chinese, maybe you can persuade someone on Taobao to ship to you.If the main factor for you is price, just buy a Nexus 5 when it comes out. You'll actually get a US warranty, properly-translated software and LTE.
tonyking - Wednesday, October 9, 2013 - link
you can order it on ebay or some china online store as xiaomi world.i had order the 2s on itretrospooty - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
I like the tapered edges "ala-Nokia" designs, but hate the giant bezel "ala-Nokia" aspect.rdeleonp - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
Look at Hugo's grin... LOL!badchris - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
According to sources from supply chain,the Xiaomi MI3 Tegra 4 ver is using baseband chip from Spreadtrum,since NVIDIA's Grey and Icera i500 haven't passed any mobile carrier's validation yet.TechnoSavvy - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
Which one performs better 8974AB..or the Tegra 4Will it be available in India ?
When and at What price?
name99 - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
It's interesting that they are trying very hard to copy Apple (all the way to the iOS7 icons in their skinning) but they don't seem to "get" what Apple is really about.No way in hell Apple would have created the slides above, busy, cluttered, full of tech jargon. Same for their web site which has the gorgeous high quality photos of Apple, pasted onto a cluttered and uninspiring background.
The question is what's the long term plan here? Is the goal to simply out-Samsung Samsung --- be the best copier of Apple products in China? Or is there actually a higher ambition, to be become not simply a copier of Apple, but a legit Chinese equivalent of Apple, the one Chinese company that charges more for design because they actually DELIVER?
I'd say things aren't looking good for the second theory right now. But, it's early days. Maybe by this time next year they'll have hired some DESIGNERS rather than UI cloners? For the larger story here, the more interesting story, I think the place to look is not in the phones and other high profile devices but at the more mundane stuff like the marketing slides, the ads, the web page, and see what sort of sensibility (and unity or lack thereof) is driving them.
etamin - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
If you actually used MIUI, you would know it is nothing like iOS. I own a Mi2 and an iPhone 5 and I prefer the Mi2 as my daily phone. Just because there is an icon dock and icon folders doesn't make it a copy of iOS. Plenty of ROMs have these basic features. The iPhone 5 is a great device, but too restrictive for my needs so I use it as an iPod Touch.What does the slides not looking like Apple slides have to do with anything? XiaoMi is not Apple. Your statement is irrelevant.
Companies in all industries take design cues from their competitors, "copying" is much too strong of a word. On the other hand, if XiaoMi is attempting to copy the SUCCESS of Apple, there is nothing wrong with that, every company would aim to do so. Marketing techniques have little to do with the actual technologies and products being sold. XiaoMi is trying to offer leading technologies at an affordable price, and Apple is not known for that latter area.
Just because you're an Apple lover (or a Chinese product hater) DOES NOT MEAN EVERY COMPANY YOU HAVE NOT HEARD OF IS COPYING APPLE. Ignorant fanboys need to keep quiet.
name99 - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
Xiaomi is constantly referred to as "China's Apple". This is simply a fact --- do a freaking google search. As such, it's perfectly reasonable to ask whether this is a sensible and reasonable designation.Anon1440 - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
Reason why it is called "China's Apple" because it is very successful in China. Similar to how Apple is a big hit in US. However, if you want to compare the functionality, they are very different. I have Mi2, S4 and iPhone4S and the closest one that is similar to each other are Mi2 and S4. iPhone4S has nothing on Mi2, if not worse, in terms of the UI and the horrendous (this is purely my own opinion) iOS7.Davidjan - Friday, September 6, 2013 - link
Mi2A, Mi2S are pretty good device. You can easily expand its storage with this mini reader:http://goo.gl/U6IyY
bandora - Saturday, September 7, 2013 - link
This phone is almost an exact replica of the Nokia N9.. Wow..Person.Boi - Friday, September 6, 2013 - link
What's funny, is guess which came first, MIUI v5 or iOS 6?Looks like Apple copied MIUI with this one.
Also, which one is more open to customisation and has weekly updates BASED ENTIRELY ON USER FEEDBACK?
Wait sorry, customisation and listening to customers is foreign language in iOS-land.
z950127 - Monday, September 30, 2013 - link
just for the record... MIUI V5 was released way earlier than iOS 7... please Do some research before you comment....kwrzesien - Thursday, September 5, 2013 - link
I'm liking the choice of memory: 16GB or 64GB for <$100 markup.cubanresourceful - Friday, September 6, 2013 - link
@Brian or Anand: I was wondering, in these new Snapdragon SoC, does Android take advantage (or even know) that the Snapdragon MSM8974 chips have Qualcomm's Voice Activation Feature (similar to the "NLP Core" in the Moto X)?Does this mean that a separate "low energy" chip is no longer required (seeing how Motorola went with an older Qualcomm chip that did not have this feature, I assume is why they had to stick in a separate chip in).
TheJian - Sunday, September 8, 2013 - link
"It's safe to say that Tegra 4 hasn't been the overwhelming success that NVIDIA had hoped for, nor able to continue the momentum that Tegra 3 built"You guys act like this is the first tegra4 device...LOL. NV haters at anandtech these days, including YOU Anand. HP and Toshiba both are shipping devices, but you guys can't get something to benchmark? How long are you guys planning on pretending T4 is only in shield?...LOL. I don't see this phone being beat by any S4's in the link below and the benchmarks have been out since early July. It's 20%~ faster than everything else in the list in gpu here, and we already know the CPU rocks antutu in a tablet vs. S800 (36000+ if memory serves). Clearly T4i won't have a phone problem and I expect tegra sales to ramp with it. That's TWO tegra 4 phones now with ZTE's U988S. Once the list below is all shipping I suspect we'll see some decent T4 numbers in the Q report.
A paste of a comment I made elsewhere:
T4 just started shipping end of July (basically only just over a month). Not sure how you can call it a failure yet:
http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/03/toshiba-launches...
2 toshibas with T4 (and a 3rd with a T3)
Vizio has a T4 (and T3) coming also that they showed at CES
Also the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity,
HP SlateBook x2 & an AIO device (20in?) both T4, not to mention
Mad Catz MOJO (they are SEEKING deal T4 they said).
BungBungame's Kalos tablet uses T4 also
Xiaomi Mi3 handset
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Xiaomi-Mi3-scores-h...
Looks like T4 owns the top of the list right? Xiaomi phone is impressive.
http://www.nextpowerup.com/news/1949/acer-prepping...
Acer with TA2 coming with T4
Of course shield, and now maybe a tegra tab7 Q1?
Surface RT rev2 coming shortly (I think RT kills anything, but it's another device)
Couple those with Ouya, gamepop, wikipad etc and I think tegra has a pretty good year lined up even before the T4i. Hp, Toshiba, Microsoft, Asus, Acer all showing tegra 4 support.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/NVIDIAs-rumored-Teg...
ZTE also has U988S phone coming. I'm sure I'm missing a few devices but these are already coming.
Really not quite sure if all these devices will fail, but they're coming. Your statement is fantasy at best. Can you name that many S800 devices yet? T4 doesn't even have a modem, so imagine the use of T4i when it finally gets certification shortly and is aimed at $100-200 china market etc (expect Q1 devices and announcements by xmas or so probably for those products). These are devices that are going to sell in some quantity whether you like it or not. I expect Google's console to come with T4 also as they'll want to take advantage of the only company pushing mobile games (TEGRAZONE) right now: Nvidia. I'll be surprised if they don't use NV T4 or T5, depends on launch date, NV may have pushed up T5 to Q1 just for google, who knows.
maomaomall - Thursday, January 2, 2014 - link
Xiaomi is one of the best Chinese Android phone in 2013,but it is not easy to buy from their official site,not people can get the Xiaomi Mi3 on maomaomall.com on $345 by DHL freeshipping!Maomaomall.com is an online wholeseller for the Chinese Android phones and tablets,their price is more good,and they accept payment by paypal and send packages with tracking code,they have all the Chinese android phones and the tablets,like THL,ZOPO,Xiaomi Mi3,Lenovo,ZTE.
Now use the coupon MMMNEWYEAR can get 8% off for the total order value,go hurry now!
maomaomall - Thursday, January 2, 2014 - link
www.maomaomall.com have the Xiaomi Mi3 on $345 by DHL freeshipping for the 16GB version,they accept payment by paypal,go hurry now!