Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi launched a low-cost smartphone Mi 4i in the capital on Thursday. The company is also thinking to start a data centre in by early next year in India. “We are still committed. We said by first half (of the year), we will have details ready. We are thinking of launching it later this year or early next year,” Xiaomi Vice President Hugo Barra told the reporters here.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi on Thursday unveiled its first ‘Made for India’ smartphone Mi 4i, priced at Rs12,999, signifying the increasing importance of India for the Chinese firm. Mi 4i will be available from April 30 in India, before any other market. Though the device will not be launched in mainland China, it will be sold in markets like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia later in May.
“This is a flagship product that has drawn a lot of inspiration from India. A lot of tweaking has been done keeping in mind the Indian consumers and is made for India,” Barra said. In October last year, Xiaomi had announced that it will set up a local data centre in India to cater to the domestic demand here, following concerns raised by Indian Air Force and security solutions provider F-Secure about data protection of user data.