(Reuters) – In China’s booming smartphone market, which is set this year to overtake the United States as the world’s largest, a host of little-known local firms are primed with cheap phones to squeeze market share from U.S. giant Apple Inc’s iPhone.
In the latest local challenge to the iPhone, Xiaomi Technology on Thursday launched the successor to its popular MiOne (MI) smartphone. The MI2 has specifications that exceed those of the iPhone 4S and sells for less than half the price.
Smartphones from Xiaomi – founded only two years ago but already worth more than Blackberry maker Research in Motion, according to private market valuations – have proved so popular they sell out in minutes after going on sale online. The company, founded by CEO Lei Jun, said last month its first-half revenue was close to $1 billion as it sold more than 3 million phones.
Mirroring Apple’s annual worldwide developers conference (WWDC), where devotees would pay to listen to Steve Jobs showcasing new products, the informally-clad Lei charged Xiaomi fans 199 yuan ($31.30) to attend the Beijing launch, with the proceeds going to charity. Over 1,000 people flocked to the event.
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