14 DAY TRIAL // Chinese handset maker Xiaomi had a tremendous success with its smartphones launched in India. Even though it is one of the largest handset makers in China, after Huawei, Xiaomi still hesitates going global with its products.
The company promised to open its own stores in various countries this month including the UK and US, but also in some European countries.
Until then though, Xiaomi's most popular smartphones are still out of reach to customers that do not live in China, India or other Asian country where the handset maker has its products on sale.
The good news is that at least one Xiaomi handset is now available for purchase globally. In fact, online retailer GearBest is shipping the Xiaomi Mi4i internationally from its Hong Kong warehouses.
In addition, GearBest is keeping the shipping costs pretty low, so customers around the world won't pay a fortune to get one.
On top of that, the retailer is also running a promotion on the Xiaomi Mi4i, so for one month customers will be able to grab it for just $238 (€213) outright.
The unlocked version is shipping for free in almost 100 countries
The smartphone is available in either black or white colors and GearBest also throws in free shipping in 95 countries.
Considering the smartphone is now selling in India for around $200 (€180), GearBest offers quite a good deal on the Xiaomi Mi4i.
The Mi4i had some overheating issues soon after release, but Xiaomi delivered some updates that supposedly fixed these problems.
The smartphone is powered by a 64-bit 1.7GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, which is complemented by 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal memory.
Xiaomi Mi4i lacks microSD card slot for memory expansion, but packs a 5-inch OGS (One Glass Solution) capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution.
There's also a 13-megapixel camera on the back, which features 5 element lens, f/2.0 aperture, LED flash and video recording, as well as a secondary 5-megapixel camera in the front with 80 degree wide-angle, 5 element lens and f/1.8 aperture.
The Mi4i ships with Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system with MIUI 6 UI on top. It offers dual-SIM support and 4G LTE connectivity (1800 / 2600 MHz).