14 DAY TRIAL // Who would have thought that Xiaomi’s previous flagship smartphone, the Mi3, would be so popular in India? Even though the device was sold out in Singapore in about 2 minutes, the Chinese company surely did not expect to sell its Mi3 stock for India in less than a minute.
In fact, according to Xiaomi, the Mi3 was out of stock in just 5 seconds. Imagine how many orders were placed in that time frame and how many potential customers did not manage to get their orders through.
Xiaomi Mi3 is exclusively available in India via major retailer Flipkart for only Rs 13,999 ($230 / €175) outright, which is an exceptional deal, considering its specs.
However, many Xiaomi smartphone users complain about the low build quality and not-so-great user experience. You may be wondering how that is possible. Well, the Mi3 comes with Android 4.4 KitKat operating system out of the box but runs MIUI v5 user interface on top.
Still, it’s a matter of taste, so many Android fans might enjoy the user experience offered by MIUI user interface. Aside from that, the Mi3 packs really good features for the price you pay.
For example, the smartphone is equipped with a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, an Adreno 330 graphics processing unit, and 2GB of RAM.
It’s also worth mentioning that customers in India can only purchase the 16GB model, which lacks microSD card slot for memory expansion. The 64GB variant is not yet available in the country, but this version doesn’t come with microSD card slot either.
Xiaomi Mi3 sports a similar 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display as the Mi4, which supports full HD (1080p) resolution and features Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating.
The smartphone packs a 13-megapixel main camera on the back, which features autofocus, dual-LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording, while in the front there’s a secondary 2-megapixel camera for video calls and selfies.
Connectivity-wise, the Mi3 offers all the standard features usually included in a high-end smartphone, so expect HSPA+ (42Mbps), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, microUSB and USB on-the-go, GPS with A-GPS and NFC (Near Field Communication).
Keep in mind that Xiaomi Mi3 does not come with dual-SIM support, but India customers will be pleased to know they will be able to enjoy listening to music via FM Radio.
Xiaomi Mi3 is powered by a decent enough 3050 mAh non-removable battery that should provide up to 500 hours of standby time or up to 25 hours of talk time.
Customers in India still interested in purchasing the Xiaomi Mi3 should know that Flipkart will start selling the smartphone again on August 5. Registration for the next sale is set to begin later today from 6PM local hour.
Thank you, Mi fans! Our Mi 3 was out of stock in just 5 seconds on @Flipkart today! pic.twitter.com/KkohiuWIDX
— Mi India (@MiIndiaOfficial) July 29, 2014