A good majority of us, yours truly included, equate "Chinese products" with low quality, unreliable products. To a large extend this is true as well. However, the Chinese is quickly pulling a fast one on the Westerners by utilizing the skillsets and experience that they gained while being the "Factory of the World", and coming up with high quality products of their own making, which can stand up to and surpass the best that the Western world, Japan and recently South Korea can muster.
Xiaomi is a case in point. In a span of 4 years, they began from scratch and are now the largest sellers of smart phones in China, surpassing Samsung recently. I would like to see how long Micromax or Karbonn will take to emulate that in India, if ever.
The very reason for Xiaomi’s wild successes is their high quality, but low priced products like MI 3 and Redmi 1S.
I have had the Redmi 1S since 10th Sept, I got lucky during their very first flash sale. Ever since I started using it, I have been wanting to buy a few more pieces of it for family members - its a no-brainer, really. At Rs 5999, there is no phone today that comes close to the specs of this phone. Take this long list:
4.7" 720p(HD) Display @ 312 ppi
Gorilla Glass 2 Screen Protection
1 GB RAM
8GB Internal Mem & upto 32GB microSD compatibility
8MP cam with 1080p@30fps video & HDR
Decent Front cam
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.6Ghz Quad-Core Processor
Decent Adreno 305 Graphics
Lots of sensors - gyro, accelerometer, proximity, compass
Dual SIM dual stand-by(3G+2G)
Removable battery
More than the long feature list, its the usability that takes the trophy - MIUI is very easy to use, intuitive, light on the hardware and highly customizable. The touch operation is ultra smooth, with hardly any stutter or stall. Look-wise, it is again, decent - not a stunning design by any means, but looks well-made.
If I were to nit pick and find faults, it would be battery life - I have been using it for calls, messages, some social media and browsing using Wi-Fi alone. No games, no mobile data so far. The battery lasts barely 20 hrs, sometimes 18. With data turned on, I would lose another 2-3 hrs for sure. So you need to carry your charger to work every day. I havent played any games on it so far and I dont intend to use it for gaming, so cant comment on that. Secondly, the phone is on the bigger side, for a 4.7" screen size. The top and bottom portions have a lot of unused space. On the same footprint, I am sure a 5" phone could be made. But then, I am asking for too much for Rs 5999!
Overall, I would rate it 4 Stars, with battery life being the only sore point. For this kind of money, it is an easy sell. Xiaomi just cant make enough of these beauties(MI 3, MI 4, Redmi etc) to cater to the demand in China, India and elsewhere in Asia. Their online flash sale is also a very nice tactic, of course due to that I cannot yet buy a second one I want to gift my mom with!
Finally, Xiaomi is out to take the wind out of the collective sails of Samsung, Sony, LG and the others in the Android space. Literally for 50% of their price, you get a similarly equipped or better Xiaomi alternative - take that, competition! The recently launched Android One is Dead On Arrival - it doesnt hold a candle to Redmi 1S, going by the specs and the reviews I have read of it.
I would love to see a Micromax or a Karbonn emulating the same strategy as Xiaomi in India. Basically, give the best in class quality product with stellar specs and usability at jaw dropping prices. For now, I would suggest you go register yourself to buy one of these Redmi 1S phones in the next flash sale - even though I know by doing this, I am reducing the chances of me getting my mom’s gift any time soon!