Xiaomi Corp started online and offline sales of its high-end Mi Note Pro yesterday, the first time the Chinese smartphone vendor has sold handsets through own-brand stores.

Models display the Mi Note Pros yesterday in one of Xiaomi’s own-brand shops in Shanghai. It is the first time the Chinese smartphone vendor has sold handsets offline. — Ti Gong

The move is expected to help Xiaomi to boost revenue and directly compete with Apple and Samsung in the high-end phone segment, industry insiders.

Its 2,999-yuan (US$484) Mi Note Pro, which features a curved glass display, sold out at 11:00am in its Shanghai store called Mi Home in Xujiahui where more than 600 local consumers queued to buy the model. Some arrived there on the evening of the previous day.

The model was also sold out by the noon in its online store, Xiaomi said.

The 5.7-inch Mi Note Pro, a rival to the 5.5-inch Apple iPhone 6 Plus, has a 13-megapixel camera offered by Sony, runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 chip, 64-gigabyte storage and 4GB memory.

Xiaomi, which has 20 directly-operated Mi Home outlets in China, aims to open brand outlets similar to Apple stores in major cities including Shanghai and Beijing.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)