Xiaomi Singapore are feeling mighty proud of themselves today after successfully selling out of Xiaomi Redmi phones in just 8 minutes.
Xiaomi’s method of producing small batches of phone and shipping them all before producing more has helped create a frantic craze to buy their products in China, and it also seems to have worked in Singapore too. Earlier today Xiaomi Singapore held its first sale of Xiaomi Redmi phones resulting in a complete sell out in 8 minutes.
Gizchina News of the week
Dear Mi fans, we’re sold out for #Redmi – in just eight minutes! As this is the first time we’re selling in Singapore, we wanted to learn more about the market behaviour, sales reaction, and optimise our business processes (e-commerce, logistics, customer support). We understand that many of you are eager to purchase a Redmi still, so we are working hard to bring in more products for you. We’ll announce our next round of sales shortly. For those who have successfully placed an order, we are working hard to fulfill your orders and you will be getting your #Redmi soon.
Xiaomi have not disclosed the number of Redmi phones they had in the first place, but it is likely to be much less than what they have ready for China real eases.
As with Chinese sales, fans in Singapore found that buying their Redmi online was a frustrating experience with many customers complaining the Xiaomi site has been spotty ever since sales began.
[ Source ]
Fanboys buying outdated and overpriced MT6589T phones – Cool story!
I wish chinese companies would mass produce phones before selling them, it is embarrassing to see companies make 5,000 or so units and have them sold out in 10 minutes. Just wait until you have lots of stock before you put them on sale.
Making phones in limited numbers is what keeps Xiaomi prices so low. They wait manufacturer enough so they know they can sell them all, this way they can keep prices down and not worry about sitting on stock.
Erm… which “low prices” do you speak of, Andi?
Tronsmart TS7 has the same specs with more powerfull MT6582 and cost 20$ less
Star HD5000 has the same specs with 8GB RAM and more powerfull MT6582 and even costs 30$ less
The Redmi is only officially available in China, HongKong, Taiwan and Singapore. The USD price in these regions is $130, that’s with MIUI V5 with very regular updates, great specs and Samsung 8 mega-pixel camera. It’s not Xiaomi who have increased prices for customers outside of those regions its the resellers adding their cut to cover their own expenses.
The Star and Tronsmart you mention have lower quality, unbranded parts and don’t get regular updates.
Not really a comparison…
The advert postet at the top of the article looks official and shows a price of 169$, doesnt it?
So I guess thats the “official” price in Singapore? (correct me if I am wrong)
And I guess gizchina is a website for international users anyways (thats why it is in english and not in chinese, right?) so how is anybody here supposed to care for the asian price instead of the international?
The Star / Tronsmart are also “only officially available” in the asian market and are probably much cheaper there than the 140/130 USD you pay for buying them internationally… so why do you compare “Hongmi Asia price” to “other-phone international price”?
What do you mean with “great specs”?…
Both the Tronsmart and the Star have exactly same specs as the Hongmi (besides their stronger processor)!
The built quality of all those devices doesnt really differ much, as they are all mass produced devices made of the same plastic, probably even made by the same OEM in the same factory.
The Hongmi doesnt even offer backlight for the menu buttons, only a cheap print with the symbols.
And the reviews I read about it didnt mention anything about an above average camera performance compared to other devices (which usually have Sony cameras/lenses anyways)
Whats the point in MIUI v5 and updates? The OS looks gaudy as some picture-book made for children and doesnt run any better than the stock Android 4.2 found on the other devices.
S$169 = Singapore Dollars = $130 USD
GizChina is an international site and it just so happens English is one of the main languages of Singapore.
You obiously don’t like the Redmi which is fine. I would prefer the Xiaomi, over the phones you mentined as I appreciate ROM updates from the manufacturer, plus I have had great exprience with Xiaomi hardware (although they aren’t the best looking).
Star and Tronsmart have always been aimed at interntional buyers. Both of those brands are next to impossible to find in China (I’ve lived here for 10 years), but the models you mention are on sale here as OEM models.
Not saying the phones you have chosen are bad, just they aren’t for me.
Thanks for the explaination of S$, didnt know that there is such a thing and that it acutally differs from USD
Ok, you dont get the “Star HD5000” in china but you get the exact same phone with another brand-name like Tengda/Ulefone/Jajatong/whatever for probably far less than the 130USD, dont you? (I remember Jiayu G2F with similar specs selling for <100$)
I think it isnt about me liking Xiaomi or not in the first place… (but as a funny fact: I actually really do not care much about updates if the stock version runs fine while I actually DO like the looks of the latest Xiaomi phones)
It just feel that this site -while generally a very good read most of the time- completely overhypes Xiaomi as a brand in general (and reading the comments I am not the only one who thinks so).
Take this "news" for example:
There is virtually zero information in it (Selling in 8 minutes without even giving an ammount is simple and plain worthless), it is just for the pure glorification of the the brand itself and it completely lacks any critical perception.
Sorry Highwind, but maybe you dont understand much about China Brand. If you have used Xiaomi devices, you could find that it is one of the best phone in the world (that mention about usage, not Brand name), Jiayu good phone, but have many problems in using, and it can not compare in build quality with Xiaomi.
Hope this help :D.
if they sold out in 8 minutes they underestimated demand badly.
Xiaomi is the new hipster phone.