Chinese handset maker Xiaomi to launch 64GB variant of flagship smartphone Mi 4 for Rs 23,999 in India

Within a fortnight of introducing the device in the Indian market, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi is all set to launch a 64GB variant of its flagship smartphone Mi 4 in the country. The smartphone has been priced at Rs 23,999, and will be available for purchase exclusively on Indian e-commerce major Flipkart.com on Feb 24, 2015.

In comparison, the 16GB model of the smartphone- launched late last month- is available for Rs 4,000 lower at Rs 19,999. The company had conducted the first flash sale of Mi 4 (16GB model) today, for which it had received approximately 350,000 registrations. According to the company, 25,000 devices were made available for the sale, which went out of stock in just 15 seconds- as per a tweet by the company's official Twitter handle (‏@MiIndiaOfficial).

Already one of the leading smartphone manufacturer's in China, Xiaomi had made its debut in the Indian smartphone market in July last year with the launch of the Mi3 smartphone. Here is a look at the specifications of the device.

The smartphone sports a 5 inch full HD IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display (1920×1080 pixels resolution) with 441 ppi pixel density. It runs on the Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system that has been optimised with MIUI 6. According to the company, the new software is MIUI redesigned in its simplest form, with all unnecessary distractions stripped away so users can focus on their content.

Powered by a 2.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with Adreno 330 GPU, the smartphone has 3GB of RAM. The internal memory of the device is 64GB, but further memory expansion is not available (not that it is required).

Mi 4 has a 13 megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED Flash that can record Ultra HD videos at 30 frames per second (fps) and full HD videos at 30fps. The device also has an 8 MP front facing camera that can record full HD videos. Additional features of the camera include geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, and High Dynamic Range (HDR), among others. On the connectivity front, it has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi and 3G, as well as a microUSB port.

The dimensions of the device are 139.2mm x 68.5mm x 8.9mm and its weight is 149 gm. Xiaomi has provided a 3,080mAh battery in the device, which the company claims can be charged up to 60 per cent in just 30 minutes with Quick Charge 2.0. The smartphone comes with GPS (with A-GPS support), FM Radio, and will be available in white colour.

According to the company, the smartphones after-sales service will be supported by Mi India's over 66 service centres, including five exclusive Mi service centres in cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Cochin.

In its price range, the device will compete with the likes of Huawei Honor 6 and OnePlus One that are available for Rs 17,999 and Rs 21,999 respectively. While OnePlus One also offers 64GB of internal memory, Huawei Honor 6's internal memory can be expanded up to 64GB with a microSD card.

In Dec last year, Xiaomi had received $1.1 billion in fresh funding from All-Stars Investment, an investment firm launched by former Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Ji, besides Russian investment firm DST Global, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, Hopu Fund, and Yunfeng Capital, among others. The round valued Xiaomi at $45 billion.