Chinese handset maker Xiaomi launches Redmi 2 & Mi Pad in India for Rs 6,999 and Rs 12,999 respectively

Chinese smartphone and tablet manufacturer Xiaomi has launched the successor to its budget smartphone offering Redmi 1S in the Indian market. Christened Redmi 2, the device sports a 4.7 inch display and runs on the Android operating system. It has been priced at Rs 6,999 in the country and will be available for purchase exclusively on Indian e-commerce major Flipkart.com.

While registrations for the first flash sale of the smartphone are open as of now, the sale itself will happen March 24, 2015.

In addition, the company has also launched its first tablet called Mi Pad in the Indian market. This one is priced at Rs 12,999 and will also be available on Flipkart.com from March 24. However, unlike Redmi 2, users won't need any pre-registrations to purchase the tablet. Mi Pad was first unveiled in May last year.

The company is also planning to open 100 'service and experience' stores in India this year. Planned to be set up over 500-1,000 square feet, the stores will enable consumers to 'experience' the company's devices. However, Xiaomi has made it clear that it will not sell any devices at the stores. According to Manu Jain, Xiaomi's India head, the stores will be launched in cities like Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore in the first week of April.

Here is a look at the specifications of the devices.

Mi Pad for Rs 12,999

The tablet sports a 7.9 inch IPS capacitive touchscreen display (2048×1536 pixels resolution) with 326 ppi pixel density. It runs on the Android operating system that has been optimised with MIUI. The device is powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 processor and has 2GB of RAM. The internal memory of the device is 16GB that can be further expanded up to 128GB with a microSD card.

It has an 8MP rear camera (with BSI sensor) that can record full HD videos (1080p) at 30 fps, and a 5MP front facing camera for video calling. On the connectivity front, it has Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi (with Wi-Fi Direct), as well as a microSD card slot and a microUSB port.

The dimensions of the device are 135.4mm x 202.1mm x 8.5mm and its weight is 360gm. Xiaomi has provided a 6,700mAh battery in the device that it claims will offer up to 16 hours of HD video playback, 86 hours of music playback, and 1,300 hours of standby time. It will be available only in white colour.

Redmi 2 for Rs 6,999

The smartphone sports a 4.7 inch HD IPS capacitive touchscreen display (1280×720 pixels resolution) with 312 ppi pixel density. It runs on the Android operating system that has been optimised with MIUI 6. Powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 64-bit processor with Adreno 306 GPU, the smartphone has 1GB of RAM. The internal memory of the device is 8GB (5.75GB available to the user) that can be further expanded up to 32GB with a microSD card.

It has an 8 megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED Flash that can record full HD videos (1080p) at 30 frames per second, and a 2MP front facing camera for video calling that can also record HD videos (720p). On the connectivity front, it has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, 3G, and 4G LTE, as well as a microSD card slot and a microUSB port.

The dimensions of the device are 134mm x 67.2mm x 9.4mm and its weight is 133gm. Xiaomi has provided a 2,200mAh battery in the device, which also comes with FM radio, dual-SIM capability, and GPS (with A-GPS support). It will be available in white colour. The company is also planning to introduce a limited edition of Redmi 2 smartphone in the country, which will have 16GB internal storage and 2GB of RAM.

Competition in India

In its price range, the smartphone will face off against the likes of Lenovo A6000 (Rs 6,999), Sony Xperia E1 Dual (Rs 6,477), Microsoft Lumia 532 (Rs 6,499), Lava IRIS Beats (Rs 6,552), XOLO Q600 Club (Rs 6,499), Samsung Tizen Z1 (Rs 5,900), Huawei Honor Holly (Rs 6,999), ASUS Zenfone C – ZC451CG (Rs 5,999), Micromax Canvas Pep (Rs 5,999), and Motorola's Moto E 2nd Gen (Rs 6,999), among others.