[royjacobs]

Xiaomi is a really interesting company. This TV announcement is just one in a long line of recent products that promise high quality devices for low prices (recently announced Mi Pad, Wi-Fi Router, etc).

I own a Xiaomi MI2s phone which cost me about 200 euros to get shipped from a Chinese webshop and it's been working perfectly. They even update their phone OS (MIUI, based on Android) with weekly builds that are installed OTA.

Lei Jun (their CEO) really wants Xiaomi to become the Chinese Apple. Not sure if wearing black turtlenecks and hiring Hugo Barra will get them there, but I'm curious to see what they'll do next.

[Pxtl]

So their wares are actually solid?

I've been looking at Android-based TV boxen and I've been disappointed - there are very few players beating the Apple TV in that space. All the devices are either miserable (buggy, poor wifi, underpowered) or cost more than Apple's deviec. If you can't beat Apple on price and you're a Chinese no-name company, you're in the wrong business.

So far the only company that seems to be taking that market seriously is Amazon, and Amazon's android fork is far-enough-away from stock Android that it doesn't really count.

I keep hoping somebody would get some momentum and take a solid toe-hold.

[MCRed]

I find the "Chinese Apple" to be a curious desire. Which characteristics do we choose from the two? "high quality devices for low prices", is very chinese, but Apple is known for high quality prices based on innovative technology.

If he wants to build a company that makes high quality products based on innovative technology at low prices, then he could find great success.

Alas, in my experience, no companies besides Apple are actually interested in consistently producing innovative products.

This "Mi" site is full of derivative devices using off the shelf technology (android, for instance) in moderately nicely designed plastic cases.

[szatkus]

I think he meant scale. Competing with Apple in Apple's niche isn't good idea.

[nodata]

Maybe, but you sound awfully like a marketing department!

[royjacobs]

Thanks, I guess? :)

I don't want to sound like I'm astroturfing, but I genuinely think they're interesting. Maybe I should clarify: I don't think they are at the same quality level as, say, Apple. The phone is still plastic galore and MIUI certainly isn't as elegant as iOS.

However, amidst all the Chinese companies that are churning out cheap electronics, Xiaomi doesn't seem to be content to "just" churn out clones.

Except, maybe, one of their new routers that has a design copied from an iPad stand.