Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Xiaomi, is set to introduce two of its phones – the Redmi 2 and Mi 4 into the smartphone marketplace in Africa.
Sale of these phones is expected to begin in mid-November and they will be first launched in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.
“We see Africa as the next frontier for growth of smartphones and we are delighted to partner with MIA Group. We will offer consumers in all three countries, our high quality smartphones at unbelievable prices”,
director of strategy at Xiaomi. Raymond Tian said.
For its operations in Africa, Xiaomi has sought the services of Mobile in Africa Group (MIA) for import, logistics, marketing and support.
“MIA Group is bringing the Redmi 2 and Mi 4 to key countries in Sub-Saharan Africa,”
said RJ van Spaandonk, President of the group.
“We’ve seen a strong response to the products based on preliminary discussions with partners, and we look forward to providing consumers with these new high-end smartphone options at incredible price points,”
he added.
The Xiaomi Redmi 2 features a fully laminated 4.7-inch HD screen that displays vibrant colours. It comes with an 8-megapixel camera that has an aperture of f/2.2 for excellent low-light performance.
It comes in two versions- the 8 GB with 1 GB RAM and a 16 GB with 2 GB RAM. The Xiaomi Redmi 2 has a 2200 mAh battery, measures 134 x 67.2 x 9.4 mm and weighs 130g.
During its launch earlier in the year, it sold for Rs. 7,000 (21,000 Naira)
The Xiaomi Mi 4 on the other hand is a flagship device featuring a precisely engineered stainless steel frame.
It sports a 5” IPS Full HD display that is incredibly sharp, and runs on the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 801 2.5GHz processor.
With a 13MP ƒ/1.8 rear camera and a front-facing 8MP camera, Mi 4 takes beautiful pictures and is judged by many to be great for selfies.
Xiaomi Mi 4 comes with a 3 GB RAM, has an option of a 16 or 64 GB internal memory which can be expanded via a microSD slot.
It’s powered by a 3080 mAh battery which can last up to 280 hours on 3G. It was valued at $s 19999 (approximately 61,000 Naira) during its launch.
Starting from the middle of November, the Xiaomi Redmi 2 and Mi 4 will be offered by the three countries’ leading mobile network operators, online partners and (specialised) retailers.
Exact information regarding pricing and availability will be made available per country in the near future, prior to release.