News & Reviews:   Xiaomi Redmi 1S

A possible successor to the Xiaomi Redmi 1S was spotted at China's TENAA certification agency this Wednesday. TheXiaomi Redmi 2 may feature a 4.7-inch screen as well as a similar design profile like the existing Redmi 1S. The pictures listed on the website reveals three red-colored capacitive buttons below the display. On the right side lies the power and volume buttons while the left side is totally clean. The back features a camera sensor, LED flash, speaker grill as well as the Mi branding. Inside, there is a 64-bit quad-core processor (most likely the Snapdragon 410) with 1GB RAM and 8GB of expandable storage. Other tech specs include a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 pixel resolution display, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera and 2220 mAh battery. The phone runs on Android 4.4.4 Kitkat OS and weighs just 134 grams. According to TENAA, it also supports 4G LTE networks such as TD LTE and FD LTE along with WCDMA. The Xiaomi Redmi 2 will reportedly be available in 8 colors – white, black, yellow, orange, red, blue, green and purple at around $100 (RM350). No Malaysia release or pricing just yet, but the existing Xiaomi Redmi 1S smartphone retails for RM419 in the country.  

Today at 12pm, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S smartphone will be sold for the last time in Malaysia. About 5000 units of the value priced smartphone at RM419 will be available on the MI Malaysia site along with the Redmi Note, 10400 and 5200 mAh Mi Power Bank. While this does not account for third-party sellers who still have stock of the Redmi 1S it does indicate that Xiaomi Malaysia could be bringing in the Xiaomi Redmi 1S 4G smartphones to Malaysia in the near future. Tech specs and features should remain the same except for 4G LTE connectivity. The Redmi 1S 4G is also single SIM and not dual-SIM like the current 3G only Redmi 1S.

In conjunction with the fourth anniversary of their MIUI user interface, Xiaomi Malaysia are offering free rebates and coupons for a special sale on 16 September 2014. According to the teaser image, more than RM1.4 million worth of rebates will be made available to Mi Fans along with an Mi 4 smartphone (3G only) for one lucky Mi Fan. Coupons will include an RM25 coupon for any Xiaomi phone, RM10 coupon for any Xiaomi accessory and RM5 coupon for any Xiaomi accessory. To get these coupons, Mi Fans will have to like the Xiaomi Malaysia Facebook page, enabling a profile rating or Mi Star on the Xiaomi site. Share this link on your Facebook wall to get entered into the Mi 4 lucky draw. The sale tomorrow will offer the Xiaomi 5200 mAh Mi Power Bank, 10400 mAh Mi Power Bank, Mi 3, Redmi 1S, Redmi Note and various Redmi 1S bundles so head on over to the Xiaomi Malaysia site.

Xiaomi Malaysia will be selling their new Xiaomi Redmi 1S tomorrow, with a batch of 5000 units starting from 12pm on 8 July 2014. Keeping the smartphone company will be 10000 units of Xiaomi Mi-3 smartphones, 10000 units of 10400 mAh Mi Power Banks and 5000 units of 5200 mAh Mi Power Banks as well. Tech specs for the Xiaomi Redmi 1S are quite competitive with a 1.6GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 4.7-inch 720p display and 8MP rear camera at just RM419. However, unlike the Huawei Honor 3C, the Redmi 1S will only offer a 1.3MP front camera. The Xiaomi Redmi Note will be coming 22 July 2014 at RM509.

As teased earlier, Xiaomi Malaysia has announced their Xiaomi Redmi 1S smartphone and Xiaomi Redmi Note phablet for Malaysia. The Xiaomi Redmi 1S will be going for RM419 and will be available from 8 July 2014 while the Xiaomi Redmi Note will be going for RM509 on 22 July 2014. As usual, the two devices will be available online from Xiaomi Malaysia but there are promos for the two devices. Go to the main post on the Facebook page, share the post, tag a friend and convince them why they should buy either the Xiaomi Redmi 1s or Xiaomi Redmi Note. After you've done that, PM Xiaomi Malaysia your name, IC number, mobile number and email address. The most creatively convincing commenter will win either the Xiaomi Redmi 1s or Xiaomi Redmi Note. Check out the tech specs and features of the Xiaomi Redmi 1S and Xiaomi Redmi Note below:

• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
• 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB storage + microSD
• 4.7-inch display (IPS, 1280 x 720 pixel resolution)
• 8MP rear camera (LED flash)
• 2000 mAh battery
• MIUI V5 (Android 4.3)
• RM419

• Xiaomi Redmi Note
• 1.7GHz octa-core MT6592 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 8GB storage + supports up to 32GB microSD
• 5.5-inch display (IPS, 1280 x 720 pixel resolution)
• 13MP rear camera (LED flash, f/2.2 aperture) + 5MP front camera (wide angle)
• Supports 3G, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi
• 3200 mAh battery
• RM509

While Xiaomi Malaysia have knocked down the price of their Xiaomi Mi-3 smartphone down to RM769, it looks like the smartphone a step below the Mi-3 could be coming to Malaysia soon. This smartphone is the Xiaomi Redmi 1S, which Xiaomi Malaysia have said will be coming in June but didn't say much about when exactly. While it may be a step below, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S is no slouch and offers tech specs and features which include:

• 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB storage + microSD
• 4.7-inch display (IPS, 1280 x 720 pixel resolution)
• 8MP rear camera (LED flash)
• 2000 mAh battery
• MIUI V5 (Android 4.3)

While it had a rather soft landing when it was first announced, Xiaomi Malaysia officially launched today with a bang. On top of news that they will begin selling their Xiaomi Mi 3 smartphone for RM889 and Mi Power Bank for RM36 tomorrow, they also revealed that the Mi 3 will be made available via DiGi, Celcom and Maxis. The current version of the MIUI interface running on the Mi 3 has been revealed to be Android 4.3 with news that the Android 4.4 Kitkat version is coming soon as well. In preparation for the upcoming deluge of Xiaomi users, Xiaomi Malaysia will open 4 service centers in Malaysia, with a centre in Kelantan, Perak, Pulau Pinang and Selangor for now.