When we reported on the expected smartphones to be on display at CES 2015, we mentioned that Xiaomi (pronounced SHA-O-mee), a privately owned Chinese electronic company and third largest smartphone distributor, is planning on unveiling a next generation smartphone with the Mi 5. There are many rumors about the Mi 5, and one of them is that Xiaomi is planning on branching out in the United States.
According to Tech Times, Xiaomi is looking to enter the US Market, and will make the announcement while unveiling their Mi 5 smartphone at CES 2015. CES 2015 is an annual trade show for consumer electronics that has its annual convention in the first week of January at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Venetian Hotel/Casino.
A report by Digital Trends says that a U.S. release of the Xiaomi Mi 5 seems unlikely. The CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, has stated that "any wide international launch won't be possible until it's the world's number one smartphone manufacturer".
The company has already beaten out Samsung as the top phone in the mobile market in China, due to its ability to severely markdown the price of flagship-caliber mobile devices in that country. While it is impressive that Xiaomi has taken on Samsung in China, it would be difficult to take them on in America, as well as the rest of the Android-enabled phones. It would also have to take on the Apple iPhone market and Windows phone users as well. In short, that is one tall order for Xiaomi.
As far as the phone itself, the Mi 5 is expected to have a large display and it will have 2K resolution (2560 x 1440). Some sources estimated 5.5 to 5.7 inches, which is very close to phablet phones like the LG G3, the Galaxy Note 4, as well as the iPhone 6 Plus. The rear camera will be at 20.7 Megapixels and the Mi 5 could feature a fingerprint sensor. The Mi 5 will be powered by an octo-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 or possibly an 810 processor.
The Mi5 will have a price of $325, which is the phone's off-contract price. If that is true, that would be extremely cheap for an off-contract phone in the United States, and that would guarantee good sales in the United States. The biggest question is who would be willing to carry the phone? If Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and the other big names were willing to support it, then perhaps Xiaomi could really receive a huge reception in the United States, and become the world's favorite smartphone manufacturer.
