Cape Town – Chinese phone maker Xiaomi has announced the local launch of its Redmi Note 2 large screen smartphone.
The phablet - which has a 14cm (5.5 inch) display - is aimed as a cheaper alternative to devices from rivals such as Samsung, LG and Huawei.
“At R2 999 we are bringing the 5.5 inch form factor within reach of the majority of smartphone users in the country,” said RJ van Spaandonk, president of MIA, local Xiaomi distributors.
“Many comparable smartphones sell at double the price, and none of them retail below R4 000,” he added.
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Under the skin, the phablet packs a MediaTek Helio X10 octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a 3 060mAh battery which is removable.
It’s powered by Xiaomi’s MIUI 7 operating system, a customised version of Android and it has a 13 megapixel main camera with 16GB of memory on-board.
MIA said the Redmi Note 2 is available online and will be on the shelves in Dion Wired, Game, Incredible Connection and Makro from next week.
Xiaomi sold about 70 million handsets globally in 2015 and the company’s market share is estimated at 5.6%, according to the International Data Corporation.
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