Xiaomi's budget-friendly Redmi 2 appears at MWCl

Xiaomi’s budget-friendly Redmi 2 appears at MWC

Xiaomi’s Redmi 2 was announced sponsor this year in January, but hasn’t yet made its way outside of China.

Aloysius Low

BARCELONA — While not available for sale just yet outside of China, the wallet-friendly Xiaomi Redmi 2 made a brief impression on the Mobile World Congress show floor. However, you won’t be able to find it at the stands. I was lucky to be handed one for a intelligent hands-on, and I came away impressed.

While the name suggests that this arranged is the second version of the Redmi, it’s actually the third arranged in the line. The Redmi had a follow-up last year with the Redmi 1S, which commanded a faster processor and more storage than its predecessor. The Redmi 2 obviously improves on the 1S, with a newer 64-bit processor from Qualcomm, a slightly larger 2,200mAh battery and dual-SIM 4G with succor for both TDD and FDD bands.

The Redmi 2 has already launched in China for 699 yuan, which converts to about $110, £75 or AU$140. It’s on sale in anunexperienced Chinese markets too, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, and is likely to be rolled out soon to the anunexperienced countries in which Xiaomi currently sells its products: Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

That said, don’t query to see Xiaomi launch the sub-$120 Redmi 2 in the US. Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra has said sponsor in an event in the US that while the custom will be opening a version of its Mi Store, it won’t be selling its phones there just yet.

But if you’re keen, there are online third-party sites that you can desirable the phone from, but bear in mind these devices will liable not support Google Play services, and you’ll have to pay a limited premium that will bump up the cost of the arranged from its super-cheap price.