The jostle continues to get hotter by the day as to who gets upgraded to Google’s latest Android N operating system. Developers also are not going to sleep working to get the latest OS in town on their favorite brands. The latest is the Xiaomi Redmi 2 which was announced in January last year.

A user on the MIUI forum has developed an update that ushers in Android Nougat based on CyanogenMod 14 ROM on the Redmi 2 but the upgrade is only available on the China Unicom version of the smartphone. The upgrade is still in the beta stage so as expected, there are a number of bugs here and there. Although he didn’t give details on the features available and those not available, but he did share some screenshots.

Of course this shouldn’t be installed on your regular phone but if you’ve got a Redmi 2 that is lying idle, then you could as well hop in and download on MIUI forum.

 

The post Xiaomi Redmi 2 Gets the Android 7.0 Nougat Treatment appeared first on Gizmochina.

Although we have seen a lot of smartphone releases in the first half of 2015 from Xiaomi, the company still has a lot in store. Lin Bin, the President of Xiaomi had earlier revealed that the company will release several new smartphones in the second half of 2015. We expect at least two launches in the second half, the Xiaomi Mi4c, the domestic variant of the Mi4i with Snapdragon 808 and the Xiaomi Mi5 flagship. But it looks like the company may have yet another device in store for its fans.

A new device with the model number 2014512 got certification on August 31. When we checked out the pictures as well as the connectivity details, the model had the exact same design as the Redmi 2. Now, why would the same model pass through TENAA again? The specs are not available at the moment, but its likely that this is yet another variant of the Redmi 2. Remember the Redmi 2A, the company’s cheapest smartphone with a Leadcore SoC? Well, given that the low-end segment is covered, this could be a slightly beefed-up variant in the Redmi series.

1 of 3

At present, the Redmi 2 model features a quad-core 1.2GHZ Snapdragon 410 chipset with 2GB / 2GB RAM options. This particular Redmi 2 variant could upgrade the processor, probably with the mid-range Snapdragon 615. The price tag could be around 599 Yuan for 1GB version and 699 yuan for the 2GB version. This is a possibility given that the 799 Yuan Redmi Note 2 features the octa-core Helio X10 MT6795 chipset.

Well, as we mentioned above, this is just a possibility. We can’t say for sure where this device will be positioned. For that we will have to wait for its specs and pricing. So, best we wait for more details about the phone’s specs in the coming days.

The post New Redmi 2 Variant Passes TENAA, Could Come With Beefed-Up Specs appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has just announced that it will be reducing the price tag of its popular Xiaomi Redmi 2 handset from 699 Yuan to 599 Yuan. That’s a 100 Yuan drop from the original price tag, which translates to around $16 reduction. So, now the Redmi 2 can be bought for just $96 which makes it a steal!

It looks like the company is really shaking things up to reach its target sales of 100 million units by this year end. So, slashing the price tag of the already cheap Redmi 2 to 599 Yuan will definitely boost sales.

The Redmi 2 features great specs for its price. It comes with 64-bit Snapdragon 410 chipset clocked at 1.2GHz with 1GB RAM. There is a 4.7-inch display up front with 720p resolution. The rear camera is of 8MP while the front one is of 2MP. There’s 8GB of expandable internal storage along with a 2200mAh battery. It runs on Android 4.4 MIUI 6 and supports 4G LTE networks.

Just a couple of days before, we reported that Xiaomi had managed to sell over 34.70 million smartphones to customers in the first half of 2015. While this is over 33% increase as compared to last year, its still short of company targets.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi had said that it aims to sell around 80 million to 100 million smartphones in 2015. In the first half, the company could not even sell half this amount, which is probably why it will look for ways to increase says to a considerable extent in the second half.

Meanwhile, if you are looking to buy the Redmi 2 outside of China, you can check out the listing on giztop. Its currently in stock in a number of colors and you have the option of choosing the 2GB version too!

The post Xiaomi cuts down Redmi 2 Price To 599 Yuan ($96) appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi unveiled the all new Redmi 2A, which is now the cheapest smartphone in the market from the company. However, there isn’t much price difference between the regular Redmi 2 and the Redmi 2A. The latter just costs 100 Yuan less than the Redmi 2, which is still a great achievement since the entry level model was super cheap to begin with.

So, today, we take a look at what you may have to sacrifice in the Redmi 2A as compared to the Redmi 2 which is 100 Yuan costlier. If you read our earlier post, you would know that Xiaomi is offering the 2A at just 499 Yuan on April 8th which is the day of the Xiaomi Rice festival.

Anyways, in this unboxing we take a look at what the Redmi 2A offers for its cheap price.

First of all, the box is exactly the same as the Redmi 2. So, you will find it extremely hard to distinguish between the two without taking at look at the model number information given at the back.

Once inside, you will realize that its again the same as Redmi. Even the charger is of 5V/ 1A. So, no major differences there.

Coming to the looks, the Redmi 2A and the Redmi 2 looks identical. You won’t be able to guess which one is which just by looking at them. So, it looks like despite the price difference, both the models use the same design, body and material.

So, in reality, both the models are very similar to each other. There are only a couple of major differences like the processor under the hood and the network connectivity features which justify the 100 Yuan that you have to shell out for the Redmi 2.

But even the Leadcore L180C quad-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz is quite capable as shown by the AnTuTu Benchmark test. Other specs are the same as the Redmi 2, so you get a 720p 5-inch display, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front shooter and 2200mAh battery. However, the 2A supports just three mode baseband instead of the five-mode on Redmi 2.

1 of 7

The post Redmi 2A Unboxing and Comparison with the Regular Redmi 2 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Yesterday Mi India posted a picture in their facebook and twitter stating a Surprise, later today, they posted another Picture with a Crossword, it was written to find some keywords in it. In the crossword, We found keywords like snapdragon, expendable and wide angle. If we see the devices which are not released in the Indian market yet are-

• Mi Band
• Mi Router
• Mi Note
• Redmi 2
• Mi Note Pro
• Mi Smart Home
• Mi Air Purifier

Xiaomi would not release its flagship so early, Mi Note is a premium device, and Indian consumers would prefer Budget Series, neither it has Extendable storage which was a keyword in the teaser, Infact all three keywords are matched with just one Device, Redmi 2.

Xiaomi would be sending the Press invites for the event in upcoming days. The event would take place in Delhi, India( Capital State).

Redmi 2 doesn’t have any Great specs, but for the price you pay, it is the best budget phone in china, it has a snapdragon 410, 1GB RAM and Adreno 306. The phone is running on MIIUI 6 out of the box. It has a 4.7″ Screen similar to Redmi 1S. If Xiaomi made the Redmi 2 price in the range of Rs. 7000 (120$), then they may have a great come back after Mi4 16GB which couldn’t impress the Indian market. Redmi 2 would be competing with phones like Moto E 2015 and Lenovo A6000. All three phones have almost the same specs with same price. If Xiaomi wants to get the same fame they were getting after releasing Redmi 1s, then they should sell it for Rs. 6000(110$), Redmi 1s was also seling for the same price.

Specs

• Snapdragon 410
• 1GB RAM ( there is also a 2GB version, lets see what model they will release)
• Adreno 306
• 8MP Rear Camera
• 2MP Front Camera
• 8/16 GB Internal memory
• Upto 32GB Expendable Memory
• 2200mAh Battery

Do tell us what you think about it in the comment Section below.

Source

The post Redmi 2 to launch in India Soon appeared first on Gizmochina.

Earlier this month, Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi 2 budget smartphone. The device features great specs for a 699 Yuan ($112) phone, especially with its 4.7-inch 720p display and the 4G LTE connectivity. However, the 1GB + 8GB memory configuration was a bit on the lower side.

But it looks like Xiaomi is going to announce another device in the market, a higher end variant of Xiaomi Redmi 2 in the coming few days. The device recently hit TENAA and improves in the memory configuration section by incorporating 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM, which is double the amount of memory that you get on the existing Redmi 2.

This is definitely great news for all Redmi fans as the phone should now work much better and smoother than before. RAM and internal storage were the only two important drawbacks of the phone and now, even that is solved in this upcoming version.

Since the device has passed TENAA, it shouldn’t take much time for Xiaomi to announce this 2GB RAM Redmi 2 model.

The company is slowly diversifying its product portfolio in a number of industries, so this new version doesn’t come as a surprise. We have already seen two new Xiaomi Mi Note models, Xiaomi TV box as well as a new 99 Yuan Xiaomi Game controller in the past few weeks.

You can check out our Xiaomi Redmi 2 review from here.

The post 2GB RAM Redmi 2 model hits TENAA, comes with 16GB storage appeared first on Gizmochina.

Amidst the hype for the mysterious new phone (which turned out to be a Xiaomi Note) that Xiaomi teased it’s fans with early January, it’s easy to forget about it’s lesser known (but still wildly famous) sibling, the Xiaomi Redmi 2. This Xiaomi Redmi 2 review should convince you that the phone is no less impressive than the Xiaomi Mi phones when it comes to the price tag it’s offering for the specs. Admittedly this is the cheaper sibling, so parts of it cannot compare. Xiaomi launched the new year with a successor to the Xiaomi Redmi phone, the Redmi 2, with with less hype as compared to the higher speced Xiaomi Mi phones and the Redmi Note phones.

Specifications:

Model      : Redmi 2

Sim Card : Dual Sim Card Dual Standby

Color        : Black, Pink, Yellow, White, Light Green

Capacity  : 1GB RAM; 8GB ROM

Chipset    : Qualcomm 8916 Snapdragon 410 Quad-core 1.2GHz 64-bit

System     : Android 4.4.4 with MIUI 6

Screen      : 4.7 Inch IPS LCD; 720 x 120 pixels

Camera    : 8MP Rear Camera; 2MP Front Camera

Network  : 4G LTE; Bluetooth v4.0; WiFi

Battery     : 2200mAh lithium-ion battery

Sensor     : Gyro, Light, Gravey, Proximity, Compass

Size           : 5.27 x 2.64 x 0.36 inches

Appearance and Size

Each package of the phone is accompanied by a travel charger, a usb data cable and a battery for the Redmi 2. The Redmi 2 itself is a comfortable size at 5.27 x 2.64 x 0.36 inches  (134 x 67.21 x 9.2 mm) and weights at 4.72 oz (134 g).

Xiaomi packaged Redmi 2 in the signature cardboard box with everything packed to perfection inside the box. The phone is rounded at the edges, a marked difference compared to the Redmi.

The touch keys on the Redmi 2 are in soft red tones while the top of the phone has a well-received proximity sensor. The edges on the phone are not excessively deep either, which means that it will be easier to dust.

The top of the phone holds the headphone jack while the right side holds the volume and power buttons. Meanwhile, the micro-USB connector is situated at the bottom of the phone along  with the main microphone.

On the back of the phone, you will find the signature MI logo. The flash is set to the right of the main camera while the speakers sit on the left. The phone is comfortable to hold, with the matte texture that means that it won’t be too easy to let it slip and fall from your grasp.

The cover is detachable and thus easily replaceable with any of the other color choices that you fancy, from Black, Pink and Yellow to White and Light Green.

The Redmi 1S was released with a 2,000 mAh battery, but the Redmi 2 is packed with a slightly larger battery of 2,200 mAh capacity.

Display

Redmi 2 houses a 4.7 inch display with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, which is equivalent to what Xiaomi Redmi Note is offering at the moment. The smaller screen on the Redmi 2 means that it has a different PPI (pixel per inch) compared to the Redmi Note (5.50 inch screen size), at 312 PPI compared to the lower 267 on the Redmi Note.

In a brightness comparison test by igao7.com, it can be seen that the Redmi 2 (lower left) has an overall whiter display compared to the Redmi Note (Upper Left), the Xiaomi Mi 3 (Upper Right) and Xiaomi 2S (Lower left). The screen displays on the predecessors appear to have a reddish warm hue to them.

The reds, green , blue and yellow on the Redmi 2 are no less impressive, performing up to, and even beyond, the standard of the Xiaomi Note, Xiaomi Mi 2 and Xiaomi Mi 4 as shown in the images below.

Similarly, pictures on the Redmi2 displays less of the red-tint that seems to be present on the other Xiaomi phones. The color schemes appear to be more vibrant compared to the other phones, which is a great improvement.

What better way than to have a look at the pictures as seen on the phone yourself, as illustrated by igao7.com in the following comparisons.

These last two pictures illustrate how the Redmi 2 is able to display the deep green hue of the grass and leaves while retaining the lighter green patterns and the lightness and transparency of the morning dews.

The details and sharpness of the Redmi 2 can be seen in the picture above, again with a distinct lack of the red-hue that the Xiaomi Note and the Xiaomi Mi 2s seem to have.

This sunset picture is absolutely breathtaking and while the details are not lacking in any of the phones in the picture, the Redmi 2 again wins hands-down in terms of toning down the redness in the pictures.

Redmi 2 has a scratch resistant, impact-tested and extremely responsive Corning Gorilla Glass screen.

The In-Plan Switching (IPS) technology on the phone also means that the Redmi 2 will have an impressive viewing angle, allowing the phone to be viewed from the sides without much difficulty.

When put side by side with the Redmi Note (first) and Xiaomi Mi 2s (third), it appears that the Redmi 2 (middle) loses in terms of the brightness and sharpness, however.

When viewed from the side, all three phones (Xiaomi Note, Xiaomi Redmi 2, Xiaomi Mi 2s) suffer from whitening, making the colors less vibrant and more dull, sadly. The Xiaomi Mi 2s has less of the whitening effect compared to the Xiaomi Redmi 2, however.

To sum up, the Redmi 2 performs really well in terms of brightness, color density, and viewing angle.

Camera

Redmi 2 has a 8 megapixel main camera and a 2 megapixel front camera that takes pretty impressive photos. The main camera comes with five precision lenses and can support HDR, Special Effects, Filters, Panorama, Continuous Shooting, Voice Shutter and other shooting modes.

The camera interface uses the MIUI 6, with all the functions readily available as you take pictures. It even offers a list of previews of all the filters available.

The camera is noticable faster than the Redmi 1 and Redmi Note, comparable to even the Xiaomi Mi 3 and even Mi 4. However, the focusing speed on the phone is on the slower side.

The colors on the camera are true to reality, with a slightly bluish hue to the pictures. You can turn on the effects on the phones (such as HDR, Panorama, ect.) to try out what each of the effects will bring you.

The camera is even capable of catching clear pictures at night, with the pictures close to what the naked eye can see, though the glare from the light is sometimes off-putting.

Overall, the camera on the phone is quite impressive and more than enough for the regular phone addict. However, for selfie-addicts out there, the 2 mega pixel front facing camera may not be quite good enough, sadly.

Operating System

Redmi 2 is processed by a Snapdragon 410 chipset that features a quad-core processor that can clock up to 1.2 GHz. It has a modest 1GB RAM with 8GB of storage that is expandable to up to 32GB via a microSD slot and is accompanied by Adreno 306 graphics.

The Android 4.4 operating system is complemented by MUIU, a minimalistic user interface that is developed by Xiaomi Tech based on the free software Android Operating System (which in this case, is Android 4.4).

This OS is similar to the iOS platform and functions on the Redmi 2 perfectly. The gorgeous animation and smooth user interface may take some getting used to for first time users, but is well worth the small effort.

The dialing, contacts, text messages and other common applications can all be reverted back to old school type use, with exaggerated and huge fonts that allows you to make use of it at a glance.

This is a reminder for old-school phones with buttons instead of touchscreens and not surprisingly, is a favorite amongst the older generation.

Performance

Redmi 2 did relatively well in regards to the performance test with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor.

The phone is smooth to operate and does not jam or crash with small and medium-sized games. Even Asphalt 8 was able to run on the phone withou much difficulty.

However, you have to remember that the Redmi 2 only has a modest 1GB of RAM, with the available memory at about 400mb. This means that there is a limited capacity on the phone so open on application too many and you’re only bringing pain to yourself.

On the other hand, the Redmi 2 houses MIUI 6 memory compression technology that can allow you to manually clean up space on the phone to let you operate more RAM-consuming applications.

This requires the most basic knowledge on phones, so if you even if you’re not an avid phone user who doesn’t understand RAM and is not willing to learn a bit more and lean out of your comfort zone, you could just download an app to turn this into a simple, one-click task for you.

Battery

The Redmi 2 is packed with a slightly larger battery of 2,200 mAh capacity that can be last for an impressive amount of time, depending on what you use it for. The temperature on the phone does not run too high even with high usage.

The volume on the Xiaomi Redmi 2 also impressive, with a slightly larger volume compared to the Redmi Note, at more than 83 dB.

Conclusion

The Redmi 2 is a reasonable product that is able to do much of what you can throw at it without a problem. Given it’s reasonable price tag, it is well worth it. Don’t let the small RAM turn you off since it is easily solved by simply turning off unused apps, which is already using up the battery on your phone anyways. If it falls within your budget, we can safely say that you will not be able to find a better phone with the same price anywhere. However, if your budget can be higher, then go for the Xiaomi Mi phones or the Xiaomi Note.

Pros

• Lightweight, decent-sized phone
• Impressive screen resolution, color density, and viewing angles
• Great Operating System
• Price

Cons

• Small 1GB RAM
• 2 megapixel front camera

In the end, it all breaks down to your budget and what you’re looking to do with the phone. If the smaller RAM and 2 megapixel front camera doesn’t bother you, then go for the Redmi 2. As we’ve said, you won’t find a better phone at that price tag of $155 anywhere else.

The post Xiaomi Redmi 2 Review appeared first on Gizmochina.

2014 turned out to be a great year for Chinese manufacturer with many staying a focus of international smartphone industry gossips. Xiaomi, a Chinese manufacturer, is no name now. Xiaomi is said to be the third place in international global smartphone manufacturer industry now.
This Leak of the successor of Xiaomi Redmi 1S, hints us Xiaomi is all prepared to answer the Vegas CES 2015 in their own style. Apparently several shots of Xiaomi Redmi 2S has surfaced yesterday. From the looks we can tell it’s an Improved hardware carrying the same 720p 4.7 IPS Screen but it’s OGS this time. The biggest difference seems to be the addition of LTE antenna that t supports GSM, WCDMA, TD LTE, and LTE FDD networks.
This Redmi 2 will allegedly use the latest 64-Bit Snapdragon 410 chip,1GB RAM,8 GB ROM and 2200mAh battery. Rear shooter is the same 8MP shooter with the front facing bumped up to 2 MP, which was 1.2 MP in Redmi 1S. It will be have 5 colors: white, black green, yellow and pink.

Unfortunately, Redmi 2 will run the old 4.4 Kitkat and will have to wait the Lollipop release to fully utilize the 64 Bit Snapdragon 615. Lastly, from what we learn the Xiaomi Redmi 2S will measure 134 x 67.21 x 9.2mm and weigh 132 grams. Xiaomi Redmi 2 can be preordered for 699yuan ($112.6) today and fully on sale at January 9th. (also is available for international buyers at Oppomart)

The post Xiaomi Redmi 2 Officially Launched in China appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi is the one of popular Chinese smartphone manufacturer which always offeres the nice good quality products, and now we have the information that Xiaomi is also ready to preapring the Xiaomi RedMi 2.

As we mentioned at our recent article, this phone will be has a nice features but offers with very affordable price. This phone will becoming the first octa-core smartphone that offers with very affordable price, yess that’s only offers with $130 usd price tag.

Xiamoi Redmi 2 has a 5.5 inch screen with a resolution of 720p. Powered by Mediatek octa core 1.7 GHz processor or 1.4 GHz Snapdragon chipset that uses the Cortex A53 architecture that supports 4G network.

In addition, the RedMi 2 phone is also has 1GB of RAM, 13 megapixel camera and 5 megapixel front facing camera. Support for microSD card slot up to 32GB of storage capacity.

The phone will offers in Chinese market and hopefully will be available in otuside China soon.

The post Xiaomi RedMi 2, low budget but high performance smartphone appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi is ready to releasing the Xiaomi RedMi 2, this phone is the second generation of Xiaomi RedMi, while Xiaomi is ready to entering global market the Xiaomi Hong Mi is change the RedMi for global market name.

Xiaomi is already release the Xiaomi RedMi phone in Singapore, and the upgrade version is ready to release as the Xiaomi RedMi 2 and accrding to Teena website, the Xiaomi RedMi 2 smartphone will be available in two version since the model number is appear as 2,013,121 and 2,014,122.

Both phone will has 5.5 inch screen size with 720p screen resolution while the dimension is 154 × 78.7 × 9.45mm with 192gram of weight. Powered by 1.7Ghz MT6592 processor the phone will also has 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, withmicroSD card expansion support. The phone is also has 13 megapixel camera and running with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean oprating system

While the both model will has same configuration, the different is only in network mode since has WCDMA and GSM dual card support and the others version will has TD-SCDMA/GSM dual card dual standby.

The other differentation is in the processor that we speculate the formeris uses a MediaTek MT6592 (Cortex-A7 architecture), while the latter uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 410 (64-bit Cortex-A53 architecture). The MediaTek chipset is running on 1.7GHz clock speed while the Snapdragon 410 is running on 1.4Ghz clock-speed.

This Xiaomi RedMi2 is also upgrade the screen size, since the first version is packs with 4,7 inch screen and the newer version is packs with 5.5 inch screen, the processor is upgrade from MT6589T/MSM8x28 to the eight-core chipset.

The post Xiaomi RedMi 2 specs is unveiled appeared first on Gizmochina.