The first Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 flash sale got sold out literally in the blink of an eye. Even the waitlist on Amazon.in was filled almost instantly.
It is possible that people were using software-based booking, which could have resulted in such a fast emptying out of the stocks.
It is also possible that the number of phones put on sale was very small. For example, when the first LeTV Le 1s sale happened, the proportion of those who got a phone and those who could not was around 2:3. Today, according to our poll (see below), it is about 1:7.
In other words, eight people were disappointed for everyone who got one. That means that if the company put up 50,000 units, there were 4 lakh people who tried to buy the Redmi Note 3 today.
We are now awaiting details of how many phones were sold.
The next sale is on Wednesday, March 16.
The sale was anticipated keenly by fans of the Chinese company as it was the first time in over a year that Xiaomi was launching a truly exciting product at a jaw dropping price.
The Chinese brand entered India almost two years ago with a similar jaw-dropping offer — giving the Mi3 — at the time valued at nearly Rs 20,000 — for just Rs 13,999.
Two years on, the company is back to its roots here, offering a superior phone with Snapdragon 650 handset at Rs 11,999.
Xiaomi could not introduce the Redmi Note 2 and 3 regular version in India because of a fight with Ericsson, which wants the company to pay royalty for using certain radio technology.
However, it created a special version of the phone which comes with Qualcomm’s chipset. Since Qualcomm owns patents without which Ericsson cannot make its own equipment, Qualcomm has a higher degree of protection compared to MediaTek — the original supplier of chips for Redmi Note series.
The Note3 is being sold on Aliexpress for Rs 18,000 plus tax, or about Rs 21,000 for an Indian buyer, and the official price in the country for the model is only half of what it would cost to buy the model from China-based websites.
What has been a concern for fans has been availability. It remains to be seen how many handsets are actually put on sale and how far Xiaomi is able to meet demand for the model in India.
India is the world’s fastest growing smartphone market and it is estimated that around 10 cr (100 mln) smartphones are being sold here every year. In comparison, the total US population is just above 300 mln.
On Amazon, the Redmi Note 3 is being sold via Cloudtail, which has investment from the family of NR Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys.
Cloudtail has, of late, emerged as one of India’s biggest retailing companies.
The Note3 represents a leap forward for mid-range devices in India, and has successfully managed to steal attention from LeTV Le 1s, which set a record last month selling over 200,000 units in one month.
“With ARM’s flagship Cortex A72 based lead cores, Redmi Note 3 is really fast – flagship fast,” Xiaomi said on the new model.”Cortex A72 – apart from delivering significantly superior performance than its predecessor Cortex A57, is also 20% more power efficient in comparison. SD 650’s next-gen Adreno 510 graphics processor delivers a fluid gaming experience. Combined with MiUi 7’s system-level speed optimizations, Redmi Note 3 responds to every touch in a snap.”
The phone also comes with a massive 4050 mAh battery. “It is an ultra-thin and light battery, with an energy density of 690Wh/L, one of the highest used in the industry. Which means the Redmi Note 3 provides 30% more battery capacity than the previous Redmi Note Prime, while weighing 21g lighter.”
Another key advantage is the camera.
“It has a fast focusing 16MP PDAF rear camera with dual ISPs for higher quality image processing. The large f/2.0 aperture lets in sufficient light to click great images even when the ambient lighting is low. It’s the perfect camera to have for creating sharp, detailed, and unforgettable memories.”
ALSO READ: The phone is being sold on classified websites like OLX and Quikr even after the flash sale.
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