After disappearing from the headlines for a few months, venture-funded smartphone maker Xiaomi is popping back into the news with mixed signals about its plans for a new low-end model. I've often said that Xiaomi's marketing-savvy co-founder Lei Jun sees his company as China's version of Apple, since many of the company's product development and sales tactics look similar to the US tech giant's. This latest plan for a new low-cost smartphone called Hongmi, or "Red Rice", seems to follow that pattern, since buzz has been building for a while that Apple may also be preparing to launch a more affordable version of its premium iPhone.
Xiaomi was last in the headlines early this year with the launch of its second-generation mid-range smartphone, the MI2. That product got off to a quick start thanks to another savvy marketing campaign led by Lei. The strong debut lead another company executive to later announce that Xiaomi was aiming to sell an aggressive 15 million smartphones this year, double the figure from 2012.
Word first emerged around the same time about Hongmi, which appears to be an important component of Xiaomi's aggressive expansion plan. Photos of the phone began to appear in the media late last month, in another smart campaign of strategic news leaks to create hype around the model that would cost a relatively modest 1,000 yuan (US$160).
Xiaomi looked set to release the Hongmi sometime in June, and received the necessary network access approval for the phone from China's telecoms regulator at the end of last month. But in the latest twist to this story, media are now reporting that the permit from the Ministry of Information and Industry Technology (MIIT) has suddenly been cancelled.
Xioami isn't commenting on the matter, but it appears that unexpected issues have caused the delay. This certainly isn't the first time that this kind of unexpected delay has happened to Xiaomi, reflecting the company's youth and inexperience in dealing with China's bureaucratic regulators. Xiaomi previously launched a set-top TV box late last year, only to halt service for the product a short time later due to its failure to obtain the all the necessary regulatory approvals.