First-impressions: Xiaomi Redmi 2

The "China-syndrome"

There's a saying that goes: "Cheap thing no good, good thing no cheap.."
And in moments of desperation, one would seek solace in China-made budget product that won't hurt the wallet.
My HTC One M8 took a head dive onto the pavement and cracked it's glass screen. The damage was serious enough to warrant a trip to the HTC-appointed service centre in Low Yat Plaza and I made it back just hours before some hooligans thrashed the place.
Jokes aside, with the high-end smartphone benched, I had nothing but an older HTC One X+.
This phone, though only more than three years old, is now a heap of junk. It tends to hang with multiple apps running the background.
It's Android KitKat OS can't be upgraded. Old is old and having seen the rapid pace of development in smartphone technology, the best thing to do for the old phone, is to put a broadhead through it's screen.
So, there I was, in search of a stop-gap measure before the HTC is ready for collection. The worse part was the turnaround time: 1 - 4 weeks.
With that in mind, my choice back-up phone is the Xiaomi Mi4i. But the cost was out of my present budget.
That said, the next best thing was the Xiaomi Redmi 2.
This one's a 64-bit quad-core 1.2GHz machine that has the speed to rival the older HTC One X+.
But, it has a really small RAM at 1GB and an internal flash memory of 8GB.

The Redmi 2

Quality and finish

Out of the box, the Xiaomi Redmi 2 is nothing but solid.
I don't see any flaws at all on this budget phone.
Specs-wise, it fulfills my needs for a 4G-LTE phone that the HTC One X+ does not have.
The casing is made of plastic and it doesn't really look and feel like some cheap at all.

Performance

The 64-bit Snapdragon 410 processor is pretty impressive for a basic phone like the Redmi 2 if you don't run a lot of apps.
Way I see it, the only drawback with this basic phone, is the speed tends to lag when you run memory-eating apps simultaneously.
I found this when I activated the Endomondo fitness tracker with GPS and at the same time, try to take a snapshot with the phone's camera.
As far as the user-interface is concerned, Xiaomi's MiUi 6 OS is smooth operating and simple.
It's responsive and not cluttered.
The only thing I need to get used to: is the home and back buttons because it's different from how HTC lays out their smartphones.
As for the camera, well, I'd say I've seen better ones like the Motorola Moto-G.
The HTC One M8 takes the cake in terms of producing high-quality images and videos. But for a phone under RM400 (RM399 for the Redmi 2 8GB version through Xiaomi's official website), you can't complain.
This phone costs even more at the retail stores, the lowest you can get is round RM450 without GST.
While the camera is only so-so, what I found impressive on this phone - is the music player. You can set the sound equalizer and there are preset features optimized to complement Xiaomi's range of in-ear headphones. 
In short, the sound produced by the music player on this little phone is good.
As far as call-quality is concerned, the Redmi 2 delivers. The speakers are crisp and clear.
The only thing that I can't get used to, is the small keyboard. My fingers tend to slide over to the wrong key when typing. So, if you have large hands, that's bad news.
Other than a few shortcomings. there's hardly any fault you can find on this awesome budget phone.
On a daily-basis, I use the Redmi for my Mi Band fitness tracker and the Mi Fit apps to track my daily activities.

And updated version

Xiaomi is now offering and enhanced version of the Redmi 2 with a 2GB RAM and 16GB Flash memory and is being sold directly from Xiaomi at RM459 a piece. Best of all, you can get aftermarket soft cases for the phone at only RM10. For more information, you can head to Xiaomi Malaysia's official website

First-impressions: Xiaomi Mi Band

Sometimes, cheap can be good...

I never gave Xiaomi products a second look.
Seems that one of China's fastest emerging tech companies is coming up with some really great stuff at value prices.
One of their goods that caught my attention was the Mi Band, a really cheap fitness tracker.
On the Malaysian Xiaomi website, these are sold at RM59 each. 
Out of the box, the Mi Band is packaged with a fitness tracker pod, black silicone band with a metal clasp and a charging stick.
There are no fancy paperwork that goes with the Mi Band, which kept it as a minimalist item.

The benchmark.

As far as "blind" fitness trackers (with no information window for steps and calories) are concerned, it will be hard to beat a Fitbit Flex.
But at a pricetag of RM350 a piece, the Flex is nowhere compared to the Mi Band.
Why? Here are a few simple points:

• Sleep mode is automatic.
• The band connects to your phone via Mi Fit app (from Google Play & Apple) and is capable of giving alerts for incoming calls and SMS messages.
• The tracker pod is robust and waterproof.
• Has a battery life of 30 days and beyond (some recorded 40 days from a single charge).
• Replacement bands (four colours) are sold at RM10 each. This is by far, cheaper than the Fitbit Flex and Garmin Vivofit replacement bands that cost more than RM130 for a pack of three.
• A fraction of the price compared the Fitbit Flex and Garmin Vivofit.

"Made in China", a stigma

There's always the argument about inferior products from the Motherland. Such, we can argue till the cows come home.

But, having seen the quality, fit and finish of the Mi Band, I would say that it's at par or even better than some of the more expensive fitness trackers.

Now, let's face the fact that most of these gadgets are "Made in China". Doesn't matter if they are "designed in the EU, USA", but the principle remains: it's manufactured in China.

Screenshots of the Mi Fit app and Mi Band integration

Usability and performance

The Mi Band is best optimized with it's application: the Mi Fit which you can download from Google Play for Android phones or Apple Itunes for IOS phones.

It's a very straight-forward app and can be hacked to integrate with the Mi Smart Scale (not officially available here in Malaysia, sold by third-party retailers).

I have used the Mi Band for more than a month (37 days) and logged in some 259.6km (walking).

Paired with the Mi Smart Scale, with an initial weigh-in at 101.0kg, I lost 5.8kg through exercise and controlled food intake.

So, as far as performance is concerned, the Mi Band is flawless. Even if it goes kaput, I won't be sore because it costs only RM70 from a third-party reseller.

The default Mi Fit app from Google Play does not support the Mi Scale, so, one would have to manually install the China-version of the Mi Fit app from Xiaomi's official website. During installation, the updated app will overwrite the current Mi Fit app on your smartphone.

Once paired, both the Mi Band and Mi Smart Scale is a formidable tool for weight management and your daily exercise.

Availability

The Mi Band retails at RM59 from Xiaomi's official website in Malaysia. But it's "out of stock" at the moment. You can get this from third-party resellers at RM70 at the lowest. The highest retail price is RM89 at the PJ Digital Mall. For the bargain-hunter, try Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur.