Xiaomi and Meizu, two popular Chinese smartphone brands are entering the US market. Both the companies have partnered with US Mobile to bring some of their devices to the country. US Mobile is a prepaid carrier that uses T-Mobile’s network for service.
US Mobile is offering the Xiaomi Redmi 2, Xiaomi Mi 3, Meizu M2 Note, and the Xiaomi Mi 4i for $119, $135, $149 and $219, respectively. However, these phones do not support LTE bands in the US and only can access T-Mobile’s HSPA network. Hence, users of these phones in the US will have to settle with 3G speeds and not take advantage of faster internet speeds. It must be noted that US Mobile is importing the phones from China with the help of Omni Electronics HK. The carrier says that it hopes to build a close relationship with Xiaomi and Meizu to offer more phones in the future. This essentially means that smartphones from Xiaomi and Meizu are not yet officially available from the companies in the US. Xiaomi had hinted several times since last year that it is planning to enter US markets but has not provided a specific timeline for the same.
Ahmed Khattak, founder and CEO of US Mobile, said in a statement.
Now, with the launch of our marketplace, we are thrilled to offer complete range of exceptional smartphones for low monthly payments and to give our customers access to exceptional phones otherwise not available in the U.S.
[Update] – Xiaomi spokesperson Kaylene Hong has clarified that “There are no plans to sell smartphones through any authorised distributors in the US. U.S. Mobile is not authorised to sell Xiaomi products in the U.S.”