Xiaomi MiPhone 3 Launch Brings Hugo Barra In With A Bang

On August 28, a surprise announcement surfaced that Hugo Barra was leaving Google and taking up position at the Chinese handset maker Xiaomi. In light of this, it isn't surprising that Barra took to the stage at Xiaomi's event earlier today alongside the maker's CEO Lei Jun, helping to introduce the company's new smart TV and smartphone.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the event was packed with fans harboring glow sticks, and during the beginning of the launch Barra had to leave his location to a safer spot as the press got a bit too eager. Upon his return, Barra then took to the stage and announced plans to begin working with the Chinese company next month.

Not surprisingly, Barra also said that he will begin studying Chinese, having had translation help during the event from CEO Lei. He said whilst on stage: "I believe it is now time for the entire world to learn about Xiaomi." Which certainly hints at some ambitious plans no doubt under way. As we noted last month, Barra has joined Xiaomi as the company's vice president.

The event was to launch the Xiaomi MiPhone 3, a 5-inch Full HD handset with an ultrasensitive touchscreen and powerful hardware under the hood. Depending on which carrier the buyer is getting the handset under, the MiPhone 3 will feature either a 1.9Ghz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor or a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800.

Also introduced was a 47-inch 3D Smart TV with a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor and Adreno 320 for graphics. The unit runs with 2GB of RAM and offers 8GB of internal storage space, and has support for various streaming technologies, among them being Miracast, AirPlay, SMB, DLNA, and WiDi.

SOURCE: WSJ