China’s smartphone market isn’t the hotbed of new customers that it once was, which means that companies now need to look elsewhere for fresh profits. Plenty believe that India is the next big thing and Xiaomi is putting money where its mouth is by setting up a manufacturing facility in the country. The firm has teamed up with Foxconn to produce devices from a base in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh, India’s hotbed of science, engineering and technology talent. The first piece of hardware to roll off the production line is the Redmi 2 Prime, a localized version of the company’s Redmi 2, which is available today for 6,999 Rupees ($110).

India’s probably going to become the buzzword of 2016, with lots of companiesdirecting efforts to produce cheap phones for its booming market. That process will be helped by Google, which is revamping its Android One program in an attempt to produce high quality devices that cost as little as $50. Unfortunately, Google’s efforts are likely to be stymied due to the country’s weak mobile infrastructure, at least for right now.

As for the Redmi 2 Prime, it’s certainly got a respectable spec-list, with the 4.7-inch device packing a Snapdragon 410 and dual-SIM card support. Rounding out the vital statistics you’ll find 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, which will delight anyone who’s spent more than half an hour with the Aakash 2.

(engadget.com)