The 'Apple Of China' Is Clobbering Apple In China--By Using Amazon's Kindle Strategy

Xiaomi

Xiaomi's new phone, the "Hongmi," sold out in 90 seconds.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Two years after its high-quality, budget smartphone won over millions of Chinese fans, domestic tech firm Xiaomi Tech wants to make more money from online shopping and games than it does from selling its handsets.

Xiaomi is better known globally as China's answer to Apple Inc, an image that billionaire Lei Jun has fostered since he founded the company in 2010 by dressing in the black tops, jeans and sneakers favored by the late Steve Jobs.

Lei has since expanded his wardrobe options and Xiaomi sold more smartphones than Apple in the second quarter in China, the world's biggest smartphone market, according to the latest data from IT industry consultancy Canalys.