Xiaomi launches online store in U.S. and Europe, but it’s sparsely stocked

Xiaomi announced earlier this year that it was knocking together an online store for the U.S. and several European markets. Well, the work’s all done, with the Chinese company set to flick the switch this week.

You can already check out the store’s offerings, though you’ll have to wait till 7pm PT Monday for the ‘buy’ button to show up. Products will be shipped throughout the U.S., as well as to addresses in the UK, France, and Germany.

At launch, however, only a selection of the company’s accessories will be available, with its smartphones and tablets possibly finding their way into the store at a later date. Its Mi headphones, for example, are going for $80, while the Mi fitness band is available for $15. Mobile battery packs are also on sale for between $10 and $14.

Speaking earlier this year, company co-founder Bin Lin cited product certification challenges as the reason for excluding its mobile devices from its new e-commerce store. However, if the operation proves a success, we can expect to see its range of mobile products hitting the site somewhere down the line.

Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s international chief, has already hinted at the possibility of the store’s future expansion, saying, “The amount of effort required to bring those products to the market is an incredible amount of work. We’re accelerating our entry by bringing simpler products

New Samsung SM-E700H Spotted With Mid-Range Specifications

Three deputies to the head of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's (005930.KS) mobile division are leaving, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, as the world's largest smartphone maker faces a rapid decline in profit.

The person, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the executives directly report to division chief J.K. Shin, who this week retained his post despite sagging smartphone sales and expectations the company will see its worst annual profit in three years in 2014.

The departures included global marketing chief D.J. Lee, the source said, confirming earlier media reports.

Samsung Electronics declined to say if any executives were leaving the company as it announced its annual reshuffle for executive-level staff.

But the announcement showed Samsung had made 165 executive-level promotions, the lowest number in at least four years, underscoring the strains the South Korean company is under.

"Shin was given another chance, given his past contributions, but he will definitely continue to feel the pressure going forward," said IBK Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo ahead of Samsung Electronics' staff announcement.

Samsung's share of the smartphone market has fallen year-on-year for the last three quarters, squeezed by Chinese rivals like Xiaomi Technology Co Ltd [XTC.UL] at the low-end and Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhones in the premium segment.

Samsung Electronics is expected to announce its annual business reorganisation plan by next week.

The company has kept mum about the details but the Joongang Ilbo newspaper reported earlier that Samsung will reduce executive-level positions for its mobile communications business by 25 percent. Other media reported the company could hive off its medical equipment business.

Samsung earlier this week said it will sell its fibre optics business to U.S. speciality glass maker Corning Inc (GLW.N), its second exit from a non-core business this quarter.

Official TWRP Recovery Now Available For The LG Optimus 4X HD, Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 LTE, And Xiaomi Redmi 1S

Rooters and ROM flashers of several devices have new options today, as the developers behind the popular Team WIN Recovery Project have added three new Android devices to their growing list. The somewhat dusty LG Optimus 4X HD (from when phone names were crazy long), the LTE version of Samsung's Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (because Samsung never really got over the crazy long name thing), and the Xiaomi Redmi 1S all get access to the touch-based recovery software, with downloads available from the website.

The Optimus 4X HD is probably the most widely-used device of the lot, despite being released over two years ago. It was the top of the line back in 2013, and probably has more than a few owners still happily playing with it. The XDA portal has more than 100 posts in the ROM section, so the powerful TWRP will surely be a boon. You can find it under the P880 page. Xiaomi's Redmi 1S is a much more recent device (with similar specs, in fact), but it's only available in China running Xiaomi's semi-forked MIUI operating system. It's labeled as Armani on the TWRP page.

The WiFi version of the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 already has a build of TWRP available; now the Qualcomm-powered international version has one too. It's filed under "viennaltexx." Take note (ha): this recovery probably isn't safe to try on carrier versions available in the United States, thanks to their frustrating policy of locked bootloaders.

Source: TWRP