Xiaomi Mi 3 goes on sale again tomorrow: Here’s how you can get one successfully

The next batch of one of the most coveted smartphones this season will go live tomorrow on August 26 at 2 pm. This time there will be  20,000 units of the Xiaomi Mi 3 going on sale.

If you’ve tried buying one before, you’ll know that grabbing a unit on Flipkart is not easy. The sales always close in seconds, leaving a bunch of people high and dry. This time, Flipkart has received 1,00,000 registrations for the phone, which means it is going to be even harder to bag the phone.

But if you are determined to get your Mi 3 smartphone this time, here are a few tips that can up your chances of getting one:

1. Start early: Flipkart tends to crash or takes time to load closer to the opening of the sale. So make sure you have logged on to Flipkart with your registered account at least two hours before the sale starts.

2. Enable cookies: Cookies allow websites to recognise you when you return to them, which makes the browser to load webpages faster. When you register on Flipkart and save your contact details, make sure you’ve enabled cookies on your computer. To do this, you’ll  need to go to your browsers Settings page and look for the cookies option.

3. Use multiple web pages: To better your chances of getting a phone, try opening the page on separate devices such as a tablet or a smartphone. If you don’t have a separate device, open the page on multiple browser windows (windows, not tabs). Press Alt+Tab to quickly switch between windows. Getting a friend to click on different pages for you might be useful.

4. Use a single account: Many may tell you to register more than one account to boost your chances of obtaining an Mi 3 smartphone. However, Flipkart’s policy is against people trying to buy the phone using multiple accounts. Even if you do manage to buy the phone doing this, there’s a good chance of the purchase getting cancelled later on.

5. Type quickly: All of Xiaomi’s sales in the past have lasted for no more than 5 seconds. This means you’ll need to type in your details as fast as you can. If you can’t, try getting a friend who can type fast for you. One of our readers suggested memorising card details to speed up the purchase time. Also, try keeping your typing-time to the minimum by save your shipping address and contact details beforehand.

6. Click before you see ‘Buy Now’ : Don’t wait for the countdown to end to click on Buy Now. Like an impatient kid, start clicking few seconds before you see the button. Make sure you place the mouse pointer slightly above the countdown box, as that is where the button would appear.

7. Ignore add-ons: Gift wrapping, 1-day deliveries etc can wait, but the Mi 3 smartphone does not. Opting for these add-ons could complicate the purchase process and crash the website, so stick to the normal delivery mode to keep the process as simple as possible.

8. Buy until you get a confirmation: According to one of our readers, stop only once you’ve received a confirmation of your purchase. To be sure that the phone has been added to your cart, check the orders page. Flipkart has now allowed users to complete the purchase after adding phones to your cart. This means you can try adding as many phones you want and pay Flipkart later that day.

For those too lazy to follow the steps, e-tailer Buyhatke.com has a one-click extension that claims to add the device to your cart immediately. You can check it out here. 

If you are wondering why the the Mi 3 has attracted so much of attention, note that it packs high-end capabilities for a meagre Rs 13,999. Read our Xiaomi Mi 3 review, to find out if it is worth buying. For those who don’t wish to be a part of the herd, check out somealternatives to the Mi 3.

After Mi 3 madness, Xiaomi’s hype machine will now focus on Redmi 1s

Xiaomi will officially unveil the India launch details for the Redmi 1s tomorrow and we will find out when the smartphone will be available and the sales process. Hopefully, this time around Xiaomi has a better handle on how the Indian market works and the demand for its phones. So we can expect a bigger launch than the Mi 3.

While the availability date is still unknown, arguably the most important details are out in the open. We know the Xiaomi Redmi 1s will be priced at Rs 6,999, which makes it great value already. But the specifications are unheard of in this price range. The Redmi 1S sports a Nexus 4-like 4.7-inch 720p IPS display. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor like the Moto G, but the clock speed is higher at 1.6GHz, and there’s a healthy 1GB of RAM. 16GB onboard storage is present and there’s a microSD card slot as well for expansion up to 64GB. The 2000mAh battery sounds great and there are decent-sounding cameras on board as well – an 8MP rear shooter and a 1.6MP front camera.

Just like the Xiaomi Mi 3 which offered incredible specs making its direct competitors irrelevant, the Redmi 1S aims to destroy the competition, none of which can offer similar or specs close to it. In addition, the Redmi phone looks a notch above the competition in terms of design as well.

The entry-level segment threshold has been pushed lower and lower in the past few months with the invasion of the budget Android KitKat phones. So it’s not like Xiaomi won’t have any competition at all. But what the Redmi 1s does is make these feel significantly below par. For one, none of them can offer a similar HD display. Even the Moto E, which had a brilliant qHD display, pales in comparison. The storage is also pretty much the best you can get and the processing power is ample.

Moreover MIUI brings true software differentiation which no other brand can match in this segment. So the advantages are obvious and the lower price point will catch a lot more buyers in the dragnet.

In the Mi 3 review, we’d said that there’s literally no competition for the first Xiaomi phone in India, but the Redmi 1s seems like a better deal. It offers better value given its specs, at nearly half the Mi 3’s price. And it’s shaping up to be a massive success, likely to sell out in mere seconds each time it goes on sale, just as the Mi 3 has done.

Xiaomi has faced a lot of criticism for the way it’s handled the Mi 3 launch, despite the apparent craze for the phone. Even though they are officially here, the Indian market has posed some problems for the company. To repair that image of being all talk and no show, it has to meet the expected demand in a timely manner when it comes to the Redmi 1s. Here the margin for error is smaller as there are hundreds of alternatives. It’s up to Xiaomi to make sure there are enough phones to sell, and they could well and truly arrive in India.