BEIJING, CHINA- Xiaomi Inc. The Chinese tech giant has launched its own hoverboard pricing it at only US$316.
Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics company is known to the eastern part of the world for dealing with not only smartphones, but several kinds of electronics devices as well. In that frame, last April, the company was part of a $80 million investment in Ninebot, a third company special at making scooters, along with Sequoia Capital, Shunwei Capital and WestSummit Capital. Ninebot had a good timing and at around the same time of the investment, acquired its American rival, Segway, under terms that have not yet been disclosed to the public.
With that being said, on Monday we witnessed the first results of that collaboration which came packed on the Ninebot mini, a self-balancing scooter, or “hoverboard”, as they are more commonly known.
The scooter making company is following the same tactics with Xiaomi in terms of price, which is probably a good idea considering that those very tactics made Xiaomi so widely known and competitive. So the Ninebot Mini costs “a quarter of the price of other comparable self-balancing scooters in China,” at $316, or RMB 1,999. For now the device is only being sold in China.
Hoverboards, in general, are not well known and accepted in every part of the world but they are gaining fast recognition thanks to their playful design and fun experience of use. With the Ninebot Mini, in particular, there is a handle at the height of the knee, which Xiaomi calls a steering stick that “detects the movement of the rider’s legs using Ninebot’s latest Leansteer technology.”.
What’s more interesting is that the hoverboard comes with a mobile app that allows the user to control the scooter’s movement and set an alarm in case it’s moved. Xiaomi says the Ninebot Mini can travel 22 kilometres on a single charge, at a top speed of 16 kilometres an hour and can support a weight of up to 85 kg while it is relatively lightweight itself weighing just 12.8 kg –which is surprisingly light considering all that metal body.
The Ninebot Mini is the first product that Ninebot has launched since acquiring Segway. If you’re a fan of the hoverboard, then probably luck is not by your side with this one, as there are no trustworthy information on when this model will be available in the States or other parts of the world.
Via: Forbes
Photo credit: Tech in Asia
