While not yet a household name in western markets, Xiaomi is making quite a name for itself in the gaming community. It’s launched a number of products for gamers, including a gaming smartphone and a VR headset. Now the Chinese electronics company has released two new mouse pads: the MI Smart Mouse Pad and the MI Mouse Pad, the latter of which was designed with gamers in mind.
After launching its Blasoul Professional Gaming Mouse, Xiaomi decided to bring to market a brand new mouse that continues to meet the demanding expectations of serious video gamers. The Xiaomi Mi Gaming Mouse was launched with a price tag of 249 Yuan, (around $39 at the current exchange rate). The firm said that its new offering has an ergonomic and micro-movement design, which is specifically made to support such fast-paced actions as fast aiming and pressing, along with other actions considered important during gameplay. In addition, the mouse pad comes with an adjustable DPI to assist players with more accurate aiming and shooting when playing games such as Jack Hammer or Call of Duty. It also features surface coating designed to improve sensor performance, as well as mouse speed tracking. It bears a suction cup design at the bottom, which restricts shaking of the device when being used. With the gaming mouse just the latest in Xiaomo’s line of ever-expanding gaming product line, let’s take a look at some of the other gaming devices that the company has launched in its quest for gaming domination.
Xiaomi VR headset
In many ways, the Xiaomi VR headset looks and sounds not dissimilar to the numerous other VR headsets available, but with more emphasis on enabling users to customize their device with a personalized cover. As opposed to the user having to place the phone in a plastic tray, the Play VR features a zipper section to hold it in place. The headset also includes a button that controls the phone while docked, as well as an anti-slip strip to ensure that the phone remains aligned with the lenses. The product works nicely with any device from 4.7in to 5.7in.
“Virtual Reality mit Playstation VR” (CC BY 2.0) by wuestenigel
$40 Billion Industry by 2020
Reuters predicts that Virtual Reality will become a $40 billion industry by 2020. VR is already being integrated into a number of industries, most notably the gaming industry. The recent Star Wars VR experience, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, played with the boundaries of location-based VR through an untethered, multi-sensory story. Four players at a time would walk around inside the action, enjoying the amazing technology, real-time effects, and interactive sets. It’s also making waves in the casino industry. 888casino believes that VR in online casinos is a natural progression, with players being given more access to table games and slots, whether its live roulette or Millionaire Genie. In the not-too-distant future, we could well see users “walking” around a casino in the same way that they would in a real-world casino. heading to the tables to take on the dealer at blackjack. The company points out other ways in which it can work with the industry, such as recruitment and marketing campaigns. We have already seen signs of how VR is impacting advertising, in fact. Google last year announced an experiment with VR ads that react to users’ eyes and Chick-fil-A launched its own VR website based on its “Eat Mor Chikin” cow icon.
Xiaomi Black Shark
Upon release, Xiaomi Black Shark’s green and black design didn’t surprise anyone who’d seen the Razer Phone, the most successful gaming phone available. The Black Shark is far curvier and smoother, however. It also features the kind of high specs you’d want in a gaming phone: a Snapdragon 845, a 1080p 21:9 display, and up to 8GB of RAM. Not only that, It further boasts a button that sits on the left-hand side of the device that kicks the phone into high-performance mode. It gives dual stereo sound, with the earpiece also acting as an additional speaker. Software-wise, it runs Android 8.0 Oreo, based on custom-skin Joy UI that includes several MIUI apps.
It earns its brownie points from gamers by way of its attachable stick controller that sits onto the side of the screen. The Black Shark gamepad comes with a 4,000mAh battery capable of providing 30 hours of playing time and connects to the phone via Bluetooth. The reason for the lower resolution is likely so that it can provide as much performance as possible, although that’s hardly music to the ears for anyone buying the phone for VR. Buyers may also be less than pleased with the absence of a headphone jack, seeing as it’s a gaming phone and many may wish to charge their phone while playing games such as Pokemon Go or live baccarat, while wearing headphones. The phone is available in two colours: Sky Gray and Polar Night. Xiaomi has been performing impressively in the smartphone market as a whole, with its market share having seen a 118% increase in this year’s Q1 when compared to the same period in 2017, according to research and advisory firm Gartner. Gizchina.com reported in April that sales of the Black Shark are expected to reach 100 million this year.
Mi Gaming Laptop
The 15.6in Windows 10 notebook packs some impressive specs. It features the Intel 7th-gen Core processor, 1TB HDD, 256GB SD, 16GB RAM, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Graphics. Its design is minimalist and features a backlit keyboard supporting 16mn colors to ensure that it conveys the feeling of a gaming laptop. It also includes five programmable keys able to be associated with any selected in-game functions.
To resolve the excess heat, the laptop utilizes four fan outlets, a 12V cooling fan, and large heat pipes. The one-key turbo cooling system minimizes heating while rendering high-end games. It’s a bulkier laptop than what gamers have come to expect these days, with the need for the extra cooling likely a factor in that. In terms of ports, there are three USB-A ports, and microphone and headphone jacks, as well as an SD slot on either side. There’s also an ethernet port at the back- showing just how thick the machine is- and options for display connectivity. The product’s unique selling points are undoubtedly its slim-form factor and minimalist design, which could just give it the edge over the competition. It also currently ranks among the most affordable gaming laptops on the market.
Xiaomi can hardly be blamed for shifting its attention to gaming. Newzoo’s Global Gamed Market Report revealed that $137.9 million is expected to be spent on games this year. Whether its new gaming mouse pad will build on the company’s increasing popularity in the gaming market remains to be seen. The Xiaomi Mi Mouse Pad, as well as the Xiaomi MI Smart Mouse Pad are both available to buy now.
