"There's so much competition for consumer attention," he said. In addition, it isn't as price sensitive a market as China, he said. The subsidy model, which obscures the true price of smartphones, also eliminates much of its cost advantage. Its Mi Note costs a little more than $300, while an Apple iPhone 6 starts at $650. But an iPhone 6 only costs $200 when a customer signs a two-year contract with a wireless carrier. It's also difficult to sell a smartphone directly to consumers, with many people opting to shop for their smartphones through a carrier. The need to strike deals with the carriers, which are notoriously fickle with their vendor partners, is another challenge.

Xiaomi also needs to get the customer service right, including offering locations to get devices repaired, It's a process that could years to accomplish, Barra warned, "All of this takes time to play out," he said, "And I can't live in Bangalore and San Francisco at the same time, so evo check case for apple iphone 6 and 6s - clear/white we're doing this one at a time."The Chinese smartphone vendor's global head spells out the company's business plan -- and talks about why it hasn't sold a smartphone in the US yet, Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi has made a name for itself with its stunningly affordable products..

Google put the Tango tablet on sale for $512 on Thursday, just hours before the company plans to hold its keynote address at its annual developer confab, Google I/O. The "Project Tango Development Kit" is available to ship within one to two business days. Project Tango was unveiled last year as a prototype for developers to try out "the future of mobile 3D motion and depth sensing." The tablet, which features a 7-inch display, is designed to see if mobile devices can develop human-like understanding of the environment in which they're found. In order to achieve that goal, Tango comes with sensors that measure depth, motion and other key environmental features. From there, software uses all of that information to create apps that are "self-aware" of the environment the slate is in.

"Please be aware that the tablet is not a consumer-oriented device," Google writes, "These tablets are designed evo check case for apple iphone 6 and 6s - clear/white to enable software professionals to develop for the platform."It's unclear why Google has reduced the price on its Project Tango tablet and why it's now offering the product to any customer, but it might have something to do with Google I/O, Later on Thursday, Google will hold a special keynote and it's possible that Project Tango, and its future, could be discussed, Catch CNET's live blog from the Google I/O keynote starting at 9:30 a.m, PT for every minute of Google's big show..

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Now anyone can buy the Project Tango test tablet, but Google cautions that it may not be everyone's cup of tea. Google's Project Tango tablet, a device in testing that features 3D mapping and sensing, is now 50 percent cheaper and available to anyone who wants it. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.