China smartphone maker Xiaomi releases new model

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi released the Xiaomi Note, a 5.7-inch screen smartphone, in Beijing on Thursday afternoon.

The new model features a Sony 13 million pixel OIS camera and streamlined profile, is priced at 2,299 yuan (371 U.S. dollars), company founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Lei Jun said.

Another version of the same model, which has larger memory and better graphic processing unit, will cost 3,299 yuan.

It is hoped the new model will be a market competitor of the Apple iPhone 6 Plus, which has a 5.5-inch screen.

Xiaomi, which means "millet" in Chinese, was founded in April 2010 in Zhongguancun, Beijing's technology hub and often dubbed "China's Silicon Valley." Xiaomi's first smartphone debuted on Aug. 16, 2011.

In 2004, the company reported total sales revenue of 74.3 billion yuan, up 135 percent year on year.