Xiaomi's tablet aims to challenge Apple's iPad

Lei Jun, founder and chief executive officer of Xiaomi Corp, presents the company's first tablet product which is set to challenge the iPad's dominance in the sector. [Photo / CFP]

Xiaomi Corp unveiled its first tablet product on Thursday, challenging the iPad's dominance in the sector.

The Xiaomi Tablet, which looks almost exactly like Apple Inc's iPad Mini series, will become the strongest challenger for the iPad, said Lei Jun, founder and chief executive officer of the Beijing-based company. It goes on sale next month.

Xiaomi expands to Singapore retail marke

Xiaomi smartphones make $5b in 2013

"Apple should feel some pressure, because our product will let it know not every Android tablet is resting in a drawer somewhere," said Lei.

Xiaomi's tablet has a longer battery life, better camera and lower price tag than the iPad Mini, at least according to the product specifications for both.

Selling at 1,699 yuan ($273) for the 64-gigabyte version, Xiaomi's device is nearly 3,500 yuan cheaper than the 64GB iPad Mini, its Apple counterpart.

However, Xiaomi Tablet can't yet claim victory over the iPad series on some fronts, such as its number of applications.

The company only developed 100 utility apps and 400 games suitable for the new gadget.

Lei acknowledged the gap and pledged to lift the total app number to 2,000 by the end of this year.

Apple has more than 1 million apps in its online store. In the fourth quarter of last year, the iPad series took more than 60 percent of tablet sales in China, according to local research company Analysys International.