Xiaomi, pronounced shaome and to be known only as Mi in India, today officially kick-started its Indian operations by launching its last year flagship — the Mi 3 — for only Rs. 13,999. Even though the handset is an year old, it sports some impressive specs and offers a stellar value for money.

The handset sports a Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.26GHz, an Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Other specs include a 5-inch full HD (1080p) IPS LCD display, a 13MP F/2.2 camera aided by an dual LED flash, a 2MP front facing camera and 16GB of internal storage. (mrghealth.com) The company does not plan on bringing the 64GB variant of Mi 3 to India for now.

There is also a 3050mAh non-removable battery, which should provide enough juice for the Mi 3 to last a day of heavy usage. The handset runs on Android 4.4 with MIUI v5 on top of it.

The Mi 3 would be available exclusively on Flipkart with registrations to buy it opening from today with the actual device going on sale on July 22nd. However, you will only be able to buy the device if you register for it first.

Xiaomi is also setting up its service centers across India and has promised a turn around time of only 2 hours, in order to instill consumers with confidence in its brand.

At this price point, the Mi 3 offers better performance and value for money than Moto G. Will you be buying the Mi 3 when released or will you stick with Motorola’s Moto G? Drop in a comment and let us know!