The saga of US Mobile selling Xiaomi and Meizu phones in the US continues on tonight as US Mobile shed more light on this whole situation.
US Mobile says that it partnered with third-party distributors so that it could offer “amazing devices” from Xiaomi and Meizu while also offering US-based warranties and support, something that you may not get if you buy a device through a site like eBay. The T-Mobile MVNO goes on to say that US business are able to sell imported products thanks to “safe harbor rulings.”
As for why the Xiaomi and Meizu phones are now missing from US Mobile’s online store, the operator says that “enabling carriers can make the devices go through rigorous testing and certification if they wish to do so.” A report from earlier today claimed that T-Mobile is requiring the Xiaomi and Meizu phones sold by US Mobile to go through additional certification. US Mobile vows that if its Xiaomi and Meizu phones are certified, it’ll allow its third-party distributors to offer them to US customers again.
Xiaomi and Meizu phones are typically only sold in China and a couple of other Asian countries, so it was big news when US Mobile began selling them stateside yesterday. Xiaomi is not pleased that its phones are being sold in the US, though, saying today that US Mobile isn’t authorized to sell its phones. US Mobile seems intent on continuing to offer Xiaomi and Meizu phones, though. It’ll be interesting to see if US Mobile does start selling Xiaomi and Meizu phones again and, if it does, how Xiaomi reacts.
Will you buy a Xiaomi or Meizu phone if US Mobile restarts sales?
