Xiaomi reportedly preparing to release its first tablet

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi will soon release its first tablet, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, expanding the fast-growing company’s product lineup in a potential challenge to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc. Xiaomi this week said it would hold a launch event in Beijing on May 15, but declined to give details or comment further. The sources could not confirm whether the tablet would be unveiled at that event. The four-year-old Chinese company, which reached the No. 5 spot in its home market in the final quarter of last year according to Chinese research firm Analysys, is a standout among China’s crop of emerging smartphone makers that are expanding the market with lower-priced products.