In the week before Apple’s release of its latest generation of iPhones, a lesser-known Chinese upstart, Xiaomi, had a launch party for its new Mi3 phones. Led by its Steve Jobs-inspired CEO Lei Jun, the company has experienced breakneck speed since its first smartphone launch in October 2011. With a business model of at-cost hardware and software up-selling, it recently raised its 2013 sales targets from 15 million smartphones to 20 million, and is now gazing abroad.