Going, going, gone! India snaps up 10,000 Yu Yureka phones in first flash sale

India’s Micromax launched its new sub-brand for the first time today. All 10,000 units of the Yu Yureka smartphone sold out on Amazon India within three seconds. It marks the debut of Micromax’s spin-off phone brand, which uses low prices and CyanogenMod’s version of Android to take on Chinese phone maker Xiaomi.

Also this afternoon, rival ecommerce website Flipkart sold all 50,000 Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G units in a flash sale within two minutes and 50 seconds. The Yureka phone, which also supports 4G, is priced at US$140, while the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G is US$160.

The Yu Yureka debut was not without hiccups. Users who registered to purchase the phones complained of the Amazon India site crashing, prompting Micromax to send out this message:

Xiaomi was hit with an India sales ban in December. Later, it was partially and temporarily lifted, so today marks the return of the Redmi Note 4G after an enforced hiatus.

Last year, the Chinese phone maker’s Redmi 1s smartphones sold out within four seconds on Flipkart.

Yureka is a Micromax collaboration with CyanogenMod and is set to deliver the stock Android look with an extensive range of additional tweaks. In another attempt to lure tech-savvy users, the Indian company will allow the phone to be rooted without voiding the warranty, thus opening up possibilities for even further customization.

Micromax took Chinese phone maker OnePlus to court last month in a dispute over the rights to use CyanogenMod in India.

The second flash sale for Yureka is on January 22.

Here are the two phones’ specifications:

Yureka specs

• 5.5-inch 720p HD display
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB of internal storage with expansion slot
• 13MP rear camera
• 5MP front-facing camera
• 4G and 3G support
• Android 4.4.4 Kitkat, with CyanogenMod
• 2,500mAh battery

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G specs