Xiaomi may have lost first place in the smartphone sales rankings to Apple last quarter, but that doesn't mean it has lost the fan hype for its smartphones.

In a 'Mi Fan Fest' promotion, Xiaomi managed to sell 2.1 million smartphones in 12 hours. That generated $320 million in sales -- the highest number ever for 12 hour technology sales.

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The discounts were quite steep in some cases and clearly Xiaomi wants to start competing heavily in the Chinese market  to win back fans that may not be able to afford Apple's iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.

Xiaomi still hasn't released data on the best selling smartphone during that period although we would suspect the Mi Note or Redmi 2 would be the best sellers given the price and the age of the other devices on sale.

The 2.1 million sales does show Xiaomi is still a force to be reckoned with and while Apple might have the short-term lead, millions of customers in China prefer the local smartphone maker.

Fans of Xiaomi are probably used to the promotions and the company does them every few months to keep interest high. Xiaomi also sells devices mostly online through sites like Weibo, Baidu and WeChat, allowing the younger audience to participate more heavily in the promotion and buying.

Even though the promotions don't bring in that much profit, Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun hasn't shown a desire to make the most expensive devices, or make any huge profit margins for devices. In fact, the goal is to give everyone an affordable option.

Xiaomi is planning a global launch this year and is already available in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and a few other Asian countries. South America, Russia and Europe could be the next spots before finally landing in the U.S. either late this year or early next year.

Even with the huge sales in Mainland China, Xiaomi may find problems connecting with customers in the West. The design of the MIUI skin alongside potential litigation against Xiaomi would put them in hot water, especially in places where patents and trademark abuse is rampant like the U.S.

The acquisition of ex-Googler Hugo Barra will help Xiaomi explore more international markets, but Barra isn't a wizard and Xiaomi may still face court cases over some of the smartphone designs, features and promotions that are alleged copies of other smartphone providers.

TagsMi Fan Fest, Redmi 2