Freedom 251 is the world’s cheapest smart phone by a start up ‘Ringing Bells’ to go on sale today. It has been priced at INR 251, which roughly equals US $ 4. The price is truly unbelievable and the offer, too good to resist temptation. The sale of the device commenced at 6am today and curious shoppers thronged the website to know more about it. We did too and since the website was inaccessible for the major part of the day, we ended up gathering a lot of info about the device which has been collated together in this (not so) exhaustive report.
What’s with the name?
The device has been named Freedom 251, which implies a sort of freedom of speech at a low price of INR 251. Aimed at making telephone connectivity affordable to every citizen, this smart phone was rumored to be heavily subsidized by the government to aid in some of its initiatives. But the makers have denied any kind of subsidy.
What’s the real cost?
According to Ashok Chaddha – spokesperson for Ringing Bells, the real manufacturing cost of the phone is INR 2,500. How are they managing to sell it at just 10 percent of the cost? Chaddha says that the cost will be recovered through a raft of measures like economies of scale, innovative marketing, reduction in duties and creating an ecommerce marketplace.
How does the phone perform?
According to Pranav Dixit, Technology Editor of Hindustan Times, everything works as it should on a low-end Android device running Android 5.1 Lollipop. There are absolutely no extra apps on here, including the promised government apps like Swacch Bharat, but that may just be because these were just some early units given to the media.
What’s with the iPhone like look?
One cannot help but notice the similarity with Apple iPhones. Ringing Bells technical head Vikas Sharma said – We used Apple’s icons because Apple hasn’t copyrighted its designs. That is untrue. Apple’s webpage on intellectual property rights clearly states that You may not use the Apple Logo or any other Apple-owned graphic symbol, logo, or icon on or in connection with web sites, products, packaging, manuals, promotional/advertising materials, or for any other purpose except pursuant to an express written trademark license from Apple, such as a reseller agreement. The company refused to say whether they have a license from Apple.
Is it worth it?
We believe, it is. There’s no harm in giving it a try, given that you set to lose only about 300 bucks, which includes the delivery cost as well. Moreover, the company boasts of 650 service centers, which does assure one of the credibility of the product. As of now, only time will tell whether the new Freedom 251 is indeed a freedom or a nightmare in disguise.