The Freedom 251 from Noida-based Ringing Bells, costs, yes, Rs. 251, and will be available to buy on the company’s website from February 18 at 6 am. (freedom251)
An Indian company is about to launch what is most certainly the world’s cheapest smartphone. The Freedom 251 from Noida-based Ringing Bells, costs, yes, Rs. 251, and will be available to buy on the company’s website from 6am on February 18 and close at 8pm on February 21.
Is there a catch? We don’t know yet. But here is what we know:
1. The phone runs the recent Android Lollipop 5.1 OS which will run most of the apps and looks much better than Kitkat with the help of a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor.
2. It supports 3G for lightning-fast web browsing.
3. It will have a 4-inch screen that is quite common for sub-Rs 5,000 phones.
4. It even has a 1GB RAM that can easily run WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter with some more space to spare for more apps.
5. The phone has 8GB internal memory which can be expanded to 32GB with a micro SD card. Sadly, microSD card will cost you more than the phone.
6. You even get a camera. On both sides. 3.2 megapixel on the back and 0.3 megapixel the front.
7. The phone has the 1,450 mAh battery which won’t last you all day but no one can complain considering the price.
8. The Freedom 251 will be officially unveiled in New Delhi and the event will be attended by Murli Manohar Joshi, MP, with the Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar as the chief guest on Wednesday, according to a report.
9. The phone will have some apps pre-installed to make it more useful to the women, farmers, fishermen and everyone in general. Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, Fisherman, Farmer, Medical, Google Play, WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube are some of the apps to be installed out of the box.
10. By the way you also get a 1-year warranty on the phone backed by their 650 service centers across the country.
How is the Freedom 251 so cheap? We don’t know yet, but our best guess is that it is somehow subsidised by the government — it already has a few government apps pre-loaded.
We’re going to be up early on February 18 ordering our device -- or half a dozen of them.
Here's everything we think you should know about the upcoming phone, that could disrupt the booming handset market in the country.
1. The highlight of the phone is its jaw-dropping price tag. The company, which had intially teased the phone saying that it would be priced under Rs 500, revealed that the Freedom 251 smartphone will carry a price tag of Rs 251. Only.
2. Talking about the specs, the Freedom 251 handset will have a 4-inch WVGA IPS display, 3.2 megapixel auto-focus rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front camera, 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage with SD card support, 1450 mAh battery, and Android 5.1 Lollipop OS.
3. The phone will come with a standard warranty of 1 year. According to the company's website, "This warranty of the product extends for a period of 12 months for the host unit, 6 months for battery and charger, and 3 months for earphone commencing from the date of purchase."
4. Bookings for the phone open on February 18 at 6AM and close on February 21 at 8PM.
5. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikkar will launch the smartphone 'Freedom 251' on February 17. The launch is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for "empowering India to the last person, transforming India's growth story", the Noida-based company said.
At such a low price-point it is assumed to disrupt the smartphone market in India, but it's yet to be seen if the phone really delivers on the promise.
At present, smartphones available in the market are priced around Rs 1,500. Last year, DataWind had announced that it is teaming up with Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications (RCOM) to launch the world's most affordable smartphone, priced at Rs 999. The phone is yet to hit the market.
Established last year, Ringing Bells will start with the assembly of handsets in Phase-I and aims at full indigenous development of the feature-rich smartphones, it said.
It did not disclose any other details about manufacturing, products and pricing.
A new entrant in the Indian mobile phone market, Ringing Bells had launched one of India's cheapest 4G smartphone at Rs 2,999, recently. It has launched two other feature phones in the market.
India, one of the fastest growing smartphone markets globally, is poised to overtake the US as the second-largest market in next few years.
In the last few months, global smartphone makers, including the likes of Xiaomi, Motorola and Gionee have commenced assembling their handsets in India, where the government is pushing local manufacturing through its Make in India initiative.
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The smartphone's design looks like it's been borrowed from the iPhone 6s, with similar rounded edges, a round button and the silver ring around it.
The phone's back panel features its name and a reminder of where the phone was made. Hint: It's not China.
Freedom 251 sports a 4-inch IPS display. It is powered by a quad-core SoC clocked at 1.3GHz, coupled with 1GB of RAM.
The smartphone runs Android 5.1 Lollipop but the icons on the home screen make it look like the phone runs iOS. The browser icon looks like that of Safari, and icons for apps such as Calculator, Clock, Music, Gallery, Email, among others resemble iOS icons.
The smartphone has a removable battery and bundles in a pair of earphones as well.
The Freedom 251 comes with 8GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded via microSD card (up to 32GB).
The Freedom 251 smartphone ships with a number of apps pre-installed on it like Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube.
The Freedom 251 smartphone ships with a number of apps pre-installed on it like Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube.
Its home screen also has a dock for icons at the bottom, much like iOS. The app drawer button makes it easy to tell that the phone runs Android.
Freedom 251 includes a 3.2-megapixel rear camera, a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 3G support.
The iPhone likeness appears to extend to the Freedom 251's side buttons. Apart from volume buttons, it appears to have a ringer/silent mode button lookalike.
The base of Freedom 251 has the speaker grille and the mic, and its charging port is at the top.
The lock screen appears to be devoid of much customisation.
Freedom 251 will be available in June 2016, according to the company. With its low price point, the little known smartphone maker from Noida is aiming to make the smartphone accessible to everyone.
