Freedom 251 Buy Now : Cheapest Smart Phone in World

Freedom 251 launch: Mobile industry raises concern over Rs 251 pricing

 

 Ringing Bells’ Freedom 251 smartphone launch has sent alarm bells ringing in the mobile industry with questions being raised about its price Expressing concern over the launch of a smartphone at price as low as Rs 251, mobile industry body ICA has written to Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to get into depth of the issue, saying the rate could not be below Rs 3,500 even after a subsidised sale.

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The Indian Cellular Association (ICA) also said that it is not appropriate for the senior political and government leadership to be present at the launch till the air around this is cleared and it is not shrouded under controversies.

Watch: Everything you need to know about Freedom 251

Noida-based Ringing Bells is launching India’s most affordable smartphone, priced at Rs 251, a move that is set to disrupt the booming Indian mobile handset market.

The 3G handset, Freedom 251, features a 4-inch display, Qualcomm 1.3-GHz quad-core processor and 1 GB RAM, according to details shared by the company.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikkar will launch the smartphone Freedom 251 later this evening.
“For your kind information, the bill of material (BOM) value for a product like this when sourced from the cheapest supply chain cost approximately USD 40 (Rs 2,700).

“And this, when translated into retail price after addition of applicable duties, taxes and with distribution and retail margins would be at least Rs 4,100 while the product is being sold at Rs 251,” ICA National President Pankaj Mohindroo said in the letter.

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He further added that even if the product is sold at lower margins in an e-commerce type subsidised sale, the final consumer price cannot come below USD 52-55 (about Rs 3,500-3,800).
“Further, there is no visible mobile operator subsidy involved in this, which in any case is not the way the Indian mobile market operates,” he added.

Mohindroo said it would be advisable that officers from Deity get into the depth of this and ICA will provide any technical assistance, if required.

“We are bringing this to your kind notice, so that a scenario does not arise in the future, where the nation, the government of India, industry and trade are seen in a poor light,” the letter added.

Ringing Bells Freedom 251 at just Rs 251 promises exceptional features on paper. The smartphone is 3G-enabled and features a 4-inch WVGA resolution display.

Ringing Bells Freedom 251, the world’s cheapest smartphone was launched on Wednesday at Rs 251 ($5). The smartphone was unveiled by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi at a glitzy, wedding-like event in Nehru Park, New Delhi.

Ringing Bells Freedom 251 mobile booking, price and more

The Freedom 251 at just Rs 251 promises exceptional features on paper. The smartphone is 3G-enabled and features a 4-inch WVGA resolution display. It is powered by a 1.3 Ghz quad-core processor coupled with 1GB RAM, 8GB total storage space and sports a 3.2 megapixel camera on the back. It will have 0.3 megapixel camera on the front and has a 1450 mAh battery.

Video | All you need to know about Freedom 251

While this could revolutionise the smartphone scenario in India and prove to be a worthy competitor to dozens of companies in the market, things are not that simple. The smartphone maker may claim Freedom 251 to be ‘Made in India’ device but its price do ring some bells.

Indian Cellular Association president Pankaj Mohindroo said “this pricing is not possible under any circumstances, even if the components are made in India.” He said the bill of material of a product like this is around $40. While the association expects there to be a “marginal effect on market sentiment” as “consumers may hold back purchases”, “this will have no impact on a profound campaign like Make in India”.

The Noida-based company Ringing Bells said that all deliveries will take 4 months to complete and it claims to do so by June. Ringing Bells is selling their device through a special website called http://www.freedom251.com. Also, the company is charging Rs 40 extra as delivery charges, which sums up the price of Freedom 251 to Rs 291 (with delivery charges). The smartphone is only available online and bookings will close on 21 February at 8.00 pm.


Customers have however reported that the website kept crashing, and they were unable to complete payment for the Freedom 251 smartphone. The website crashed in the afternoon yesterday as the company claims to have received 6 lac hits per second. The website’s homepage read, “Dear friends, we are very grateful for your enormous response and your kind patronage and would submit that as of now we received approx. 6 Lacs hits per second as a result of your kind overwhelming response, servers are over loaded.”  It is however back and open for registrations.