Ringing Bells ‘Freedom 251’ is a sub-Rs 500 phone to be launched in India

Domestic handset maker Ringing Bells will launch India’s most affordable smartphone ‘Freedom 251’ priced at under Rs 500 later this week, a move that is set to disrupt the booming handset market in the country. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikkar will launch the smartphone ‘Freedom 251’ on February 17.

The Ringing Bells ‘Freedom 251’ 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.

“The phone will be popularly priced at under Rs 500… this event and launch stands as a true testimony of success of the latest initiatives taken by the Government of India,” according to a media invite sent by the firm.

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.

Freedom 251 'Cheapest Smartphone' to Launch on Wednesday

Considered a luxury not too long ago, smartphones have reached a point that they can now be considered a commodity. But on Wednesday, things will reach a whole new level.

As part of its attempt to connect every Indian, local smartphone manufacturer Ringing Bells 'with immense support' from the India government will launch an affordable smartphone called the Freedom 251 on Wednesday. The Freedom 251, touted as India's cheapest smartphone -and likely the most affordable smartphone in the world as well - will sport a price tag below Rs. 500 (approximately $7).

The Indian smartphone manufacturer said that it will reveal the exact retail price of the handset and other details like its specifications at the launch event. The manufacturer added the launch event will see the presence of a number of top Indian government officials including Shri Manohar Parrikkar, Union Minister of Defence and Shri Murali Manohar Joshi, Hon'ble Member of Parliament.

Ringing Bells says that the smartphone is in line with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to connect every Indian and enrich their lives. The company also asserts that its smartphone is built to meet the goals of Make In India, the government's project to entice multinational as well as domestic players to manufacturer their products in India.

The purpose behind the Freedom 251 reminds us of Aakash tablet, also known as Datawind Ubislate 7+, which was promoted by the Indian government to provide college students with affordable computing and Internet-browsing machines. The tablet was launched in India in 2011, and was sold at a price point of under Rs. 3,000. The project, before closing last year, further decreased the price of the device and it was being made available to students across the country at a price of under Rs. 2,500.

With making a smartphone available at a price under Rs. 500, the Freedom 251 has the potential to significantly improve the lifestyle of people in the country with a low income. It will be interesting to see whether or not Ringing Bells is able to manufacture and sell this device at a large scale.

Ringing Bells made headlines earlier this month when it launched the Smart101, a 4G capable smartphone at a price point of Rs. 2,999 (approximately $44). It sports a 5-inch display, a 1.3GHz quad-core SoC, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded using a microSD card (32GB).

Keywords : Freedom 251, Phones under Rs 500, Ringing Bells, Sub-Rs 500 phone