Freedom 251: Ringing Bells claims handsets ready for delivery, smartphone shown

Remember the Freedom 251 smartphone that was announced by Ringing bells earlier in February 2016? The company that made headlines claiming to be producing and selling the world’s cheapest smartphone for just Rs 251. Millions of people registered online for a handset only to find out that the news was too good to be true. Well, ‘a smartphone for less than the price of the case itself’ was not easily digested by many critics. However, Ringing Bells claimed that the company would be able to produce the handset and retail it at a cost price of just Rs 251, which will also make a significant profit per piece. How was that possible—well their business strategy was something different.

Also read: Noida firm launches Rs 251 phone; ICA seeks probe

In February 2016, Ringing Bells, a company unheard of, unveiled a smartphone brand Freedom 251, in India. They claimed that the world’s cheapest and most affordable smartphone will cost the consumer no more than Rs 251. People registered online for a smartphone and the deliveries, claimed the company, will start June 30, 2016 onwards.

Also read: Freedom 251 smartphone deliveries to start from June 28: Ringing Bells

The smartphone shown at the unveiling event in Delhi was not the final product, but was a skilfully rebranded smartphone from another company. The device from another brand (Adcom K1) was shown at the event which had the original name covered with ink and the rear panel painted. The company said that the original smartphone that will be sold later is being designed. The company faced a lot of heat from critics, public and activists. The Noida-based startup even had an FIR lodged against them for cheating and scamming the public.

Also read: Sold handsets to Ringing Bells for Rs 3,600 a unit, says IT firm Adcom

End of June is nearing, and the smarpthones will start showing up, claims Ringing Bells. According to media reports (IANS), the company’s founder and CEO Mohit Goel says that the Rs 251 phone will start shipping soon and he has kept his promise to his consumers. He said that almost 2 lakh Freedom 251 smartphones are ready and delivery will start June 30 onwards, as promised. He also said that the website will soon open for more registrations.

Also read: 'Freedom 251' smartphone scheme a fraud: Congress MP Pramod Tiwari

Ringing Bells earlier stated that they had planned to deliver 25 lakh handsets before June 30. The Freedom 251 smartphone received over 7 crore registrations within the first week.

The GadgetOx reported the images (above) of the Freedom 251 smartphone as seen by IANS. According to the images posted online, the smartphone closely resembles the Motorola Moto E. The rear panel can be seen with a light printed ‘Freedom’ branding.

Also read: Freedom 251 gets tough competition, Rs 651 phone to launch soon

As for the smartphone, they claim that it will sport a 4-inch display, 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage (up to 32GB support) and with a dual SIM 3G support. The camera on the device will have an 8MP rear sensor and a 3.2MP front sensor, and the Freedom 251 phone will be fueled by a 1800mAh battery with Android 5.1 Lollipop. The phone will be available in two colours — white and black. Goel also mentioned to the media that for now they will see a loss of almost Rs 140 – Rs 150 on each handset, but is positive that he will make profits with volume sales. He further added saying that he is happy that that the dream of connecting rural and poor Indians as part of the Digital India campaign and Make in India campaign will be fulfilled by Freedom 251. He claims that the devices will be manufactured in India at a Haridwar-based manufacturing plant and they plan to sell almost 2 lakh devices each month.

Also read: FAKE IN INDIA: Top memes and jokes from the Freedom 251 scam

The company is also planning to introduce a sub Rs 10,000 32-inch HD LED TV under the Freedom brand and is expecting to announce it in July this year.