Jaipur: Not long ago, Noida-based Ringing Bells created a global buzz by offering a smartphone for just Rs 251. Three months later, similar advertisements have appeared in newspapers here in which a local company has offered a smartphone for less than Rs 1,000.
Docoss Multimedia Private Limited, a company with its office in a small building in Maharani Farm, a not-so-upscale area, is offering a smartphone under the name Docoss X1 for Rs 888. The modus operandi is the same. To book the phone, you have to log on to the company’s website. One can also book via phone by sending an SMS to a number provided in the advertisement. Bookings close on Friday and delivery will start from May 2. The company has also offered cash on delivery to win people’s trust.
According to the advertisement in Wednesday’s front page of newspapers, the phone will have the latest features — 1.3 GHz dual-core cortex A7 processor. Dual SIM, both 2G and 3G-enabled, 1 GB RAM, 4 GB internal memory which is expandable to 32 GB, 4-inch IPS screen, 1300 mAH lithium battery, 2.0 MP back camera and 0.3 MP front camera that runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat with a one-year warranty.
Though the price is 3.5 times of the offer by Ringing Bells for its Freedom 251, but it is still well below the manufacturing cost of such smartphones.
Ringing Bells too had splashed newspapers with full-page advertisements with its offer. According to the company, “Freedom 251” was to run on Android 5.1 operating system and sport a 4-inch qHD IPS display, a 3.2-megapixel primary and a 0.3-megapixel front camera.
The offer was too good to believe but people rushed to book the phone, crashing the website. Initially, the company had asked for a deposit but when doubts were raised about its intentions and the viability of the handset following an assessment that such a device cannot be offered for less than Rs 2,300-2,400, it said that people can just book the phone and choose the option of cash on delivery.
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya even filed an FIR against the company’s owners.
Soon, the company stopped taking orders while the payment gateway facilitator PayUBiz withheld the money due to a surge in queries over the phone.
