Controversial smartphone manufacturing company Ringing Bells has now confirmed that the delivery of the Freedom 251 handset has been further postponed to July 6 against the earlier stipulated date of June 28.
Earlier the company said that it would start delivering by the end of this month but now the company’s director Mohit Goel said that they are ‘ready’ with over 2 lakh handsets but deliveries will begin next month, as per reports.
He also shed light on the company’s desire to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put forward the company’s proposal to be recognised as a domestic manufacturer under the government’s Make in India initiative.
The launch event, according to him, will be held in New Delhi on July 7; a day after kick-starting the delivery process.
However, citing recent commitment failures and the controversy surrounding the company, nothing can be completely confirmed as was the case previously when Goel said that two lakh phones will be delivered by the end of this month.
Claiming to ‘take lessons’ from the company’s earlier mistakes, Goel said that the company would like to remain silent till the smartphone is launched. He also added that the company would be incurring a loss of Rs 140-150 per handset but hopes to fill the gap with additional sale volumes.
Although the radically priced smartphone would cost the company, Goel seemed rather happy that his dream to make a ultra-cheap phone for the rural populace under the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ initiative is finally going to materialise.
The Freedom 251 will come in two colors—black and White—with all the basic features along with a camera in place. All the basic application will also be supported by the smartphone. According to BBC, who got a hands-on with the device, the Freedom 251 looks very similar to the iPhone 5.
After the completion of the initial roll-out, the company has further plans to manufacture close to two lakh devices per month to recover the initial losses.
Moreover, reports also suggested that the company plans to introduce a HD LED television in the first week of July, which will be priced less than Rs 10,000— perhaps ‘an attempt’ to launch the cheapest high definition television set in India. The company claimed that it has around one lakh TV sets ready currently.
However, at this moment, all eyes will be on the Freedom 251 and we hope the company launches the device this time without fail.
