Freedom 251 not to affect Datawind, says Tuli

"Every month about 2 crore mobile phones are sold in India. The company (Ringing Bells) claims to have 25 lakh bookings and some crore registrations. If the product is actually shipped, the 25 lakh unit will neither affect market nor prospect of our company," Datawind President and CEO Suneet Singh Tuli told reporters here.

He also alleged that the offer to sell mobile phone is just a promotion.

Datawind made the world's cheapest tablet Aakash for the Indian government. It had won the contract to supply 1 lakh units of Aakash tablets priced at USD 49.98 apiece in 2011, translated into a price of Rs 2,276 at that time. The project was then handled by IIT Jodhpur which provided the specifications for the product.

After running into controversies on the quality of product, the project was shifted under IIT Bombay and Datawind was asked to supply better version of the product, Aakash 2, at a price of Rs 2,263 apiece, which is around USD 42 at exchange rate at that time.

Tuli said it is wrong to compare Aakash with Ringing Bells scheme as Aakash was brand owned by Indian government and the product was real.

Questioning the cost of Freedom 251, Tuli said that memory chips used in mobile phones are traded internationally like other commodities and at present 1GB RAM chip costs USD 5.5 or about Rs 370.

"If you buy 10 lakh units then maximum discount one get is of 5-6 per cent. When memory chip promised in the phone (Freedom 251) costs more than the price being offered then there is no way phone can be made for Rs 251 apiece. It is just a donation," Tuli said.

He said that Datawind is planning to launch a smartphone for Rs 1,500, least priced device from its stable, next month but it would also not match the specification promised by Ringing Bells.

Whopping 5 crore Freedom 251 booked in just two days! Ringing Bells unable to deliver all

 

Noida-based Ringing Bells, promising a Rs 251 (less than $4) “Make in India” smartphone, on Friday claimed to have received nearly five crore registrations in just two days of opening up for online pre-orders.

In a chat with IANS, company president Ashok Chadha said that since the company will hand over 25 lakh “Freedom 251” phones to the people who have registered online.

The firm has stopped the registration process as it is unable to meet the huge demand.

There were two more days left to pre-order the phone till 8:00PM on February 21.

“The pre-booking numbers we received are sheer humongous. I am happy that so many Indians have responded to our ‘Make in India’ smartphone call.

Now the onus is on us to deliver on the promise and I am hopeful that we will be able to start delivery latest by April 10 and finish well before the June 30 deadline,” Chadha told IANS.

 

Wow! This boy got an iPhone 5S at less than half the price of Freedom 251

 

India's cheapest smartphone Freedom 251, a boy actually got an iPhone at less than half the price of Freedom 251.

Nikhil Bansal, who is pursuing B.Tech from Punjabi University saw an online discount of 99.7 percent on an iPhone 5S while surfing Snapdeal.

Bansal, without making any delay, immediately placed the order for the iPhone 5S which was showing an online price of and Rs 68.

However, Snapdeal later refused to deliver him the phone citing technical snag. Bansal then took Snapdeal to consumer court in Punjab’s Sangrur district for not honoring the sale deal.

The court not only ordered Snapdeal to sell him the iPhone 5S for Rs 68, but also pay a Rs 2,000 penalty.

Are you aware of Freedom 251 security issues?

Though Ringing bells has closed the booking for the phone, those who have booked it successfully might have some security issues.

Tech radar has pointed that Freedom 251 website doesn't use “secure https protocol”. It instead uses http. It means that the site is susceptible to potential cyber attacks because it requires punching your addresses, emails and other contact details to book the Freedom 251 phone.

Though this issue came to light on the first day of booking, we hope that company has taken cognisance of this error and has been able to fix it.

Ringing Bells says that it has received five crore registrations online in just two days. But it only plans on distributing 25 lakh handsets to those who have registered online.

The firm has stopped the registration process as it is unable to meet the huge demand. There were two more days left to pre-order the phone till 8:00PM on February 21.

Ringing Bells books 5 crore Freedom 251 in just two days! Able to delivery only 25 lakh phones

While the world kept asking questions and Indians remained puzzled, Noida-based Ringing Bells, promising a Rs 251 (less than $4) “Make in India” smartphone, on Friday claimed to have received nearly five crore registrations in just two days of opening up for online pre-orders.

 

In a chat with IANS, company president Ashok Chadha said that since the company will hand over 25 lakh “Freedom 251” phones to the people who have registered online.

The firm has stopped the registration process as it is unable to meet the huge demand.

There were two more days left to pre-order the phone till 8:00PM on February 21.

“The pre-booking numbers we received are sheer humongous. I am happy that so many Indians have responded to our ‘Make in India’ smartphone call.

Now the onus is on us to deliver on the promise and I am hopeful that we will be able to start delivery latest by April 10 and finish well before the June 30 deadline,” Chadha told IANS.

Ringing bells abruptly closes booking for Freedom 251; says response far exceeded expectations

 

The smartphone's website has been plagued with  problems since the day of the launch owing to which the excitement around the phone seems to be fizzling out.

The company says that the response far exceeded its expectations, so it is closing the booking.

The company also said that it would like to bring out the sale again in Phase 2.

 

India's cheapest smartphone Freedom 251 will be disappointed as Ringing bells has closed the booking for the phone.

 

3G phone like Freedom 251 would cost Rs 2,300, finds telecom ministry

 

“The ministry has analysed the issue and it feels that such a device can be manufactured for about Rs 2,300,” sources said.

However, they refused to say if any action will be taken against the company in the matter.

Earlier this week, Noida-based firm Ringing Bells launched the world’s cheapest phone -- Freedom 251 -- priced at Rs 251, hogging limelight globally.

Indian Cellular Association, which represents the handset makers industry in India and has members like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Lava and Micromax, had also written to telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The body said the bill of material value for a product like this when sourced from the cheapest supply chain cost approximately $40 (Rs 2,700).

When translated into retail price after addition of applicable duties, taxes and distribution and retail margins, the cost of the product would be at least Rs 4,100, it added.

ICA requested the minister to get into the depth of the issue, saying the price could not be below Rs 3,500 even after a subsidised sale.

Ringing Bells, on its part, said the manufacturing cost of the phone is about Rs 2,500, which will be recovered through a series of measures like economies of scale, innovative marketing, reduction in duties and creating an e-commerce marketplace.

Apart from the jaw-dropping price, the company that was set up five months ago by Amity University graduate Mohit Kumar Goel, is also in the midst of controversy with analysts alleging that its maker has merely rebranded a device by its rival, Adcom.

Analysts allege that the design of Ringing Bells’ Freedom 251 handset resembles that of Adcom’s Ikon 4, which is already available in the Indian market at Rs 3,999.

Interestingly, most built-in app icons on the Freedom 251 seem to be a direct copy of icons on Apple’s iPhone, they added.

Despite the controversies, the device has continued to grab attention from consumers. Following a heavy demand, Ringing Bells suspended bookings for 24 hours on Thursday. It resumed bookings on Friday.

 

Booking for Freedom 251 smartphone enters 3rd day; quantity limited to 1 per user

 

The quantity of handsets which was unlimited earlier, has been restricted to just one per user now.

So if you get lucky and are succesfully able to place your booking, you can only place order for 1 unit of Freedom 251 smartphone.

The smartphone's website is down on day 2 of pre-booking owing to which the excitement around the phone seems to be fizzling out.

The company has put out the sale date of Freedom 251 smartphone on its website now. It says, “All deliveries will be made by 30th June, 2016 through courier”

The smartphone went on sale at 6 am on Thursday morning, which was its first day of sale. But the company had to later stop accepting orders after its website crashed.

Even before the server crashed, many people faced problem in booking the phone because of glitches in the payment window within an hour of opening of the bookings.

Freedom 251, hailed as India's most affordable smartphone was launched at just Rs 251.

The 3G handset, Freedom 251, features a 4-inch display, Qualcomm 1.3-GHz quad-core processor and 1 GB RAM.

The Android Lollipop-based handset has an onboard storage of 8 GB with support for expandable memory of up to 32 GB. It features a 3.2-MP rear and a 0.3-MP front facing camera and a 1,450-mAh battery.

Guess! How much a smartphone like Freedom 251 would actually cost

 

"The Ministry has analysed the issue and it feels that such a device can be manufactured for about Rs 2,300," sources said.

However, they refused to say if any action will be taken against the company in the matter.

Earlier this week, Noida-based firm Ringing Bells launched the world's cheapest phone -- Freedom 251 -- priced at Rs 251, hogging limelight globally.

Indian Cellular Association, which represents the handset makers industry in India and has members like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Lava and Micromax, had also written to Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The body said the bill of material value for a product like this when sourced from the cheapest supply chain cost approximately USD 40 (Rs 2,700).

When translated into retail price after addition of applicable duties, taxes and distribution and retail margins, the cost of the product would be at least Rs 4,100, it added.

ICA requested the Minister to get into the depth of the issue, saying the price could not be below Rs 3,500 even after a subsidised sale.

Ringing Bells, on its part, said the manufacturing cost of the phone is about Rs 2,500, which will be recovered through a series of measures like economies of scale, innovative marketing, reduction in duties and creating an e-commerce marketplace.

Apart from the jaw-dropping price, the company that was set up five months ago by Amity University graduate Mohit Kumar Goel, is also in the midst of controversy with analysts alleging that its maker has merely rebranded a device by its rival, Adcom.

Analysts allege that the design of Ringing Bells' Freedom 251 handset resembles that of Adcom's Ikon 4, which is already available in the Indian market at Rs 3,999.

Interestingly, most built-in app icons on the Freedom 251 seem to be a direct copy of icons on Apple's iPhone, they added.

Despite the controversies, the device has continued to grab attention from consumers. Following a heavy demand, Ringing Bells suspended bookings for 24 hours yesterday. It resumed bookings today.

Freedom 251 smartphone website down on 2nd day; people face booking issue

 

The smartphone's website is down on day 2 of pre-booking owing to which the excitement around the phone seems to be fizzling out.

When we tried to book the phone through company's website

http://www.freedom251.com/, we were led to the cart page. However, the cart page didn't open despite several attempts.

 

The company has put out the sale date of Freedom 251 smartphone on its website now. It says, “All deliveries will be made by 30th June, 2016 through courier”

The smartphone went on sale at 6 am on Thursday morning but the company had to later stop accepting orders after its website crashed.

Even before the server crashed, many people faced problem in booking the phone because of glitches in the payment window within an hour of opening of the bookings.

Freedom 251, hailed as India's most affordable smartphone was launched at just Rs 251.

The 3G handset, Freedom 251, features a 4-inch display, Qualcomm 1.3-GHz quad-core processor and 1 GB RAM.

The Android Lollipop-based handset has an onboard storage of 8 GB with support for expandable memory of up to 32 GB. It features a 3.2-MP rear and a 0.3-MP front facing camera and a 1,450-mAh battery.

Check out! How many Freedom 251 smartphones booked on day one of launch

 

As per The Economic Times report quoting company official, the websitehttp://freedom251.com received 6 lakhs hit per second, but actually got only 30,000 pre-booking orders.

Going by the cost of Rs 291, including the shipping charges of Rs 40, Ringing Bells could have made a net collection of around Rs 87,000 lakh.

On Tuesday, the launch day, the Freedom 251 website had stopped taking orders as due to overwhelming response the servers crashed. 

The pre-booking of the smartphone has resumed, but the site is taking order for only one phone per email id.

 

Is Freedom 251 really the Chinese Adcom Ikon4?

 

Chinese smartphone Adcom Ikon4, which was selling on Flipkart around Rs 4,000.

The reports allege that Ringing Bells has covered the branding of the phone using a whitener and sticker.

Twitterati is also pegging a huge response to the smartphone sale. Tweets mention that Ringing Bells have already sold 17.46 crore of Freedom 251, around 6 lakhs per second!

'Freedom 251 is ponzi bogus company scam'

 

"This is a huge scam, that is why I went through all the papers of the company. The government has informed the Uttar Pradesh government to check the bonafide of the promoter. This is a Ponzi bogus company scam," Somaiya told ANI.

The BJP MP has approached the Telecom Ministry, telecom regulator TRAI, Consumer Ministry, SEBI, Corporate Ministry, Finance Ministry, RBI and state governments to check various concerns that he has on company offering mobile phone for Rs 251-- which is proving the world`s cheapest smartphone.

Noida-based company Ringing Bells on Thursday started booking for the phone for Rs 251 and has said that delivery of all handsets will be completed by June 30.

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.

The BJP MP had earlier written a letter to IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad questioning the abnormalities in the company.

Somaiya in his letter asked whether the objective and aim behind the offer had been studied.

Has it been investigated if it is a collective investment scheme or a ponzi scheme, he enquired.

He also questioned the background, the financial status, the owners of Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd, saying that he was "far from convinced" with the response given by Ashok Chadha, President of Ringing Bells.

Chadha, in the defence of his company and product, had said that cost was brought down due to local assembling and online marketing. 

Ringing Bells shares how Freedom 251 becomes cheapest smartphone in the world

 

The President of Ringing Bells Ashok Chadha has revealed the math behind the costing of the phone. He said that the bill of material of the phones comes around Rs 2000. However, the costing of the phone has been done on the assumption of economies of scale. 

The company is banking on the mammoth response as it is seeing to its phone. It is hoping that by making the hardware of the phone in its two plants, which are slated to come up in Uttarakhand and Noida, he will be able to save Rs 400 per phone on the manufacturing cost. 

Chaddha said that the company will save another Rs 400 per phone by selling online and avoiding the frills of a retail distribution set up.

He expect the cost to come further down as pre-booking orders swell and the momentum of the response to the smartphone is maintained. 

 

Freedom 251: Online booking for Rs 251 smartphone resumes today

 

The smartphone went on sale Thursday morning at 0600 hrs but the company later stopped accepting orders after its website crashed.

"Dear friends, we are very grateful for your enormous response and your kind patronage and would submit that as of now we received approx. Six Lacs hits per second as a result of your kind overwhelming response, servers are over loaded," Freedom251 said in an apology to customers.

"We humbly submit that we are therefore taking a pause and upgrading the service and will revert within or before 24 hours," it added.

The Noida-based firm Ringing Bells, set up five months ago by Amity University graduate Mohit Kumar Goel, launched the Freedom 251 at a high-profile function last night, attended by BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi.had unveiled the smartphone yesterday.

Ringing Bells' president Ashok Chaddha said manufacturing cost of the phone is about Rs 2,500, which will be recovered through a series of measures like economies of scale, innovative marketing, reduction in duties and creating an e-commerce marketplace.

"By going for Made in India components, we can save on the 13.8 percent duty. Also, we will be selling online first and thus save the costs incurred on large distribution network," he said.

Chaddha also rejected speculations of the handset being subsidised by the government.

"The phone will be manufactured in Noida and Uttaranchal. Two plants will be set up for Rs 250 crore each with a capacity of 5 lakh phones. The money will come in the form of debt and equity (1.5:1)," he said.

Chaddha added the equity is being met by the promoter family of the company that is "engaged in agri-commodities business" in Uttar Pradesh but declined to give further information.

The industry has also raised concerns about the pricing of the device and has asked Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to get into depth of the issue, saying the price could not be below Rs 3,500 even after a subsidised sale.

"For your kind information, the bill of material value for a product like this when sourced from the cheapest supply chain cost approx 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.

 

You can buy even half of Freedom 251!

 

While trying to book the world's cheapest smartphone 'Freedom 251' various problems were faced by buyers. According to a tweet from #freedom251, the company was ordering even half of it!

 

Freedom 251 booking: How are Twitterati Reacting to world's cheapest smartphone

 

Freedom 251' started at 6 AM Thursday but most of the buyers were left frustrated due to inefficiency of the website www.freedom251.com. As per reports, many people faced problem in booking the phone because of glitches in the payment window within an hour of opening of the bookings.

Some major tweets are given below:

Two minutes of silence for those who woke up early in the morning to book#Freedom251 smartphone tongue emoticon pic.twitter.com/tpzu4bdSaQ

— Nitesh Mishra (@niteshmishra_) February 18, 2016

I think its called #Freedom251 because you'll be able to book the phone only after 251 attempts.

— The-Lying-Lama (@KyaUkhaadLega) February 18, 2016

blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">

#Freedom251 Airtel 4G Girl Booked All Phones Yesterday #Freedom251

First site crash now stuck on payment.

— Harish Hadiyal (@HarishHadiyal) February 18, 2016

Yesterday
Guy 1: I will buy 5 mobiles
2: I will buy 10 mobiles
3: I will buy 50 mobiles
Now
All: How can I buy atleast 1 mobile?#Freedom251

— Alekhya Das (@iAlekhyaDas) February 18, 2016