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.

Why did defence minister Manohar Parrikar skip launch event of Freedom 251 smartphone?

 

The launch event was attended by BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi along with Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA Om Prakash Saklecha.

However, Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar, who was expected to be the chief guest, could not make it to the event at Nehru Park.

Parrikar could not make it due to "cabinet meeting", the event's organisers said.

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.

Cheapest smartphones Freedom 251 : 10 interesting facts

 

Manufactured by Noida-based Ringing Bells, the smartphone will be priced at a mere Rs 251 only as the name suggests.

Here are some interesting things about India's cheapest phone.

• While it is India's cheapest phone, at USD 4 or Rs 251, it is also the world's cheapest phone

• From every possible angle, it looks like a copy of Apple's iconic iPhone

• Cheaper than 1GB of one-month net pack (Rs 259 for Airtel and Rs 255/297 for Vodafone)

• Freedom 251 is cheaper than most branded headphones/earphones that are sold in showrooms

• Ringing Bells was set up in September 2015 with three directors, Mohit Kumar Goel, Sushma Devi, and Rajesh Kumar

• The directors had been in agricultural business but ventured into technology business, the ministry said

• Booking for the world's cheapest smartphone starts February 18, 6 am onwards and will close on February 21, 8 pm.
• Freedom 251 will get services in over 650 centres across India
• It comes with a one year warranty
• The delivery of Freedom 251 will be done till 30th June.
•  

 

Freedom 251 is cheaper than 1GB of net pack: 10 interesting facts

 

Manufactured by Noida-based Ringing Bells, the smartphone will be priced at a mere Rs 251 only as the name suggests.

Here are some interesting things about India's cheapest phone.

• While it is India's cheapest phone, at USD 4 or Rs 251, it is also the world's cheapest phone

• From every possible angle, it looks like a copy of Apple's iconic iPhone

• Cheaper than 1GB of one-month net pack (Rs 259 for Airtel and Rs 255/297 for Vodafone)

• Freedom 251 is cheaper than most branded headphones/earphones that are sold in showrooms

• Ringing Bells was set up in September 2015 with three directors, Mohit Kumar Goel, Sushma Devi, and Rajesh Kumar

• The directors had been in agricultural business but ventured into technology business, the ministry said

• Booking for the world's cheapest smartphone starts February 18, 6 am onwards and will close on February 21, 8 pm.
• Freedom 251 will get services in over 650 centres across India
• It comes with a one year warranty
• The delivery of Freedom 251 will be done till 30th June.
•  

 

Freedom 251: World's cheapest 'Made in India' smartphone 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, according to details shared by the company.

The Android Lollipop-based handset will have an onboard storage of 8 GB with support for expandable memory of up to 32 GB. 

have 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.

The mass market device will come with preinstalled apps including Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, Fisherman, Farmer, Medical, WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube.

Bookings for the Freedom 251 will start tomorrow. Previously, the company has launched the most affordable 4G smartphone for Rs 2,999.

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.

5 Key features of India's cheapest smartphone Freedom 251

 

Here are five key features of the Freedom 251 smartphone.

Display

The smartphone comes with 4 inch (10.2 cms) qHD IPS display.

Camera

The smartphone houses  a 3.2MP AF rear camera and .3MP front camera. Freedom 251 with its inbuilt touchless technology is good for selfie lovers.

Processor

Freedom 251 comes with 1.3 GHz Quadcore Processor.

Operating System and Battery

The smartphone runs Android Lollypop 5.1. It comes with 1450 mAh battery.

Memory

It has 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory, expandable up to 32GB using SD card.

How to book India's cheapest smartphone Freedom 251

 

Bookings for the Freedom 251 will begin on February 18 at 6 am and close on 21 February at 8pm. The company says deliveries will be completed by 30th June 2016.

Here's how you can book the smartphone.

Go to the company's website http://www.freedom251.com/. You will see the booking option button on the homepage. Though it is not functional now, you can do so early morning tomorrow when the booking starts.

India’s cheapest smartphone 'Freedom 251' set to be launched at just Rs 251 today

 

The 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's price has been revealed. It will come at mere Rs 251, something that resembles the phone's name too.

  

 

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikkar will launch the smartphone ‘Freedom 251’ on February 17. “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’s cheapest phone set to launch at Rs 499

 

 Domestic handset maker Ringing Bells is all set to disrupt the booming handset market in the country by launching India’s most affordable smartphone ‘Freedom 251’ for under Rs 500 on Wednesday (Feb 17).

The 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.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikkar will launch the smartphone ‘Freedom 251’ on February 17. “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.