‘Distruptive’ start-up Ringing Bells which grabbed global attention by announcing world’s cheapest smartphone Freedom 251 for mere Rs. 251 also had a fair share of controversies surrounding it. There are a number of people who raised alarm bells over companies’ credibility over rebranding of Adcom’s handset. The prototype that Ringing Bells showcased adorned Adcom concealed behind whitener. A bad decision indeed.
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There is still uncertainty regarding what Freedom 251 actually looks like. Initially, what they showcased on the website was very different from what they showcased at the event. The company has explained their stance in an Interview with NDTV. Truth is, they themselves are in the dark on how the upcoming phone will shape up, but they promise to deliver 50 lakhs units of Freedom 251 till 30th June nonetheless.
Clarifying things to NDTV, Ashok Chadha, President of Ringing Bell acknowledged that they have sourced some of the components from ADCOM including its display to assemble some quick devices for the launch event. He also confirmed that Government of India is not subsidizing Freedom 251. Funds for this ambitious project are coming from a mysterious UP based business family.
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By now we are all well versed in the fact that ‘Specs’ are just half of the story (or perhaps even lesser) and with Freedom 251 consumers have been blindfolded. You don’t know precisely what Ringing Bells will be mustering up for 251 INR and the company wasn’t upfront about it at the time of launch either (Which is plain unethical in our book).
Now, the company has come out of its shell to answer some of the questions that have been bothering many potential customers, who are glued to their smartphones and Laptops to book world’s cheapest phone for themselves.
So how many have they sold so far? As of now, company has sold more than 30,000 handsets from its website freedom251.com. Website which crashed yesterday has started responding and many users have successfully placed their orders (though the whole thing is still a huge pain).
To recall, Freedom 251 comes with 4-inch IPS display with 960 x 540 (quarter HD) pixels spread across it. It is powered by unspecified 1.3 GHz quad-core processor with 1GB RAM, 8GB storage and is running Android 5.1 Lollipop software.
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Other features include 3.2MP rear camera, VGA front camera, 3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth, GPS and 1450 mAh battery. The handset will come preloaded with apps like Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, Framers, WhatsApp, Facebook and Fisherman.
Key Specifications and Features of Freedom 251:
| Model | Freedom 251 |
| Display | 4-Inch, qHD 960 X 540 |
| Processor | 1.3 GHz Quad-Core chipset |
| RAM | 1GB LPDDR3 RAM |
| Internal Storage | 8GB, Expandable |
| Software | Android Lollipop |
| Primary Camera | 3.2MP |
| Secondary Camera | VGA |
| Dimensions and weight | 155 x 79.6 x 7.4mm and 145g |
| Battery | 1450 mAh removable |
| Others | 3G, Dual SIM |
| Price | 251 INR |
[…] prototype that Ringing Bells showcased at the event adorned Adcom branding concealed behind whitener, and this callousness has […]
[…] Just-in: Ringing Bells explains ADCOM logo on Freedom 251 This feels more of a marketing stunt which seems to be working rather well. Ringing Bell is already trending on Social Media Channels as its perhaps impossible to ignore it or to not ponder upon times we live in when you come across a phone that cheap. […]