ABOUT FREEDOM 251
Considered
a luxury not too long ago, smartphones have reached a point that they can now
be considered a commodity. But on Wednesday, things will reach a whole new
level.
As part
of its attempt to connect every Indian, local smartphone manufacturer Ringing
Bells 'with immense support' from the India government will launch an
affordable smartphone called the Freedom 251 on Wednesday. The Freedom 251,
touted as India's cheapest smartphone -and likely the most affordable
smartphone in the world as well - will sport a price tag below Rs. 500
(approximately $7).
The Indian smartphone manufacturer
said that it will reveal the exact retail price of the handset and other
details like its specifications at the launch event. The manufacturer added the
launch event will see the presence of a number of top Indian government
officials including Shri Manohar Parrikkar, Union Minister
of Defense and Shri Murali Manohar Joshi, Hon'ble Member of
Parliament.
Ringing
Bells says that the smartphone is in line with India Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's vision to connect every Indian and enrich their lives. The company also
asserts that its smartphone is built to meet the goals of Make In India, the
government's project to entice multinational as well as domestic players to
manufacturer their products in India.
The
purpose behind the Freedom 251 reminds us of Aakash tablet, also known as Datawind Ubislate
7+, which was promoted by the Indian government to provide college
students with affordable computing and Internet-browsing machines. The tablet
was launched in India in 2011, and was sold at a price
point of under Rs. 3,000. The project, before closing
last year, further decreased the price of the device and it was
being made available to students across the country at a price of under Rs. 2,500.
With
making a smartphone available at a price under Rs. 500, the Freedom 251 has the
potential to significantly improve the lifestyle of people in the country with
a low income. It will be interesting to see whether or not Ringing Bells is
able to manufacture and sell this device at a large scale.
Ringing
Bells made headlines earlier this month when it launched the Smart 101, a 4G
capable smartphone at a price point of Rs. 2,999 (approximately $44). It sports
a 5-inch display, a 1.3GHz quad-core SoC, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of inbuilt
storage which can be expanded using a microSD card (32GB).
The
Freedom 251, complies with government's Make in India program. Freedom 251 is
priced at just Rs. 251 (approximately $4), making it arguably the cheapest
smartphone in the world.
The smartphone's
design looks like it's been borrowed from the iPhone 6s, with similar rounded
edges, a round button and the silver ring around it.
The
phone's back panel features its name and a reminder of where the phone was
made. Hint: It's not China.
Freedom
251 sports a 4-inch IPS display.
It is powered by a quad-core SoC clocked at 1.3GHz, coupled with 1GB of RAM.
The smartphone runs Android 5.1 Lollipop but the icons on
the home screen make it look like the phone runs iOS. The browser icon looks
like that of Safari, and icons for apps such as Calculator, Clock, Music,
Gallery, Email, among others resemble iOS icons.
The smartphone has a removable battery and bundles in a
pair of earphones as well.
The Freedom 251 comes with 8GB of inbuilt storage, which
can be expanded via microSD card (up to 32GB)
The Freedom 251 smartphone ships with a number of apps
pre-installed on it like Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, WhatsApp, Facebook, and
YouTube.
The Freedom 251 smartphone ships with a number of apps
pre-installed on it like Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, WhatsApp, Facebook, and
YouTube.
Its home screen also has a dock for icons at the bottom,
much like iOS. The app drawer button makes it easy to tell that the phone runs
Android.
Freedom 251 includes a 3.2-megapixel rear camera, a
0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 3G support
The iPhone likeness appears to extend to the Freedom 251's
side buttons. Apart from volume buttons, it appears to have a ringer/silent
mode button lookalike
The base of Freedom 251 has the speaker grille and the mic,
and its charging port is at the top.
The lock screen appears to be devoid of much customization.
Freedom 251 will be available in June 2016, according to
the company. With its low price point, the little known smartphone maker from
Noida is aiming to make the smartphone accessible to everyone
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