$4 for a phone. What could go wrong? Well, plenty enough in India. Arrests, lots of shouting and, worse yet, no products to deliver.
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Ringing Bells makes progress in delivering Freedom 251
The Indian company that vowed to make smartphones accessible to the people most deprived of connectivity found itself in trouble a few weeks ago.The CEO of Ringing Bells — the company that made the $4 Freedom 251 smartphone — publicly asked the government for some $7.5 billion in assistance after he revealed that the company was operating at a major loss.Despite the rut, we now know that 65,000 more units ...
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Ringing Bells asks for billions in government assistance prior to delivery
The Indian company selling and delivering smartphones for $4 is asking the government (and taxpayers) to help them stay afloat.Ringing Bells CEO Mohit Goel has asked for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss making available the equivalent of $7.4 billion to help the company cover a cost gap in the production of its Freedom 251 phones for 750 million people under Modi’s Digital India program. The executive said if his company doesn’t get the money, some other company should ...
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Freedom 251 shipments finally begin next week
Ringing Bells, the Indian company behind the questionably affordable phone called the Freedom 251, is ready for primetime. With real phones.So CEO Mohit Goel said to IANS as it prepares to ship out 200,000 units of its Rs. 251 ($3.66) handset starting June 30 and go on with 200,000 additional units every month. Goel promised that deliveries would be finished by June 30.It’s a far cry from the 2.5 ...
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Ringing Bells fighting legislator charge of cheating
While the company may have had clear intentions, it certainly went on fulfilling them in a dirty, dirty way.Ringing Bells is the Indian company that came out with the Freedom 251, what’s essentially a $4 smartphone. At least, that’s the selling point. But when buyers got their paws on the thing, it stunk of whiteout and dishonesty. Now, an MP has decided to file a police complaint against the ...
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Ringing Bells Freedom 251 proves popular in India, but controversial
Apparently, that Rs. 251 smartphone doesn’t actually cost Rs. 251 to make. We knew that and figured that someone had to take a loss somewhere down the line, but the more scrutiny the Freedom 251 gets, the more doubt comes upon Indian upstart Ringing Bells.The company’s site recorded 600,000 hits per second at its peak before crashing and 30,000 confirmed orders. Ringing Bells director Mohit Goel said that he plans on selling a total of 5 million units total — half online, half in ...
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The Ringing Bells Freedom 251 sounds weird, but it’s in India today for $3.66
Update: Ringing Bells has launched Freedom251.com to debut the 3G-enabled smartphone. The final price is Rs. 251 or $3.66 at current exchange rates and comes with a one-year warranty.ComponentDescriptionScreen size4 inchesScreen typeLCDResolution960 x 540Pixel density275 ppiSoCQuad-coreSpeed1.3GHzRAM1GBStorage8GB (expandable thru microSD by up to 32GB)Camera3.2-megapixel rear/VGA frontBattery1450mAhOSAndroid 5.1 LollipopPre-orders begin tomorrow, February 18 at 6am Indian. The site does not list physical retailers that will carry the phone, but we presume that it will take the step, one ...
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