Much has been said and written about the hyped and world’s cheapest smartphone, which was launched in India, and has already been pre-booked, by numbers way more than anticipated. We are talking about Freedom 251, a smartphone, which has incited controversies, ripped off Apple’s patented design, yet has received immense craze and love, due to the crazily low price at which it is offered, just INR 251, plus the delivery charges of INR 40. Now that the bookings for the same have finally stopped, let us take a look at the gadget, and what the whole hype is about.
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Freedom 251 has been created by the Noida based Ringing Bells Pvt. Ltd. The cell phone takes its design inspirations from Apple, which should be a cause of worry for the company as it was under the delusion that Apple has not patented its icons and design. Anyway, for INR 251, you get all the basic functionalities of a smartphone, complete with the latest android, front and back cam for basic usage, a decent storage, and expandable memory, with all the latest android apps.
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As per the company’s claim, more than 25 lakh customers have pre-booked Freedom 251, which is a number way more than what they have anticipated for, and manufactured the product. Though they won’t be able to despatch the phone for each and every customer who placed the order, they certainly are overwhelmed with the response that they have got. As per the reports, the minimum time for the order to be delivered is estimated to be 4 months, given that number of orders have exceeded the expectations.
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In an interview, the spokesperson from Ringing Bells clarified, that these are the prototypes that they have launched at dirt cheap price, to know the response from customers, and where they stand in the market. Once the product will be approved and feedback will be received, they will hand over the prototype to design, for further making, so that the proper handset comes into being.
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The sale for Freedom 251 began on Feb 18, and instantly the orders flooded in, jamming the website. It resumed a day after, and the bookings have now been officially closed.
Author: Kadambari Srivastava
