We are sure you must have heard about ''Digital India'' whose purpose/aim is to empower India to the last person, transforming India’s growth story. Well it seems that the concept is going to turn real now as Indian Government is all set to launch a smartphone for just Rs 251 only. Yes you hear it right - Rs 251 only inclusive of all taxes. The name of this unbelievably low priced device is - ''FREEDOM 251''.
Freedom251 is the Indian smartphone brand at highly affordable prices. Ringing Bells is an amazing team of smartphone lovers who collaborate seamlessly to exchange technical and qualitative inputs and create quality products, along with testing at several stages to deliver the ultimate customer experience in its category. Ringing Bells is offering Freedom251 Smartphone at just Rs 251 only
Further One - Now get a board with four colors and a home !!
"Update- Ringing Bells said that they would refund money of 30000 users who made the payment and offer them ''Cash on Delivery'' option. Check complete update in the middle of the post.
Bookings have been closed now.
How to avail this offer?
1 . Visit here
2. Click on ''Buy Now''
3. Enter Your Full details. Like- Name, Address Mobile no. etc and click on ''Order Now''
4. That's it !! You will receive a message -
Thank You for placing your order. This is sincerely appreciate your clear understanding that for every unique email id you may register one phone only.
We will email you the link for payment within 48 hours to your registered unique email id ************@gmail.com to complete your purchase..
5. Whenever you get the payment link in your email, then make the payment of Rs 291
6. You will get Your Freedom251 Smartphone by 30th June 2016.
Few Updates of 6 AM Sale -
Time - 6 AM
- Their website is not working
- The quantity per person is not limited to one and a user can buy any number of phones but we still advice you to buy 1 piece as they may cancel multiple orders
- There are Rs 40 shipping charges per piece of mobile phone. So overall, the phone costs Rs 291
- We have heard that ''Cash on Delivery'' is also available but still looking for a confirmation
- Finally, keep trying to open website - http://www.freedom251.com or http://52.77.254.56/index.php/cart
Time - 8 AM
- Website loading fine now
- Product is getting added to cart successfully
- After entering address details when you click on ''Pay Now'', it redirects back to address page again. Its like a loop
- This seems to be some technical issue and might be soon solved.
- Stay Tuned for more live updates
Time - 8:40 AM
- Cash on Delivery is not available
Time - 10:00 AM
- Earlier, after entering address details, it was asking again and again to enter them again but now it shows blank page after you click on ''Pay Now''
- The Ringing Bells Team replied on social media that they are working on the issue and will resolve it soon. Link here - https://twitter.com/RingingB/status/700140143554891776
Time - 10:30 AM
We heard rumors that freedom251 website has no payment gateway but we just now got a screenshot of successful order being placed by some person which proves that payment gateway exists - CCAvenue it is. Its just that the website is experiencing issues which will be resolved soon as far as the company states.
Update - 12:05 PM
The following message appears on Freedom251 Website -
"Dear friends, we are very greatefull for your enormous response and your kind patronage and would submit that as of now we receive approx 6 Lacs hits per second as a result of which due to your kind overwhelming response servers are over loaded.
We humbly submit that we are therefore taking a pause and upgrading the service and will revert within or before 24 hours.
Once again our respectfull thanks and gratitude for your support and patience. We look forward your return as soon as we are back online well within 24 hours"
Time - 8 AM 19th Feb
Website working fine now. You can place your order and don't need to make immediate payment. Your order would be placed and you will soon get a link on your email id to make the payment of Rs 291.
Time - 3 PM 26th Feb
Ringing Bells said that they won't be sending payment link to users by email instead offer "Cash on Delivery". However the phones would be delivered to first 25 lac users only.
Time - 2 PM 29th Feb
Ringing Bells faced a lot of criticism stating that they are fake and will eat customer's money. So in order to prove these claims false, they have decided to refund the money to those who paid and offer them a "'Cash on Delivery'' option instead. Ringing Bells Director Mohit Goel said - "There was a lot of negativity around us so we have decided to take money from customers only after delivering phones to them. We are refunding money to those who have paid for booking the phones and giving them an option of cash on delivery''.
He said the delivery of Freedom251 smartphones is expected to start in April after which the company will start the second round of bookings.
"Our payment gateway companies CCAvenue and PayU Biz have sought time till Wednesday to credit back the amount in accounts of all those who have paid. After which we will send an email seeking confirmation for cash on delivery," Goel said.
Ringing Bells President Ashok Chaddha had explained earlier that the manufacturing cost of the phone is about Rs 2,500, which will be recovered through a series of measures like economies of scale, innovative marketing, reduction in duties and creating an e-commerce marketplace. He says that they have investors backing up and don't need people's money upfront.
Let's hope for the best !!
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Phone's Look -
Features of Freedom251 Smartphone-
The phone's name ''Freedom 251'' is completely justified due to the following mentioned freedoms that it provides you -
- Freedom to Flaunt - All your favourite Pictures, videos and games are rendered vivid and larger than life on the 4 inch (10.2 cms) qHD IPS display.
- Freedom to Capture - With 3.2MP AF Rear Camera & .3MP Front camera capture best moments of your life. Freedom 251 with its inbuilt touchless technology is Ideal for perfect Selfie. For Selfie lovers life just got a little easier.
- Freedom to Connect - Don't let a moment to share your creativity pass you by. Enjoy the boundless freedom of staying connected to family, friends or followers wherever you are with an enhanced connection that gives you everything you need at lightning fast speeds.
- Freedom to Explore - Freedom 251 comes with 1.3 GHz Quadcore Processor capable of fast and responsive performance. 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory, all the space you need. SD card support (expandable up to 32GB)
- Freedom to Talk - With its 1450 mAh battery, Freedom 251 gives you more time to talk, text, Play and watch videos without needing to worry about running out of power.
Vision of the phone -
''Empower citizens, even in the remotest rural and semi-urban centres of India, with the latest in digital technology at incredible affordable prices and cascade knowledge, news and current issues so that all experience the confidence of inclusive growth and equal opportunity - In short, innovative solutions for a Brighter tomorrow''
Specifications -
GENERAL
- 2G Network -Yes
- 3G Network - Yes
- 4G Network - No
DISPLAY
- Size - 4-inch
- Type - qHD
MEMORY
- Card Slot - Yes
- Internal - 8GB
DATA
- GPRS - Yes
- EDGE - Yes
- Bluetooth - Yes
- Infrared Port - No
CAMERA
- Primary - 3.2MP
- Secondary - 0.3MP
Customer Care Numbers -
- 0120-4001000
- 0120-4200470
- 0120-6619580
Some notable points -
- The Freedom 251 will be officially unveiled in New Delhi on Wednesday evening at an event that will be presided over by Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, MP, with the Union Defence Minister Sri Manohar Parrikar as the Chief Guest.
- Ringing Bells says the Freedom 251 smartphone has been developed 'with immense support' from the government and is touting it as a success story of PM Modi's flagship 'Make in India' scheme.
- A smartphone priced at Rs. 251 will go a long way in connecting every Indian, and like the previous government tried to take computing to the masses with the Aakash tablet, the Freedom 251 has the potential to realise the 'Digital India' vision.
- Users also get a 1-year warranty on the phone backed by their 650 service centers across the country.
When will your phone be delivered ?
Well we understand you are afraid that whether you will really get the phone or not due to such a low price which can't be imagined but as far as the sources say, we have the following dates -
- Date of Bookings - 6 AM February 18 - 8 PM February 21
- Date of Delivery - By 30th June 2016.
An Issue to be noticed - Might be a scam
This company (Ringing Bells) had already launched a 4G enabled smartphone Smart 101 that is already listed on their website for a price tag of ₹2,999.
However it is not clearly mentioned from where the Smart 101 handset can be bought. Probably it was available on their own website, there are some users who had purchased it but have still not got the handset delivered.
“For your kind information, the bill of material (BOM) value for a product like this when sourced from the cheapest supply chain cost approximately USD 40 (Rs 2,700).
“And this, when translated into retail price after addition of applicable duties, taxes and with distribution and retail margins would be at least Rs 4,100 while the product is being sold at Rs 251,” ICA National President Pankaj Mohindroo said in the letter.
He further added that even if the product is sold at lower margins in an e-commerce type subsidised sale, the final consumer price cannot come below USD 52-55 (about Rs 3,500-3,800).
“Further, there is no visible mobile operator subsidy involved in this, which in any case is not the way the Indian mobile market operates,” he added.
Mohindroo said it would be advisable that officers from Deity get into the depth of this and ICA will provide any technical assistance, if required.
Source of above info - http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/freedom-251-mobile-industry-raises-concerns-on-the-cheapest-smartphone-299914.html
Pre-installed Apps in the phone
Now-a-days smartphones come with some pre-installed apps for eg - Flipkart App in Xiaomi Phones. Similarly this app comes with below apps -
- Swachh Bharat
- Women Safety
- Fisherman
- Farmer
- Medical
- Google Play
- Twitter and few others
However still, what we can do is hope for the best and support the government in the initiative and wish that it occurs on large scale and the company is successful in delivering the products and make ''Make in India'' and ''Digital India'' a success.
Bibliography for this post -
3. http://phoneradar.com/gadgets/phones/bell/freedom-251/
4. http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/indian-company-to-launch-7-smartphone-on-wednesday-802668
Terms and Conditions of Warranty -
1 . This warranty of the Product extends for a period of 12 months for the Host unit, 6 months for Battery and Charger, and 3 months for Earphone commencing from the date of purchase
2. Any defect arising due to misuse of the unit, damages due to liquid ingress, or physical abuse, or normal wear and tear will not be covered by this warranty. Plastic components like front & back cover plus rubber component like key pads; antenna will not be treated under warranty coverage
3. The warranty is void if the unit is tampered with, altered or repaired by unauthorized persons
4. The defective unit along with the sales invoice must be brought or sent to the Authorized Service Centre, during normal working hours, by end customer at his own expense.
5. The warranty is void if the serial number of the unit is deleted, defaced or altered rendering it difficult to identify the instrument
Check out this video by NDTV -
The users are frustrated for being not able to book the phone due to website's issues and expressing their anger on twitter and cracking jokes on the company and the phone like below -
https://twitter.com/HarishHadiyal/status/700166494748086274
https://twitter.com/jainsuniverse/status/700166135862276096
Want to read more ? Visit here - http://www.india.com/news/india/freedom-251-twitterati-express-frustration-over-dysfunctional-state-of-freedom251-com-957770/
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