The government of India has succeeded in bringing to the local market, albeit with some difficulty, a smartphone at a very popular price: 4 dollars at current exchange rates. Freedom 251 takes its numerical code for its price, 251 Indian rupees, and eventually the news of its creation had been welcomed by many in astonishment and some skepticism. Doubts about this phone were increased, over time, due to some questionable decisions made by the manufacturer, Ringing Bells.
In fact, after so long (the first news we had about it came in February), the company has unveiled the actual design of the device, actually quite different and more realistic than the first render published and shown during the official announcement. Realistic in the sense that we must bear in mind that we are talking about a smartphone that would cost, for the potential buyer, just over 4 dollars. Doubts increased even more when Ringing Bells sent to the media the first prototypes of what would have been Freedom 251.
The devices sent were none other than normal Adcom models, sold in the Indian market for about 50 dollars, masked in a more than obvious graphical personalization at iOS style. Given the allegations, Ringing Bells had to fight to keep local media calm, but finally the manufacturer has been under investigation by the government of India, which had been presented before knowing the possible deception, as an active part in the development of the cell phone.
Everything was resolved with a promise from Ringing Bells responding to requests received during the period of reservation. Four months later, today, the company has announced that the first Freedom 251 will be sent on June 30, and 200,000 units are ready to begin the journey to their destination or point of sale. Recently rumored said that Ringing Bells had contacted some developers who were able to reduce production costs by loading its software natively.
There was talk of "government bloatware", and some financial help from the government of India to sell the device at that price. These rumors were never confirmed, but it is not known if the aid obtained by Ringing Bells has gone elsewhere. But Freedom 251 has appeared and have released some real images, confirming its existence. The Android version has the same icons, and not those that are more typical of the iPhone, and it is expected that soon the first buyers appear.
