Freedom 251 final photos, specifications and features revealed ahead of delivery on June 30

The Noida-based company Ringing Bells, which launched Freedom 251, the world’s cheapest smartphone in India, is back under the spotlight as the company has promised to start shipping the Freedom 251 smartphone this week from June 30.

Despite all apprehensions, the Noida-based company says it is ready to ship the first batch of 200,000 units this week. Founder and CEO Mohit Goel said, “We are ready with nearly two lakh ‘Freedom 251’ handsets. We will start delivery from June 30.”

This is the first phase of delivery and he then plans to open registration again for those who wish to buy the handset. Speaking to the Financial Express, Ringing Bells CEO Mohit Goel said that registrations for the ‘world’s cheapest smartphone’ will restart once the first batch is delivered.

The Ringing Bells received over seven crore registrations before its payment gateway crashed within three days. “We learned from our mistakes and decided to go silent till we come out with the product. Now we have a 4-inch, dual-SIM phone ready for delivery. I feel vindicated,” he says in one breath.

According to Goel, he is facing a loss of Rs 140-Rs 150 per unit, but hopes to make some profit from volumes. “We will have a loss, but I am happy that the dream of connecting rural and poor Indians as part of the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives has been fulfilled with ‘Freedom 251,” Goel said.

Ringing Bells Freedom 251 specifications, features –

The Freedom 251 device has a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory and supports external memory cards of up to 32GB. The company has offered an 8-megapixel primary camera with flash, a 3.2MP front camera for the selfie and a 1,800 mAh battery. It runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop).

The phone is available in two colours — black and white — with centrally aligned rear camera and branding on the back panel. It has a speaker just beside the branding. The device displays the Indian Tricolour when you switch it on. The company has incorporated all the basic Google apps in the handset.

“Our devices are completely ‘Make in India’ and were manufactured at our Haridwar-based manufacturing unit. We plan to sell two lakh devices every month,” he said.

The company is also planning to launch a 32-inch high-definition LED television – also called “Freedom” – in the first week of July.

“These will be the cheapest television sets in India and will be available for less than Rs 10,000. Within two days, the delivery would be made and we will sell them online,” Goel said, adding that the company currently has one lakh such pieces in stock.

In comparison, the cost of 32-inch HD LED TV sets normally begins from Rs. 13,000.