Ringing Bells Freedom 251 smartphone

[rahul1117kumar]

The delivery of the world's cheapest smartphone at Rs 251 will finally begin from July 6 and not June 30 as was announced earlier, its makers said on Wednesday, adding that they are trying to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for garnering his support under the Make in India initiative.

According to Ringing Bells' Founder and CEO Mohit Goel, it is ready with nearly 2 lakh Freedom 251 handsets.

"In the meanwhile, we have prepared a letter requesting a meeting with our Prime Minister to pitch our case as a domestic smartphone maker which wishes to contribute towards 'Make in India' initiative," Goel told IANS.

"We are planning to organise a launch event in the capital on July 7, a day after starting the delivery," Goel added.

In an earlier interview to IANS, Goel had announced June 30 the date for delivery, adding that once he is done with this first phase of delivery (of two lakh phones), he will open registration again for those who wish to buy the handset.

The company had in mid-February this year planned to deliver 2.5 lakh handsets before June 30. However, it 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 had told IANS.

According to Goel, he is facing a loss of Rs. 140 - Rs. 150 per handset, for which parts were imported from Taiwan, but hopes to make profit on 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.

No device was, however, given to IANS. Only a photograph was allowed to be taken. 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 alongside 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 1 lakh such pieces in stock.

Freedom 251 Maker Says Deliveries Delayed, Will Now Start From July 6 | NDTV Gadgets360.com

 

[Optimus_Prime]

Mark your calendar! July 7, 2016 is the day when you will finally be able to hold a smartphone in your palm that costs Rs 251. Yes! The famous or infamous Freedom 251.
Ringing Bells on Tuesday sent out invitations to media that they were holding the launch event on July 7 where it will unveil Freedom 251, its new HD LED TV and a range of smartphones which will come in higher prices than the 251.
Company sources also said that the 251 will start shipping to customers after the launch event which will be held at The Lalit in Barakhamba Road, New Delhi and presided over by Mohit Goel, managing director, Ringing Bells.
Earlier, the company has gone back and forth with the delivery dates of the Rs 251 smartphone. Goel had earlier said that the delivery will finally begin from July 6 and not June 30 as was announced earlier. He had also said that they are trying to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for garnering his support under the Make in India initiative.
According to Ringing Bells’ Founder and CEO Mohit Goel, they are ready with nearly two lakh ‘Freedom 251’ handsets. “In the meanwhile, we have prepared a letter requesting a meeting with our Prime Minister to pitch our case as a domestic smartphone maker which wishes to contribute towards ‘Make in India’ initiative,” Goel had said.
“We are planning to organise a launch event in the capital on July 7, a day after starting the delivery,” Goel had added. In an earlier interview to IANS, Goel had announced June 30 the date for delivery, adding that once he is done with this first phase of delivery (of two lakh phones), he will open registration again for those who wish to buy the handset.
The company had in mid-February this year planned to deliver 25 lakh handsets before June 30. However, it 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 had said.
According to Goel, he is facing a loss of Rs 140-Rs 150 per handset, for which parts were imported from Taiwan, but hopes to make profit on volumes.
The 3G 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. No device was, however, given to IANS. Only a photograph was allowed to be taken.
The company has offered an 8MP primary camera with flash, a 3.2MP front camera for 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 alongside 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.
Also good news on the TV front as sources say that it is going to cost less than Rs 10, 000 and currently it has one lakh such pieces in stock.
In comparison, the cost of 32-inch HD LED TV sets normally begins from Rs 13,000.

Finally Freedom 251 to start delivery on July 7 | tech$news | Hindustan Times

 

[rahul1117kumar]

As consumers wait to see the cheapest smartphone at its scheduled launch in the capital on Thursday, its Noida-based makers have made another pitch for the government’s support to make their loss-making venture “work for millions” who don’t own such a phone.

According to Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd CEO Mohit Goel, he initially faced Rs 930 loss on each handset that cost him Rs 1180 and for which parts were imported from Taiwan.

“I recovered Rs 700-800 from app developers and revenue generated through advertisements on Freedom 251 website. After selling the device for Rs 251 (cash on delivery), the total loss per handset is expected to be in the range of Rs 180-270,” Goel told IANS.

The first batch of 5,000 ‘Freedom 251’ devices will finally be out for delivery from July 8 and the receiver will have to pay Rs 291 (including Rs 40 as delivery charge) to get the unit, says Goel.

“In order to digitally-empower every Indian, if I can get government support under the Digital India programme, I can ensure timely delivery of ‘Freedom 251’ phone to all citizens at the same price,” Goel said on the eve of the launch event.

In a letter written to the Prime Minister’s Office dated June 28 asking for a meeting with
Narendra Modi, Ringing Bells said: “We have brought ‘Freedom 251’ which we offer on ‘Cash on Delivery’ terms but we have a gap between the BOM (Bill of Materials) and the Selling Price. We, therefore, humble request government support to actualise the objective to cascade the availability and usage of smartphones all through the far reaches of our great nation”.

Goel’s ambition is huge. He says if the government is willing to dole out Rs 50,000 crore, he can ensure that 750 million of India’s population would become part of digital India by owning a smartphone at Rs 251.

Bringing some modesty into the equation about the enormity of his demand, Goel says that the government need not give his company the money but can get it manufactured by another vendor.

“The government can make the phone — under our Freedom brand — from some other vendor. I have no objection to it. To make such phone for every Indian citizen, the government needs to allocate funds from its Digital India initiative,” he said.

Having learnt his lessens from the controversial February launch when Ringing Bells invited senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, this time, Goel wants to play safe and is not inviting any politician for the launch.

“I want to keep this event controversy-free. I have proved that a smartphone is actually possible in this kind of investment. But to fulfil a mammoth handset order that runs in crores, we badly need government’s support,” he added.

To generate more revenue, he plans to go to iCloud (cloud storage and cloud computing service from Apple) and begin a software called “WhiteCloud”.

“The aim is to make and provide at least 100 new apps online to ‘Freedom 251′ owners and charge them bare minimum — to the tune of Rs 1 to Rs 3 per app — to generate revenue,” he said.

After delivering 5,000 phones in the first batch, Goel says he will wait for customers’ feedback. “I am ready with 500 service centres pan-India to address people’s queries,” he claimed.

The company will also showcase a 32-inch high-definition LED television — also called “Freedom” — at the launch event.

“These will be the cheapest television sets in India and will be available for less than Rs 10,000. Online registration for the TV sets will be open from July 25 with delivery to be made from August 1,” Goel said, claiming that the company currently has one lakh such pieces in stock.

In comparison, the price of a 32-inch HD LED TV sets normally begins from Rs 13,000 in online markets.

In an earlier interview, Goel had also claimed that they are ready with nearly two lakh ‘Freedom 251’ handsets.

The company had in mid-February this year planned to deliver 25 lakh handsets before June 30. However, it received over seven crore registrations before its payment gateway crashed within three days.

The 3G 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 8MP primary camera with flash, a 3.2MP front camera and a 1,800 mAh battery. It runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop).

The phone would be available in two colours — black and white.

The device displays the Indian Tricolour when you switch it on. It will incorporate all the basic
Google apps in the handset, according to Goel.

 

[Optimus_Prime]

what the hell they are doing......
acc to the article:
Mid feb: Nearly 25lac handset will be delivered before 30 june.
june : we are ready with 2 lac handset and will be ready to ship from 8th july.

and now they are saying only 5000 pcs are ready.
and now also claiming Govt should finance his company ₹50,000Cr under Digital India Initiative.

Mr. Goel go and Sleep. u are drunk. U and ur company...RIP.

 

[Siva]

Same article in a different tone.

The saga of the $4 smartphone is getting ridiculous

If you had lingering doubts that the so-called“$4 smartphone” is anything more than a poorly conceived publicity stunt, the events of these days should clear them up.

Back in February, Ringing Bells, the company that claims to be manufacturing the world’s cheapest smartphone, promised it would ship 2.5 million units of the Rs. 251 Freedom 251 by the end of June. Then the figure went down to 200,000 units and the deadline slipped successively from June 28, to June 30, to July 6, and now, July 8.

It’s not just the shipping date that keeps getting adjusted. Mohit Goel, the shady CEO of Ringing Bells, went from promising an initial batch of 200,000 units, to 10,000 units, and then 5,000 units in a matter of days.

Just to put things in perspective, Ringing Bells said it collected 70 million registrations for the device in February. 30,000 people supposedly paid for the phone.

Surely, Ringing Bells just needs time to gain momentum, right? Well, not quite. The company also backtracked on Goel’s promise to ship 200,000 Freedom 251 units every month. Instead, after the first batch, the company may ship… zero devices.

“We may deliver more units if we get help or we may not deliver at all in the upcoming months. We are only focusing on the giving away the devices now,” – Ringing Bells representative

What is this help that Ringing Bells is talking about? Oh, glad you asked! Mohit Goel sent an open letter to the Indian Prime Minister asking for financial support to put a Freedom 251 in the hands of 750 million Indian citizens. Here’s an excerpt:

“We have brought ‘Freedom 251’ which we offer on ‘Cash on Delivery’ terms but we have a gap between the BOM (Bill of Materials) and the Selling Price. We, therefore, humble request government support to actualise the objective to cascade the availability and usage of smartphones all through the far reaches of our great nation”

A noble plan to be sure, but there’s a problem: Ringing Bells says it needs Rs. 500 billion to make it work. For international readers, that’s around $7.4 billion.

So yeah, unless Ringing Bells gets this small help, it may not ship anything.

When pressed by Indian media on how they plan to actually make the business work, Ringing Bells representatives made vague comments about economies of scale, ad-generated revenue, and of course, the cloud (a service called WhiteCloud would supposedly see Freedom 251 users download hundreds of apps for Rs. 1 to Rs. 3 each).

Our guess is the real business plan is to gather a ton of email addresses (check!), make a big fuss about an impossibly cheap phone (check!), and use the publicity to kick start sales of other devices (in progress!).

Indeed, Ringing Bells announced today an HD TV, a line of power banks, feature phones, and two new smartphones called Elegance andElegant (yes, really). Don’t expect the same low price tag as the Freedom 251’s though. The Elegant costs Rs. 3,999 ($59) and the Elegance costs Rs. 4,499 ($66).

Just to understand what we’re dealing with here, Ringing Bells flat-out stole the lockscreen design of the LG G5 and put it on the press images of the Elegance and Elegant.

Then again, this shouldn’t be surprising coming from a company that used correction fluid to hide the branding from their supposed “prototypes.”

At this point, the only thing we can recommend is to avoid Ringing Bells and anything associated with it as much as you can. If you need a cheap phone, there are many devices from real companies that won’t try to scam you.

http://www.androidauthority.com/saga-4-smartphone-getting-ridiculous-702159/

 

[sagar.patnaik]

Look at the demand of 50,000 crores. Even the most priority sector won't get such huge investment for a private party. I dont think he ll even get 50 crores ☺

 

[wewake]

They will not get even 1 Rs. If they'll get everyone will start their own company in such a way and later on cover their loses from PMO

 

[rahul1117kumar]

Freedom 251, the world’s cheapest smartphone priced at $4 (Rs 251), is supposed to start getting delivered today. But if you go to Ringing Bells’ website, there’s little to inspire faith in these new claims.

The landing page has no mention of Freedom 251. The top six devices mentioned are the new phones, four of them feature phones, all priced between Rs 699-Rs 4999. Yes, this makes you wonder why a company which a Rs 251 smartphone is even making a feature phones that cost Rs 699, almost three times the price of the former.

Meanwhile, the so-called Freedom LED TV is listed as ‘Comming soon’. Remember, the company claims it has 1 lakh units of this cheap Rs 9,990 LED TV in stock. Yet, on the website, it only gets mentioned as ‘Comming’ soon. And clicking on that doesn’t take you anywhere.

Ringing Bells has promised that 5,000 units of the Freedom 251 will be delivered to customers on July 8, followed by a second batch with a similar number of units. This is a far cry from the 2 lakh units of Freedom 251 the company claimed it will deliver. And all indications are that Ringing Bells has shifted focus to other phones now.

Ringing Bells CEO Mohit Goel had promised a ‘lucky draw’ for people who would get the phone at the launch event. The launch event happened yesterday, but not the lucky draw. No surprises there.

Clicking on the products tab on the site shows the list of phones, and it is here you see Freedom 251 hidden away. For a company which rose to fame on the hype around this Rs 251 smartphone, it sure doesn’t want to give much prominence to the product that has created all this buzz.

There’s no option to buy the Freedom 251 and all you can see are the specs, other features highlighted. To be honest, none of this should come as a shock to anyone who has followed this story.

We have noted in several earlier pieces that the Ringing Bells’ story on Freedom 251 has only managed to send alarm bells ringing. The company’s befuddling maths justifying the Rs 251 price tag never quite made sense. Most industry experts agree: the cheapest smartphone with these kind of specs will cost Rs 2,500 to make at least.

Also subsidising the price of this phone would require deep pockets, and given we don’t know how Ringing Bells is financing itself, this is another mystery. Then Mohit Goel, Ringing Bells’ Directory issued a statement saying the company needs Rs 50,000 crore from the government to fulfill all these 7.5 crore orders for Freedom 251.

But it is clear this company has some ambitions in this mobile space, or at least is keen to project them on the website. The Ringing Bells website has a section called ‘Distributors’ where it is claims to be one of the ‘fastest growing smartphone’ companies in India, and points out certain criteria its distributors need to follow.

These are “Minimum floor area required for Ringing Bells store should be more than 500-600 sq. feet for RING BELL priority dealers… The outlet or store should be in high street area like main market, malls etc. Preferably in metros or tier II cities…You will have to keep at least 5 employees for RING BELL priority dealership. Those employee salary would be paid by Ringing Bells Pvt. Ltd. and daily expenses would be borne by Franchisee…”

For a brand that is virtually unknown these are pretty high-end demands to make on distributors. And then there’s the fact that in the past Ringing Bells claimed it will subside costs for Freedom 251 by going for an online only model. But if it is indeed looking for distributors, then clearly this ‘online’ model narrative has long been done away with by the company.
If you look at the Ringing Bells website one thing is clear: Freedom 251’s story is over. It’s all about Elegance and Elegant, and nope they won’t cost $4.

Freedom 251 story might be over, the clues are in the Ringing Bells website | The Indian Express

 

[Sarkar]

Look at the demand of 50,000 crores. Even the most priority sector won't get such huge investment for a private party. I dont think he ll even get 50 crores [WHITE SMILING FACE]

Forget 50 crore he cannot even get 50 paisa from Govt [emoji38]

 

[Vicky]

:lol micromax & other brand already  selling 32 inch in the cost :shy :shy

May be next they will tell this story we will dispatch the 100 product later 50/25,etc.,