$4 Indian smartphone to start shipping on June 30

In February this year, the Indian technology industry was stunned with the release of Freedom 251, a locally manufactured smartphone costing only 251 rupees, or US$4 (P190). Despite complaints of competitors against the prototype’s cheap price tag, Freedom 251 will soon knock at customers’ doorsteps.

Indian startup Ringing Bells, the company behind the low-cost Freedom 251, will begin its shipments of the smartphone on June 30 to those who had pre-ordered online.

Based on a report from The Next Web, Freedom 251 has a 4-inch screen and an 8MP camera on its back, and a 3.2MP front camera for selfies. An 1800mAh battery powers the 1.3GHz quad-core processor and 1GB RAM, and it also has 8GB storage for files.

Mohit Goel, Ringing Bells founder and CEO, said the development of the “world’s cheapest smartphone” was approved with the “blessing” of the Indian government. He elaborated in an interview with The Indian Express, “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.”

With its case having the three colors of the Indian flag, the phone is available in black and white.  Gianna Francesca Catolico