Freedom 251, the cheapest smartphone on the market at INR 251 (as the name suggests) or approximately $4, begins shipping out 200,000 pieces on 30th June to customers in India.
The Android 5.1 device, with a 4″ 540 x 960 resolution screen, 1GB RAM and 8GB expandable storage is powered by a quad-core 1.3GHz CPU under the hood. The device also boasts a 3.2MP selfie camera and a 8MP rear shooter. The specs of the Freedom 251 are in line with flagship devices that were launched 3-4 years back, so it’s a wonder how the company could turn a profit at such a low selling point. Well, Ringing Bells, the company behind the Freedom 251, claims that they make a loss on every device sold.
For India, and in the case of the Freedom 251, the situation is albeit different; the low spec device’s main selling point is the cost. The INR 251 pricing seems affordable to most until you consider India’s low per-capita income of $1,500 and the fact that it is still the second largest mobile market in the world. Having a cheap device, priced extremely competitively, not only help Ringing Bells cement a name for themselves but they can also tap into a large mobile market where 75% of devices retailed per year are priced below $150.
