India launches smartphone for under R60

Ringing Bells sells its phones through a website, unveiled “Freedom 251”, the cheapest addition to their existing range of phones that are all priced at under 50 United States dollars.

The extremely affordable Freedom 251, which gets its name from its price of 251 rupee, is being manufactured by little-known Indian start-up Ringing Bells.

India is the second-largest mobile phone market in the world, behind China, but only 19% of the population are on the internet.

Costing Rs 251, or just £2.5, Freedom 251 supports 3G connectivity and comes with a 1.3 GHz Quad-core Processor which works with 1GB of RAM to power the phone.

The rear camera is 3.2MP with a 0.3MP front camera. The inbuilt touchless technology is Ideal for selfie.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikkar will introduce the smartphone Freedom 251 in the market. In short, innovative solutions for a Brighter tomorrow. Ringing Bells has 650 service centers across the country.

Freedom 251 will have the pre-installed applications of Swachh Bharat, Women Safety, Fisherman, Farmer, Medical, Google Play, WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. The phone also comes with 8GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by another 32GB using a microSD card.

The smartphone depicts a display of 4.00-inches touch display with a resolution of 540 pixels by 960 pixels. The Freedom 251 is tied into the government’s Make in India campaign, which supports local manufacturing.

Note that the Freedom 251 can not be shipped to an address outside India. It is available at a price of Rs. 251 + 40 Delivery charges. It turns out smartphones don’t have to cost an arm and leg, as relatively-unknown Indian firm Ringing Bells have proved. It’s been suggested that the Indian government could be subsidising the company, but no such deals have been announced.