Ringing Bells to launch India’s cheapest smartphone at sub-Rs 500 on Wednesday February 17,2016

Domestic handset maker Ringing Bells will launch India’s most affordable smartphone for under Rs. 500, a move that is set to disrupt the booming handset market in the country.

The launch is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for “empowering India to the last person, transforming India’s growth story”, the Noida-based company said.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikkar will launch the smartphone ‘Freedom 251’ on February 17.

“The phone will be popularly priced at under Rs. 500... this event and launch stands as a true testimony of success of the latest initiatives taken by the Government of India,” according to a media invite sent by the firm.

At present, smartphones available in the market are priced around Rs. 1,500. Last year, DataWind had announced that it is teaming up with Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications (RCOM) to launch the world’s most affordable smartphone, priced at Rs. 999. The phone is yet to hit the market.

Established last year, Ringing Bells will start with the assembly of handsets in Phase-I and aims at full indigenous development of the feature-rich smartphones, it said.

A new entrant in the Indian mobile phone market, Ringing Bells had launched one of India’s cheapest 4G smartphone at Rs. 2,999, recently. It has launched two other feature phones in the market

10 things about world’s cheapest smartphone

 

The phone runs the recent Android Lollipop 5.1 OS which will run most of the apps and looks much better than Kitkat with the help of a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor.
2. It supports 3G for lightning-fast web browsing.
3. It will have a 4-inch screen that is quite common for sub-Rs 5,000 phones.
4. It even has a 1GB RAM that which can easily run WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter with some more space to spare for more apps.
5. The phone has 8GB internal memory which can be expanded to 32GB with a micro SD card. Sadly, microSD card will cost you more than the phone.
6. You even get a camera. On both sides. 3.2 megapixel on the back and 0.3 megapixel the front.
7. The phone has the 1,450 mAh battery which won’t last you all day but no one can complain considering the price.
8. The Freedom 251 will be officially unveiled in New Delhi and the event will be attended by Murli Manohar Joshi, MP, with the Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar as the chief guest on Wednesday February 17,2016
9. The phone will have some apps pre-installed to make it more useful to the women, farmers, fishermen and everyone in general. Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, Fisherman, Farmer, Medical, Google Play, WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube are some of the apps to be installed out of the box.
10. By the way you also get a 1-year warranty on the phone backed by their 650 service centers across the country.