'World's cheapest Smartphone' Goes On Sale For $4 In India - NPR

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A Freedom 251 smartphone, priced at 251 rupees (less than $4), which went on sale Thursday. Its maker, Ringing Bells, says interest overwhelmed its site. Saurabh Das/AP disguise caption

toggle caption Saurabh Das/AP

A Freedom 251 smartphone, priced at 251 rupees (under $4), which went on sale Thursday. Its maker, Ringing Bells, says activity overwhelmed its website.

Saurabh Das/AP

the liberty 251 smartphone, which went on sale Thursday, has sparked extreme activity in India and beyond. Priced at 251 rupees ($3.65), the 3G device is being known as the most cost-effective smartphone in the world. nevertheless it's also sparking questions about how the phone works — and whether it be prison.

Made with the aid of a brand new company known as Ringing Bells, the freedom 251 has a three.2 megapixel camera and a 4-inch screen; it runs on Android's Lollipop 5.1 working gadget and has slots for two SIM playing cards. however the mobile also appears very akin to Apple's iPhone four — even down to icons that replica the look of Apple's home screen.

That resemblance isn't any accident, experiences the Hindustan instances, which says that Ringing Bells' technical head Vikas Sharma told it, "We used Apple's icons as a result of Apple hasn't copyrighted its designs."

The times adds, "This, of route, is absolutely untrue. Apple has patents for every thing — together with the rounded edges of the rectangular reveal of the iPad."

There are additionally questions concerning the cellphone's hardware. according to Indian tech web site instruments 360, which verified a evaluate model, "the freedom 251 unit we received bears the brand of Adcom, which has been coated with a sticker. Adcom is a Delhi-based importer of IT products that offers in smartphones and tablets."

Reviewers who've seemed at the cell say it doesn't present the rest particular, except for a value it truly is some distance beneath anything on the market in India, the place similar telephones at the moment fetch costs of practically $60. Noting the resemblance to an Adcom cell from two years in the past, contraptions 360 says it be feasible the new mobile may be made from ancient add-ons from that equipment.

extra feeding uncertainty over the cellphone, its maker, Ringing Bells, has been in company for less than a 12 months. "You might be forgiven in case you've never heard of company till this week," says The Indian express.

Its newness did not stop Ringing Bells from keeping a glitzy launch birthday party Wednesday. The enterprise also created a distinct website to handle orders for the freedom 251, but it halted sales on Thursday, saying that "massive response" had overloaded its servers, citing 600,000 hits per second.

The bargain smartphone is obtainable handiest by way of pre-order, in a quick window that closes on Feb. 22; Ringing Bells says it is going to make all deliveries by means of June 30. in addition to its retail price, the mobile comes with a 50-rupee delivery price, elevating its fee to about $4.25.

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