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Ringing Bells' India-Only Android Phone To Run About $4 (freedom251.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Freedom 251 is the name of a new affordable Android smartphone which is going on sale in India. It features an 4-core 1.3 Ghz Processor, with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory, and runs an Android Lollipop 5.1 distribution complete with civilian and government applications for Indian citizens. It is being heavily subsidized to make up for the benefits that it will bring to the people who could never afford a smartphone before. Ars Technica notes that the phone is apparently not carrier-subsidized, but as Pocket Now points out, "[t]he nation's defence minister will be at the launch event, a sign that the government has heavily subsidized the project in line with its developmental prerogatives."
Simple, a couple of years ago when I was back in India, I remember the guy sitting in my next seat on bus trip booking a laborer who climbs up the cocunut tree over the mobile phone. Mind you the laborer answered the phone while he was on the very top of the tree. Without the phone he would have waited for another day to get work! The notoriously poor communication facilities, before the wireless became available played a major role in hindering the development. The connectivity has enhanced the economic activity many fold already!