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Ringing Bells' India-Only Android Phone To Run About $4 (freedom251.com)

Posted by timothy on from the but-don't-let-facebook-give-free-internet dept.

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."

3 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. It's not a $4 smart phone by bobbied · · Score: 1, Insightful

    It's a subsidized phone, only it's subsidized by the government.

    Yea, this will end well... Mounds of debt added to the government's obligations, piles of money into the manufacturer's and carrier's pockets. Ah the value of a good lobbyist is vast indeed. Watch the money folks...

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    1. Re:It's not a $4 smart phone by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's a rather short-sighted view. Other countries have shown that providing people in underdeveloped regions with access to information can have a big quality on their quality of life and their income. If you're in a remote region, it helps a lot if you can get up-to-date info on markets, weather, agricultural data, and this can provide medical info, education, and access to governmental services as well. If you're a farmer, this can help protect your crops, improve the yield, and get a better price. If you provide other services you can expand your market (it may be worth travelling to the next village to provide your service, but only if you know that there's someone in the village who actually needs you).

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  2. Well done, India by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Now what about providing the 500+ million Indian citizens with basic services, like electricity, running water and sewage? If you want to be regarded as a modern country, it is high time for you to do that. Anyone can have nuclear weapons, if that's what they really want.