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$4 Android Smartphone From India To Begin Shipping Next Week (ndtv.com)
Earlier this year, an Indian smartphone company called Ringing Bells unveiled the Freedom 251, an entry-level Android smartphone that was priced at Rs. 251 (roughly $3.7 USD). It didn't take long for the company to stir controversy -- soon after media got the device, they learned that Ringing Bells had disguised Adcom Ikon 4s (retail price: $60) as the Freedom 251 smartphone for marketing and media reviewing purposes. The company at the time noted that it was just a sample device. Furthermore, it was clear that components in the sample device alone would cost more than Rs. 2,000 ($30). Ringing Bells, standing by its earlier commitment, has now announced that it will begin shipping the Freedom 251 handset starting next week.
The Freedom 251 unit which will ship to consumers reportedly features dual-SIM capability, 1GB of RAM, a 1.3GHz SoC from an unnamed chipset maker, 8GB of internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera, 3.2-megapixel front-facing shooter and a 1,800mAh battery. How did the company manage to get the price of the handset this cheap? In a separate interview with Times of India, the company noted that it has partnered with a number of software firms to pre-install their apps on the phone.
The Freedom 251 unit which will ship to consumers reportedly features dual-SIM capability, 1GB of RAM, a 1.3GHz SoC from an unnamed chipset maker, 8GB of internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera, 3.2-megapixel front-facing shooter and a 1,800mAh battery. How did the company manage to get the price of the handset this cheap? In a separate interview with Times of India, the company noted that it has partnered with a number of software firms to pre-install their apps on the phone.
I am curious how much the cost of the phone really is?
No good deed goes unpunished.
Without a cheap network, cheap phones don't use much.
So it comes with spyware then.
Is that what kids are charging for two tin cans and a string these days?
Stop dreaming and get me some more butter chicken and some na'an and step lively!
Sounds like they're making money off the other companies preinstalling apps and using that to subsidized the cost of the phone.
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
Ie, Facebook McFacePhone.
I am sure it is only a matter of time before people are able to buy this thing, wipe it and install a clean ROM on it.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
all their samples were just 40 bucks chinese phones.
Phones can be stamped out; Most of the expense is setting up the factory, after that the real cost, once you ignore licensing fees, is so low it would boggle the mind.
So, this is the E-machine of smart phones?
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
the microsoft method... and amazon.. and google.. and etc....
how long until the device gets rooted and the spyware/adware shit gets taken out?
...the cue:cat of phones.
From TFA: "According to Goel, he is facing a loss of Rs. 140 - Rs. 150 per unit, but hopes to make profit on volumes. "
So if we sell 1 billion units, we will lose Rs. 140-150 Billion.
It's a new business paradigm I tell ya!!
Yes in-dee-dee.
You can't beat the price of a "Obamaphone".
Ferraris can be stamped out; Most of the expense is setting up the factory, after that the real cost, once you ignore licensing fees, is so low it would boggle the mind.
FTFY
The cesspool just got a check and balance.
It shouldn't be long before someone produces a phone and then pays the consumer to use it.
This is thing is from India, right? Just when you thought that the glut of Indian labor couldn't drive wages any lower, someone has come up with a way to convince the workers to pay the employer to work there!
Indian names for cameras in phones is weird
especially in US terms
Ehhh, wrong. But nice try. Google is already going after the manufactures and the high margins on junk. Go CHINA! Go India! Cut out the frkn westener middlemen.
can i buy just the phone? it would make an awesome screen for my arduino. If I can.t buy just the phone then the price is meaningless. Many cell plans offer free phones plus a rebate.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
True as well; Prius, S10, Ferrari will get you just as miles and other than a few pounds of extra material cost, one will just get you there sooner ... Simply exponential profit from trend worshiping consumers. Costs just as much to make a 2gb microsd as a 128gb...
Slashdot article breaks that phones are packed full of malware. Isn't that why most favorite cheap China knock off devices?
> I would buy a bunch of these and use them as servers and routers.
A Beowolf Cluster of smartphones; yay
I'm not repeating myself
I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
Because there are no R&D costs or anything. No, technology just pops into existence from the aether.
Colleague from India informed me that 1/3 of Indian population reserved the pre-launch to discover the company selling the purported $4 phone was a fraud.