Finally Freedom 251 to start delivery on July 7

Ringing Bells on Tuesday sent out invitations to media that they were holding the launch event on July 7 where it will unveil Freedom 251, its new HD LED TV and a range of smartphones which will come in higher prices than the 251 (PTI)

Mark your calendar! July 7, 2016 is the day when you will finally be able to hold a smartphone in your palm that costs ₹251. Yes! The famous or infamous Freedom 251.

Ringing Bells on Tuesday sent out invitations to media that they were holding the launch event on July 7 where it will unveil Freedom 251, its new HD LED TV and a range of smartphones which will come in higher prices than the 251.

Company sources also said that the 251 will start shipping to customers after the launch event which will be held at The Lalit in Barakhamba Road, New Delhi and presided over by Mohit Goel, managing director, Ringing Bells.

Earlier, the company has gone back and forth with the delivery dates of the ₹251 smartphone. Goel had earlier said that the delivery will finally begin from July 6 and not June 30 as was announced earlier. He had also said that they are trying to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for garnering his support under the Make in India initiative.

According to Ringing Bells' Founder and CEO Mohit Goel, they are ready with nearly two lakh 'Freedom 251' handsets. "In the meanwhile, we have prepared a letter requesting a meeting with our Prime Minister to pitch our case as a domestic smartphone maker which wishes to contribute towards 'Make in India' initiative," Goel had said.

"We are planning to organise a launch event in the capital on July 7, a day after starting the delivery," Goel had added. In an earlier interview to IANS, Goel had announced June 30 the date for delivery, adding that once he is done with this first phase of delivery (of two lakh phones), he will open registration again for those who wish to buy the handset.

The company had in mid-February this year planned to deliver 25 lakh handsets before June 30. However, it received over seven crore registrations before its payment gateway crashed within three days."We learned from our mistakes and decided to go silent till we come out with the product. Now we have a 4-inch, dual-SIM phone ready for delivery. I feel vindicated," he had said.

According to Goel, he is facing a loss of ₹140-₹150 per handset, for which parts were imported from Taiwan, but hopes to make profit on volumes.

The 3G device has a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory and supports external memory cards of up to 32GB.

The company has offered an 8MP primary camera with flash, a 3.2MP front camera for selfie and a 1,800 mAh battery. It runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop).

The phone is available in two colours -- black and white -- with centrally aligned rear camera and branding on the back panel. It has a speaker just alongside the branding. The device displays the Indian Tricolour when you switch it on. The company has incorporated all the basic Google apps in the handset.

Also good news on the TV front as sources say that it is going to cost less than ₹10, 000 and currently it has one lakh such pieces in stock.

In comparison, the cost of 32-inch HD LED TV sets normally begins from ₹13,000.

(with agency inputs)