BBC
New Delhi
An Indian company is due to launch what is being billed as the world’s cheapest smartphone. Ringing Bells said their Freedom 251 phone would be priced under 500 rupees (£5; $7.3), but Indian media reports said it would cost just 251 rupees ($3.67; £2.56). Reports say the phone has 8GB storage and cameras in the front and back. India is the world’s second-largest mobile market and has one billion mobile phone subscribers. Freedom 251 is expected to target a market already dominated by low-cost handsets.
“This is our flagship model and we think it will bring a revolution in the industry,” the AFP news agency quoted a spokeswoman as saying. At present, the firm imports parts from overseas and assembles them in India, but plans to make its phones domestically within a year, she added. Ringing Bells was set up a few months ago and recently launched one of India’s cheapest 4G smartphones at 2,999 rupees, the Press Trust of India reported.