Don't all rush: the 4 dollar phone has turned into a Shakespearean comedy in 6 acts

21st February 2016
Don't all rush:  the 4 dollar phone  has  turned  into a Shakespearean comedy in 6 acts
Entry... and exit

Anand Parthasarathy
Bangalore/New Delhi, February 21 2016:

The four-day saga the 'world's cheapest phone' ended sometime yesterday with a banner on the company's site announcing  bookings closed.  It began earlier this week with the astonishing offer of an Android Lollipop fuelled  smartphone  for Rs 251 -- less than $ 4 in US money.

As You Like It:  It offered a combo of specs including   dual cameras, a quad core processor,   1GB RAM, 8 GB onboard  storage (expandable), a qHD  4 inch display and the latest  Android OS -- plus dedicated buttons  for  potential  usage verticals  like farmers The phone was launched in Delhi by BJP  and government biggies. 

The Tempest: Booking started and stopped within seconds the day after -- when the site crashed  with a claimed 600,000  hits in a second.   Hundreds of thousands of disappointed buyers vented their anger online -- and a few turned up to protest at the company's office.

Comedy of Errors: The Indian media  unleashed  its investigative journalism muscle  ( egged on by incumbent phone makers)  questioning the bonafides of the  parent company,  Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd,  its corporate status, and past experience in this business ( zilch, apparently)  and speculated on the business model that could offer a phone at almost give-away pricing. 

Much Ado About Nothing: A  few print media players, who were provided sample phones, applied their nails  and  polish remover to the   cover  to  rub off the paint and reveal the Chinese origins of the piece ( the makers   said these were only prototypes  -- the real thing would be  their own). Others  lost sleep worrying on behalf  of Apple and expressed outrage  that the company's iPhone  screen icons had been copied.

Measure for Measure:  Like a Kumbhakarna woken from deep slumber, government departments charged with taxation and standards  did what they do best -- conduct 'raids' to sniff out tax avoidance or illegalities  and even looked for an Indian standards  certification in the sample pieces  provided to 'select media'.

Ringing Bells apologised profusely for customer hassles, claiming they took 60 million phone bookings in two days.  By late February 20 the  website  announced that bookings were closed for now.

Everyone would have to wait till June 2016 -- when the first phones were  promised to customers. Meanwhile  it's  open season for speculation about the company's  game plan -- to what extent this could pass as a Make in India initiative  and  how they eventually planned to making money  selling phones for less than the price of a  phone cover. Shall we say --

All's Well that ends Well -- for now.

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BACKGROUND: The official position: "We have a complete in-house product testing set-up
in India.' Our vision: Vision Empower citizens, even in the remotest rural and semi-urban
centres of India, with the latest in digital technology at incredible affordable prices and
cascade knowledge, news and current issues so that all experience the confidence of
inclusive growth and equal opportunity.....Freedom 251 smartphone has been developed
'with immense support' from the government..." claimed the makers  Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd 
and provided  the following information regarding  specifications:
All your favourite Pictures, videos and games are rendered vivid and larger than life on the
4 inch (10.2 cms) qHD IPS display.
With 3.2MP AF Rear Camera & .3MP Front camera capture best moments of your life.
Freedom 251 with its inbuilt touchless technology is Ideal for perfect Selfie. For Selfie
lovers life just got a little easier.
Freedom 251 comes with 1.3 GHz Quadcore Processor capable of fast and responsive
performance. 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory, all the space you need. SD card
support (expandable up to 32GB)
With its 1450 mAh battery, Freedom 251 gives you more time to talk, text, Play and
watch videos without needing to worry about running out of power.
http://www.freedom251.com/
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