India’s cheapest phone set to launch at Rs 499

Ringing Bell is all set to disrupt the booming handset market in the country by launching India’s most affordable smartphone ‘Freedom 251’ for under Rs 500 on Wednesday (Feb 17).

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Domestic handset maker Ringing Bells is all set to disrupt the booming handset market in the country by launching India’s most affordable smartphone ‘Freedom 251’ for under Rs 500 on Wednesday (Feb 17).

The launch is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for “empowering India to the last person, transforming India’s growth story”, the Noida-based company said.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikkar will launch the smartphone ‘Freedom 251’ on February 17. “The phone will be popularly priced at under Rs 500… this event and launch stands as a true testimony of success of the latest initiatives taken by the Government of India,” according to a media invite sent by the firm.

At present, smartphones available in the market are priced around Rs 1,500. Last year, DataWind had announced that it is teaming up with Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications (RCOM) to launch the world’s most affordable smartphone, priced at Rs 999. The phone is yet to hit the market.

Established last year, Ringing Bells will start with the assembly of handsets in Phase-I and aims at full indigenous development of the feature-rich smartphones, it said. It did not disclose any other details about manufacturing, products and pricing.

A new entrant in the Indian mobile phone market, Ringing Bells had launched one of India’s cheapest 4G smartphone at Rs 2,999, recently. It has launched two other feature phones in the market.

With Agency Inputs