Beware! Vouchers guaranteeing Freedom 251 phone sold across Noida, makers unaware: Report

The Rs 251 smartphone has gripped the nation, and how. Ashok Chadha, the President of Ringing Bells, the company that builds the smartphone has claimed over  five crore registrations already. Now, the smartphone is in news as some malicious minds have reportedly started selling vouchers across Noida that promise the delivery of the device soon after the launch. Chadha told The Times of India that he is unaware of such coupons, and the company is taking orders only online. The company has also made it clear that it will be shipping the device by courier to only the first 25 lakh who pay up for the phone and those consumers registering for the phone after that will not get the device. The distribution will begin on April 10 and all devices will be shipped in roughly three and half months from now by June 30. In the press release, Cadha also spoke about the controversy around all the icons of the built-in app being almost a replica of Apple’s iOS icons. He said these are just samples during the launch and were from some other brand, but the final units will adhere to all the promises made by the company. The Freedom 251 site crashed even before the company started taking orders. On day 1, it managed to take only 30,000 bookings, in spite of the claimed 6 lakh hits per second. While the Freedom 251 is a novel idea to pave way to a Digital India, it has just too many creases to iron out. The mobile industry body ICA had reportedly written to Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to get into depth of the issue asking the rate could not be below Rs 3,500 even after a subsidized sale. Chadha has already cleared the air about the subsidy and also put forth the plan how the company plans to achieve the Rs 251 pricing. (Also read: Here’s why the Freedom 251 costs only Rs 251 ) The company has made some tall claims stating they want to capture nearly 30 percent of the smartphone market by the end of the year. The company apparently has two pilot plants in Noida and Uttarakhand, claiming a capacity of 5 lakh phones and they are looking at an investment of Rs 230-250 crores on these plants. Check out the Freedom 251 first impressions , to know more about the device.