Rs 251 Freedom 251 vs Rs 501 ChampOne C1: The specs faceoff

There is no dearth of budget smartphones in India. However, the Freedom 251 had the ability to make everyone sit up straight and take notice even in the overcrowded Indian budget segment, owing to the uber-cheap Rs 251 eye-popping price tag for the specs it offered. Now, a new home-brewed company, ChampOne, has decided to do just that, except for it is vocal about the Rs 501 price tag being an introductory offer for its Rs 8000 smartphone. There are obvious comparisons by calling it a new scam, specs and so on. We’ve put the Freedom 251 and the ChampOne C1 in the ring to see which one emerges as the winner, at least on paper. Design and Display Freedom 251 is said to come with a 4-inch LCD touchscreen display and according to the company and the box it has a qHD or 960×540 resolution. However, we noticed that the actual resolution on the display is 800×480. Colours look a bit over-saturated and viewing angles aren’t very impressive. Read our Freedom 251 first impressions . On the other hand, the ChampOne C1 features a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display. With that resolution, the device should be able to offer a decent viewing experience. [caption id=“attachment_300368” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  The Freedom 251 has the Indian flag printed on the back of the device. Image: The Mobile Indian[/caption] Processor and OS Freedom 251 was promised to come powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor. With the help of some apps we found that it is a 32-bit MediaTek MT6580M with a Mali-400MP2 GPU which doesn’t sound all that bad. But the company also mentioned 1GB of RAM and even the box said so. However, inside we only found 512MB RAM. On the other hand, we expect a tad better performance from the ChampOne C1 that comes with promises 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6735 quad-core processor coupled with 2GB RAM. Both devices run on the rather old Android 5.1 Lollipop. Camera The Freedom 251 and the box claimed to offer a 3.2MP rear shooter, but again we were disappointed to see simply 2MP fixed focus camera. It could shoot 1080p videos and on the front, we found a VGA camera. The Rs 501 ChampOne C1 is already grabbing eyeballs with its specs sheet that includes an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front-facing snapper. Storage and connectivity The Freedom 251 offers 8GB of onboard storage out of which about 4GB is accessible, but it can be expanded by using a microSD card. The connectivity options include dual SIM ability, 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and microUSB. [caption id=“attachment_324229” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  The new look of the Ringing Bells Freedom 251, now in black.[/caption] The C1, on the other hand, comes with 16GB onboard storage, but there is no word on an expandable SD card slot. It is a dual SIM device with 4G LTE support, and we can assume the usual suspects when it comes to other connectivity options. Battery The C1 comes equipped with a 2500mAh battery while the Freedom 251 disappoints with a 1,450mAh battery. Conclusion In terms of specs, the ChampOne C1 is a clear winner here, at least if it delivers what has been promised. Not only are the specs of the Freedom 251 mediocre, the company hasn’t even been able to maintain what was promised. So, on paper, C1 takes all the brownie points. However, what’s even more important is the customer support and delivery. That will make a huge difference. We all are familiar with the conundrum related to the Freedom 251, and ChampOne will have to ensure its devices reach users, and on time. But looks like the C1 has already taken all precautions. Firstly, the ChampOne C1 at Rs 501 is just an introductory or rather promotional price, and the company has clearly stated the actual price is Rs 8000. To put away all the suspicion about it being yet another scam, the company has opted only for cash on delivery for its device. Moreover, only the first flash sale will let users take home the device at Rs 501 that is slated for 2 September, and probably then on the actual price. Interested customers will have to register themselves on ChampOne’s website for the flash sale which has been up since 22 August.