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Freedom 251 booking was suspended on Saturday (3rd day of its launch) by Ringing Bells company after the response shocked the world and at the same time upset tens of thousands of people who tried to log onto freedom251.com, but were left disappointed. Ringing Bells website crashed on all these days leaving frustrated potential customers in its wake.
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Freedom 251 booking: Ringing Bells claimed to have received nearly 5 crore registrations in just 2 days of opening up for online pre-orders. Those who were looking to check the veracity of the company and landed up at its Noida office, were turned away. Ringing Bells, which had promised Freedom 251 mobile priced at Rs 251 (less than $4) 'Make in India' smartphone, delivery charges extra.
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Freedom 251 booking: Expressing gratitude, Ringing Bells posted a note on its website – freedom251.com. The message reads as thus – "We are humble and extremely grateful for your response and trust. Respectfully this is to advice that the response far exceeds the number that we had expected and therefore we are now closing the invitation to bookings in this phase 1."
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Freedom 251 booking: With questions being raised over the promised price of Rs 251 for a 3G smartphone by new entrant Ringing Bells, the Telecom Ministry has found that a device with such specifications as Freedom 251 would cost about Rs 2,300. However, they refused to say if any action will be taken against the company in the matter.
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Freedom 251 booking: Indian Cellular Association, which represents the handset makers industry in India and has members like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Lava and Micromax, had also written to Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The body said the bill of material value for a product like this when sourced from the cheapest supply chain cost approximately USD 40 (Rs 2,700).
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Freedom 251 booking: When translated into retail price after addition of applicable duties, taxes and distribution and retail margins, the cost of the product would be at least Rs 4,100, it added. ICA requested the Minister to get into the depth of the issue, saying the price could not be below Rs 3,500 even after a subsidised sale.
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Freedom 251 booking: Interestingly, most built-in app icons on the Freedom 251 seem to be a direct copy of icons on Apple's iPhone, they added. Despite the controversies, the device has continued to grab attention from consumers. Following a heavy demand, Ringing Bells suspended bookings.
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