An Indian company has launched a smartphone that costs just £2.50 - what many of us pay for our morning coffee.
The company behind it, Ringing Bells, says its mission is to give citizens in rural and semi-urban areas access to digital technology.
Such parts of India have a population of half a billion people.
The Freedom 251 phone (costing Indian Rs 251) has a four-inch screen and runs Android Lillipop software.
It has a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and 8GB of memory, which can be expanded to 32GB.
There are cameras back and front.
A women's safety app is pre-loaded, while other apps are aimed at farmers, fishermen, and provide medical assistance to the elderly.
Ringing Bells is offering a one-year warranty and has more than 650 service centres across the country.
It is working with two Indian government initiatives.
India is the second-largest mobile phone market in the world, behind China, but only 19% of the population are on the internet.
A report from the Internet and Mobile Association of India, and KPMG, says that India has 236 million mobile internet users.
That figure is expected to rise to 317 million next year.
But there are doubts about whether the Freedom 251’s low price is commercially viable.
A mobile entrepreneur, Sachin Gaur, told Sky News: "India is a country of announcements and such launches need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
"It's an artificial pricing and subsidised by companies and investors. It's got to have a longevity and be able to sustain itself.”
Pointing to the Akash tablet, launched for just £30 in 2011, Mr Gaur said: "It fizzled out as it was unsustainable and fell by the wayside."
Follow The Forefront on facebook Global audience /facebook Nigerian audience /The Blogger's facebook personal account and facebook (fan page)/ & twitter
Instagram photos and vlog: osagiejoshua
BBM Channel: C002CB006
 |
| ADVERTISE WITH THE FOREFRONT: +234-803-698-6103. For more details CLICK HERE NOW You don't want to have this information alone. Share this story with others on social media with options below. |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Disclaimer!!! Opinions expressed in comments do not represent THE FOREFRONT MEDIA NG's views. All participants are entitled to their opinions. Thank you!!!
Advertise on the Forefront: For advert placement in the blog or advert posts like news updates, reach +2348124620827 [WhatsApp].
Copyright 2023 The Forefront Media Ng. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from The Forefront Media Ng