The Freedom 251 smartphone released this week in India for the astounding low price of 251 rupees. That converts to only $3.65 American dollars which is hard to even imagine. While this new 3G phone may win the prize for cheapest smartphone on the market, it doesn’t come without some controversy.
Ringing Bells, the new company behind the phone, may be in a bit of spot as the phone itself might not be entirely legal. The problem arises from the fact that the Freedom 251 looks pretty spot on to an Apple iPhone 4. We are talking so close that even the Apple home screen looks to be cloned.
The Hindustan Times reported that the company stated that, “We used Apple’s icons because Apple hasn’t copyrighted its designs.” But the problem is that is completely false, something which the Times also reported. Apple is not one to not copyright everything they own and has patents for even the smallest of things. This even includes the rounded edges of the iPad… Yeah, Apple does not mess around when it comes to copyright.
But there are issues that go beyond just stealing visual aspects as even the hardware has been called into question. Indian tech site Gadgets 360 got their hands on a review unit and found that, “the Freedom 251 unit we received bears the logo of Adcom, which has been covered with a sticker. Adcom is a Delhi-based importer of IT products that deals in smartphones and tablets.” So not only is the software a knockoff, it would seem that the hardware is also “borrowed” from another company.
Spec wise the phone doesn’t offer anything special as you would expect from a $4 phone. The Freedom 251 comes with a lowly 3.2 megapixel camera and a very low quality 4-inch screen. The phone runs the Android’s Lollipop 5.1 operating system and has slots for two SIM cards so you can switch between carriers, something these cheap phones all tend to do.
Via: (NPR)
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