Do you actually think ‘Ringing Bells’ would be able to offer their Freedom 251 phone at just Rs 251, even though it falls under the ‘Make In India’ or ‘Digital India’ category? For establishing a strong foothold in this competitive market, Ringing Bells had a good strategy of advertising the cheapest smartphone in India.
1st What Happens ? False Assurances Are Given
Mohit Goel, the CEO of Ringing Bells overwhelmed the masses with his confident attitude with regards to the smartphone. Even Datawind company had found this offer pretty surprising and at the same time very amusing. Well, Datawind had offered ‘Aakash’, the cheapest Android tablet at a price of $35, so how was this Rs 251 phone possible? Yes, even the CEO of Datawind, Suneet Singh Tuli said that Freedom 251 is nothing but a way of garnering free publicity.
Then what happens? Company Expands Portfolio!
Yes, the company keeps giving false assurances to people and keeps gaining media attention. Now, with media as a powerful tool, Ringing Bells reaches every corner of India. Now, while everyone is waiting for Freedom 251, the company kept changing the plans and went on to expand the product portfolio to include feature phones, LED TV and new smartphones. So, now do you think that Freedom 251 is possible? Definitely, a BIG NO!
Next what happens? Some ray of hope comes as company announces deliveries!
By now, seeing their false claims, everyone said that Freedom 251 is next to impossible. But the company didn’t lose its’ confidence and determination. Ringing Bells said that it is 100 percent possible.
1) First Promise of deliveries– First the company said that 2 lakh units would be delivered with some state-wise lottery!
2) Promise changed in 2 days– Yes, now the company said that only 5000 units are going to be delivered!
Confused? Well , the company went back on it’s claims. It said that only 5000 units would be delivered and rest of units would be delivered only IF….! Well, this ‘IF’ put forth by the company wasn’t a small one!
The BIG IF!
Mohit Goel stated “In order to digitally-empower every Indian, if I can get government support under the Digital India programme, I can ensure timely delivery of ‘Freedom 251’ phone to all citizens at the same price,” ! Well, now, Ringing Bells wishes this smartphone to be financed by the government and they show a Bill Of Materials which amounts to Rs 2500 per phone. Support from Government is still understandable, but do you know how much amount was demanded? Now, sit back and hear Goel’s statement.
He said “If the government is willing to dole out Rs 50,000 crore, we can ensure that 750 million of India’s population would become part of digital India by owning a smartphone at Rs 251,”
Now he is defending himself!
Goel further stated that the government could get this phone manufactured from other vendors but under ‘Freedom’ brand. He says “The government can make the phone — under our Freedom brand — from some other vendor. I have no objection to it. To make such phone for every Indian citizen, the government needs to allocate funds from its Digital India initiative.”
Now this is called playing safe and playing smart, isn’t it? Well, what do you think about this 50,000 crores which the company is demanding from the government? Is this some new strategy? Do let us know your opinions on this in our comments section below!
