Here's what's in a $34 smartphone (completely un-subsidised, actual purchase cost):<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9568004" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9568004</a><p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9558854" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9558854</a><p>It's around a year ago, but I don't think technology has gotten cheap enough in that span of time for even a $4 <i>dumb</i> phone now. This one is pretty close though:<p><a href="http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?page_id=3107" rel="nofollow">http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?page_id=3107</a><p>Edit: why does it look so iPhone-ish?
It costs 251 INR to be exact. That's 3.654 USD as per today's exchange rate.<p>Specifications at a glance:<p>-- Android Lollipop 5.1<p>-- 4 inch qHD display<p>-- 1.3 Ghz Quadcore processor<p>-- 1 GB RAM<p>-- 8 GB internal memory, expandable to 32 GB<p>-- 1450 mAh battery<p>-- 3.2 MP AF Rear camera, .3 MP Front
Clearly, $4 is far below the cost of the components listed. Assuming this is a legit offer - how are they doing it? One possible explanation - maybe it is supported by ads. They are counting on revenues generated by ads within the various applications - inlcuding search. If you notice the Search screen does not show a Google logo - it looks like a reskinned version of Google's home page. So presumably it could generate revenue via Adsense. Not sure if this is allowed as per Android Licensing terms for OEMs though but it could be an explanation.
<i></i>EDIT: I was unaware of the issues of the Nexus 7. Seeing that they are not related to the phone's specs, my previous statements no longer hold.<p>Also, this has very similar specs to the 2012 Nexus 7 which is basically unusable with Android 5.1<p>Unusable meaning up to 20 seconds delay between a tap and the expected app opening up or the keyboard showing. Random hangs with the question if you want to kill the offending app.<p>I don't expect a $4 phone to be fast but unless there are some major differences, I think you'd just get $4 worth of frustration.
It's a rebranded "Adcom Ikon 4" some say<p><a href="https://gadgets360.com/shop/adcom-ikon-4-gold-8-gb-3738342d31323631" rel="nofollow">https://gadgets360.com/shop/adcom-ikon-4-gold-8-gb-3738342d3...</a>
I bought a pretty great Android cellphone, brand new, contract free, with a SIM card for $10 only 3 months ago with free shipping.<p>It was discussed on Hacker News and other tech news sites at the time. In various threads people and even some tech journalists claimed it was a scam, would end up costing more, wasn't really $10, would not work just as a wifi device if you didn't activate it, or that developer tools would somehow be disabled. Some of the articles got hostile with anyone that reported it actually worked fine and really did cost only $10.<p>Well here it is several months later and not only is my total investment still $10, but I've got it set up with free texting, a free telephone plan, and I am using it to target for Android development with no problems. And it works very well as a nice mp3 player with high quality sound, internet browser, voice recorder, and bluetooth robot controller as well. What it doesn't have is a good camera, the camera is OK outdoors and very poor indoors. But good optics cost money so that is not surprising.<p>I'm done arguing with people though, especially the tech journalists that didn't know what they were talking about, arguing and making accusations against those who were reporting actual first hand experience. Crazy stuff.
I'm not up to date on leading edge hardware, but this seems impressive especially for that price. Is there some sort of catch? This would be great to root and mess around with.
Social media links might be of use.
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/RingingB/" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/RingingB/</a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/RingingB" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/RingingB</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6BBJhi7x8eD1QKJsLG6OiQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6BBJhi7x8eD1QKJsLG6OiQ</a>
These phones need to start becoming recyclable, not just electronics recyclable, but plastic lot recyclable.<p>Screens are difficult to be made of plastic right now, but someone is working on a replacement to LED lights that uses plastic instead. So there is promise here.<p>That leaves the battery. I cannot think of a recyclable material (plastic or aluminum metal) to replace the battery. When that happens, I think such $4 smartphones will not be damaging to the environment.
This sounds like Datawind's "$35 Tablet" all over again - <a href="https://asiancorrespondent.com/2012/02/aakash-brings-a-daily-dose-of-embarrassment/" rel="nofollow">https://asiancorrespondent.com/2012/02/aakash-brings-a-daily...</a><p>A company over-promises, the Government over-funds, and the product under-delivers.
the link seems to be dead, here's the cache for those who can't view the website <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eD-BK_bP25cJ:www.freedom251.com/+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk" rel="nofollow">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eD-BK_b...</a>
Reasons why I think it is shady.<p><a href="https://medium.com/@seekshiva/reasons-why-i-think-freedom-251-is-a-scam-48573a67a167#.gq85mjbe6" rel="nofollow">https://medium.com/@seekshiva/reasons-why-i-think-freedom-25...</a>
It is probably a loss leader to create a splash. It does not seem to be supported by the Govt. Likely, only a few will be in stock at that price. Later the price will increase or the model will be discontinued.
I wonder how good the IMU is? If it's any good at all, this might make an excellent device for pairing with my VR rig and using as an input device.
I have a box of $5 smartphones from last Black Friday but some would argue they are subsidized.<p>In fact they are almost exactly the same specs as the freedom one.
Forget the whole "smart" features in the phone. I am extremely happy if I am able to make calls with this phone, message peeps through Whatsapp, update status on Facebook. As a power user, I'm sure most of us wouldn't want this phone, but imagine the power this could give to the poor people in India. With just Rs.251, communication is just one touch away. This is going to make the farmer, fishermen, plumber, merchants far more connected, productive and simply get onto to the internet and explore the taste of connectivity. I'm definitely thrilled to see the outcome of this. My only fear is the subsidies that the government has poured into this.<p>Rs.251 is what I spend for a tasty dinner. If someone could have a phone for that cost, why the hell not.