Keeping up with its promise, Noida-based Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd on Friday dispatched 2,240 "Freedom 251" smartphones priced at less than $4 to those who had booked the device in the cash on delivery (COD) mode.
While 540 units were dispacthed to customers in West Bengal, 390 units were sent to Haryana, 605 to Himachal Pradesh, 484 to Bihar and 221 to Uttarakhand, the company sources told IANS. Rest of the first 5,000 promised lot will be out for delivery on July 9.
At the launch event on July 7, Ringing Bells CEO Mohit Goel promised to deliver the first lot of 5,000 'Freedom 251' devices from July 8.
The receiver will have to pay Rs 291 (including Rs 40 as delivery charge) to get the unit.
According to him, there were over 7.5 crore registrations and the company selected first batch recipients on the basis of a draw of lots.
"The cash will be paid by customers only on delivery of 'Freedom 251'," he told IANS.
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Ringing Bells also launched a 31.5-inch HD LED TV, four feature phones, two smartphones and three power banks at a packed event in the capital.
While the HD LED TV is available for Rs 9,900, the four feature phones are available under the names of Hit (699), King (Rs 899), Boss (Rs 999) and Raja (Rs 1099).
The two smartphones -- Elegant 3G and Elegant 4G -- are available for Rs 3,999 and Rs 4,999, respectively.
According to him, he initially faced Rs 930 loss on each 'Freedom 251' handset that cost him Rs 1,180 and for which parts were imported from Taiwan.
"I recovered Rs 700-800 from app developers and revenue generated through advertisements on Freedom 251 website. After selling the device for Rs 251 (cash on delivery), the total loss per handset is expected to be in the range of Rs 180-270," Goel told IANS in an interview on the eve of the launch.
--IANS
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