Freedom 251 : First impressions of World’s Cheapest smartphone

Finally the wait is over, and World’s Cheapest smartphone ever the Freedom 251 is unveiled at a launch event held in New Delhi yesterday. I am sure by this time you must be aware of all the buzz happening around this Rs 251 device packing in specifications which is good enough for INR 3500 selling price going by current market standards. To rewind below are the specifications of the phone.

Freedom 251 runs on Android Lollipop 5.1 OS. Under the hood it is powered by 1.2 GHz Quad core processor coupled with 1 GB of RAM. It comes with 8 GB internal memory which can be further expanded upto 32 GB using micro SD card, The phone comes with 4 inch qHD IPS display and comes with most commonly used apps pre-bundled in it like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter etc. And oh it does have camera on both sides a 3.2 MP camera for back and VGA camera in front, a 1450 mAh battery keeps the device alive.

First Impressions:

Build quality and Design:

The phone as you can expect at this price sports plastic body, the demo unit present at the event venue is not the final one company says, but it is very unlikely that the design material or language will change in final unit. The device has a 4 inch qHD IPS display with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. There is no protective layer on the screen which is neither expected at this price point. On top of the screen there is an ear piece fitted in center, to its left there are proximity and light sensors while on the right there is a VGA camera for selfies and video calls.

Bottom of the phone sports a circular home button with metallic ring around it and looks like copied from the iPhone design. There are no back or multitasking button even not on screen. The centre button works as back button as well as double press lists the recently used apps for multitasking.

Turning the device backwards, there is a 3.2 MP rear camera accompanied by a LED flash placed on the top left corner. Back cover sports Indian Tri-Color and phones name ‘FREEDOM 251’.

On bottom edge there is a speaker grill, microphone and noise cancellation mic. On top edge there is a 3.5 mm audio jack as well as micro USB slot for charging and data transfer.

Back cover is removable, removing it we can see a 1450 mAh removable battery , two normal size sim card slots (supports 3G) and a micro SD card slot as well.

On Left side we have volume rockers and one more button which should be to set device profile (we couldn’t test it), On right side there is a power button which gives immediate feedback.

Display: During our hands on we found the display to quite responsive, the color production of the display and viewing angles are decent even going by the standard of similar specification devices.

Camera: 3.2 MP rear camera is quite good and responsive, we tested in low light conditions and the results were fine. Though front camera looked bit grainy but it is acceptable at this price point.

Software and Performance: The device runs stock Android Lollipop 5.1 with no customizations, however few apps are preloaded. The device comes with 8 GB of internal storage out of which user will get around 5.4 GB storage to use. At the time we had the device with us, around 500 MB of RAM was free. We didn't found any lag while switching the screens and launching applications however more could be tell in full review.

Should you buy?

Going by our hands on experience and the specifications of the device we find nothing wrong with the phone, adding to that the dirt cheap price tag just make it more convenient even if you just wanted to try it out. However, we have not succeed in booking a unit for us so far, or even if you succeed there is waiting period of long 4 months with no refund policy on the website of the company.

Link to book Freedom 251: http://freedom251.com/cart