The Namotel Achhe Din has become the latest contender to battle it out for the title of the world’s cheapest smartphone thanks to its Rs 99 price tag. The phone’s original cost is listed as Rs 2999 on the brand’s website, with no further explanation on how exactly it got the cost down so low.
Comparisons against the Freedom 251 and Docoss X1 are inevitable for the Namotel Achhe Din. Both were involved in a major controversy upon their launch and the new device looks to be cut from the same cloth. First-off, interested buyers will have to pay more than Rs 99 since the company is charging an undisclosed nominal delivery charge under the cash on delivery model.
Secondly, while people can book the Achhe Din between May 17 and May 25 at the special launch value, the booking process for the smartphone is not entirely clear. It appears that customers will have to register themselves for a service called BeMyBanker to snap up the phone. The form requires them to submit their Aadhar card number and photo.
This comes across as pretty suspicious, not to mention time-consuming, for a simple handset purchase. Making things worse is the fact that no delivery dates have been announced for the offering yet. Namotel is yet to show off any physical evidence of the phone other than at its launch event.
A quick look at the specs of the Namotel Achhe Din:
– Display: 4-inch HD
– OS: Android 5.1 Lollipop
– CPU: 1.3GHz quad-core
– Memory: 4GB
– RAM: 1GB
– Battery: 1325mAh
– Camera: 2MP rear, 0.3MP front
– Connectivity: 3G, dual-SIM
The company has notably labeled an image of the Namotel Achhe Din on its site with the words ‘Pictures shown on website is for illustration purposes only.’ This is enough to cast doubt on the entire venture, with the whole thing coming across as yet another scam to swindle money from consumers.