Namotel Acche Din smartphone for Rs. 99 launched

Namotel a new company launched what they call the cheapest smartphone for a price for Rs. 99 much cheaper than the Ringing Bells Freedom 251 smartphone that was launched for Rs. 251. Like the Freedom 251 this one also might get few days of fame and then people will forget about it.

Should you buy the Namotel Acche Din smartphone for Rs. 99? The answer is no, definitely no but in case you have no issues spending Rs. 99 and don’t mind if you don’t get the product or the money back, you can buy (or try buying) the handset from the Namotel.com website.


The biggest problem with these companies coming up with unbelievable price tags of smartphones without a prototype, is their website, you might have experienced the Freedom 251 site and now experience the same with Namotel.com, their websites simply cannot handle the traffic.

Clearly these companies are not investing in proper servers leave alone the fact that they are into the mobile business.

But this definitely is a big advantage to consumers because there is no way of ordering these handsets thanks to their websites that keeps crashing. So is this a Scam or not, well really does not matter, no one is getting anything and no one is spending anything thanks to the ‘connection has timed out’.

And in case you get to the page here is how the home page looks like, check the price from left to right (wow to whaaaat!)



Namotel Acche Din features and specifications

Dual SIM handset with 1GB RAM and 4GB internal storage. Handset supports 3G and houses the 1.3GHz quad core processor (chipset unknown). There is 3MP rear camera and 2MP front camera. Battery is 1325 mAh. Screen is 4 inches HD.

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Namotel promoter Madhava Reddy at a press conference in Bengaluru on Tuesday reportedly marketed the world's cheapest smartphone, the Namotel Achhe Din, for just Rs. 99.
Priced at Rs. 2,999, the 3G-enabled smartphone will reportedly be made available for bookings between May 17 and May 25 at its special launch price. However, the exact booking process is not clear. You need to sign up for a service called BeMyBanker to proceed with the booking, and also to provide details about your Aadhaar and your photograph, but BeMyBanker's website is not loading at present.

It is available on a cash-on-delivery basis with "nominal delivery charges" - and adds that nominal delivery charges will be levied. The website adds, "This model is limited and it is applicable only for India and who holds Aadhar Identity." The number of units available has not been announced, or precise delivery dates.

The company's website lists four other smartphones as well, ranging from Rs. 1,999 for the 4G LTE-enabled Aazadi to Rs. 1,99,999 for the VVIP luxury smartphone.

As per a PTI report in the Financial Express, Reddy claimed that at its launch price, the Namotel Achhe Din is the world's cheapest phone with 4-inch display. Other specifications include Android 5.1 Lollipop, a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, and 1GB RAM.

While a smartphone is shown alongside the Namotel Achhe Din listing on the company website, the listing also says, "Pictures shown in the website is for illustration purposes only," casting some doubt on the credibility of the company and product.

Not much is known about Namotel at this point, and it appears to be a Bengaluru-headquartered startup that began operations in 2016. The company on its 'About Us' page claims it was established under the auspices of the 'Make in India' campaign. It claims to have offices in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Chennai, and adds, "We aim to create new business model with sustained profitability and high sales growth since the very first year of operations. Namotel will be on the path of an ambitious journey to becoming India's first consumer brand, empowering people with quality innovative products."

This is of course not the first ultra-low priced smartphone with seemingly incredible specifications being marketed in India. The Docoss X1 was the latest example. The smartphone segment saw a buzz in February when Ringing Bells launched its Freedom 251 smartphone at just Rs. 251. The smartphone made headlines for a few weeks, and caught attention of the entire world. Freedom 251 from Noida-based startup Ringing Bells however soon lost its sheen.

The smartphone was surrounded by controversies that even lead to an FIR registered against the makers. The biggest highlight of the smartphone was its pricing rather than any specifications under the hood. The company received close to 60 million registrations in few days but after taking initial bookings for the handset, the Freedom 251 makers announced pre-booking money to be refunded to users and also confirmed that it would take cash on delivery, upon delivery. The first orders will supposedly be delivered in June.

Later, another India-based brand - mPhone - made headlines about its range of smartphones, offering great specifications at good prices. Unlike with Ringing Bells, the controversy surrounding the makers of the mPhone 'Mango' smartphones was due to the financial state of the proprietors, who were reportedly arrested at the launch of the brand in India for bank fraud.

IN HINDI

क्या नमोटेल अच्छे दिन दुनिया का सबसे सस्ता फोन है? ऐसा दावा नमोटेल के प्रमोटर माधव रेड्डी ने मंगलवार को बंगलुरु में एक प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस आयोजित करके किया। बताया गया है कि नमोटेल अच्छे दिन स्मार्टफोन स्पेशल लॉन्च प्राइस 99 रुपये में मिलेगा।

2,999 रुपये वाले इस 3जी स्मार्टफोन की बुकिंग 17 से 25 मई के बीच स्पेशल लॉन्च प्राइस 99 रुपये में की जा सकती है। यह हैंडसेट कैश ऑन डिलिवरी के आधार पर मिलेगा। यूज़र को अलग से डिलिवरी चार्ज़ भी देना पड़ेगा। वेबसाइट पर जानकारी दी गई है, "यह मॉडल सीमित संख्या में उपलब्ध है और इसे भारत में वे लोग ही खरीद सकते हैं जिनके पास आधार नंबर है।" इस स्मार्टफोन के कितने यूनिट बिक्री के लिए उपलब्ध होंगे और इसकी डिलिवरी कब तक हो जाएगी, इन सबके बारे में फिलहाल कुछ भी नहीं बताया गया है।

कंपनी की वेबसाइट पर चार और स्मार्टफोन लिस्ट किए गए हैं। इनमें 1,999 रुपये वाले 4जी स्मार्टफोन आज़ादी से लेकर करीब 2 लाख रुपये वाला वीवीआई लग्ज़री फोन भी शामिल हैं।


पीटीआई रिपोर्ट के आधार फाइनेंसियल एक्सप्रेस ने लिखा है कि रेड्डी ने इस लॉन्च कीमत में नमोटेल अच्छे दिन को 4 इंच डिस्प्ले वाला दुनिया का सबसे सस्ता फोन बताया है। इस स्मार्टफोन के अन्य स्पेसिफिकेशन में एंड्रॉयड 5.1 लॉलीपॉप, 1.3 गीगाहर्ट्ज़ क्वाड-कोर प्रोसेसर और 1 जीबी रैम शामिल हैं।

कंपनी की वेबसाइट पर नमोटेल अच्छे दिन की लिस्टिंग में इस्तेमाल की गई तस्वीर के बारे में लिखा है, ''वेबसाइट पर दिखाई गई तस्वीर प्रतीकात्मक है''। ऐसे में कंपनी और प्रोडक्ट को लेकर संदेह पैदा हो गया है।​