The $4 Indian phone that some thought might never materialise reportedly does exist, but only because the startup producing it is making a loss on each one.
据报道,很多人以为不可能成真的4美元(约24元RMB)印度手机真的面世了,但那只是因为生产这种手机的创业公司每卖出一只手机都会亏本。
The Ringing Bells Freedom 251, initially announced at a price of £5, is apparently set to ship this week to customers who preordered the phone in February for – ($3.70 or £2.77). At that price – the one the company originally pledged – it is losing the Indian startup Rs 150 ($2.2 or £1.65) on each smartphone.
看起来,最初声称售价5英镑的Ring Bells Freedom 251手机本周就要向消费者发货了,它们都是二月份预订好的(售价3.70美元或者2.77英镑)。以公司最初声明的价格计算,这家印度创业公司在每部手机上都会亏损150卢比(2.2美元或者1.65英镑)。
Ringing Bells founder and chief executive Mohit Goel told the Indian Express:"We will have a loss, but I am happy that the dream of connecting rural and poor Indians as part of the Digital India and Make in India initiatives has been fulfilled with Freedom 251."
Ringing Bells公司创始人和总监Mohit Goel在接受《印度快报》采访时说:“我们会受到损失,但我很高兴Freedom 251实现了我们的梦想,那就是把印度农民和穷人纳入到数字印度和印度自主制造领域中来。”
The 3G Android 5.1 smartphone has a 4in screen, 8-megapixel rear camera, 3.2-megapixel selfie camera, a 1.3GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, with a microSD card slot for adding more.
这款3G版安卓5.1操作系统的智能手机搭载了4英寸手机屏幕、800万像素后置摄像头、320万像素前置自拍摄像头和1.3Ghz处理器,容量为1GBRAM+8GBROM,并支持SD拓展卡。
The company says that it has nearly 200,000 Freedom 251s ready to ship, with plans to open up orders again in the near future and ship 200,000 handsets a month, although to date no phones have been made available for scrutiny.
公司称他们有将近20万部Freedom 251手机准备发货,并打算在不远的将来再次开放预订,每月发出20万部手机,但目前还没有可供检验的现货。
Should Ringing Bells be able to ship a working Android smartphone to customers on the 30 June as planned, it will be quite an achievement, although whether a startup can sustain losing £330,000 a month at its planned shipment schedule remains to be seen.
如果Ringing Bells真的能够在6月30日如期将可以正常使用的安卓智能手机发到顾客手里,那真是一项了不起的成就。然而,按照发货计划,这家创业公司将会每月损失33万英镑,它到底能否维持下去还有待进一步观察。