SmartPhone: First for Rs 251(4USD) Freedom, now ChampOne C1 at Rs 501(8USD)

Few months ago Ringing Bells created uproar with its Rs. 251 Freedom smartphone. Now, there is another company called ChampOne, which has listed its ChampOne C1 smartphone on its website just for Rs. 501. However, the price tag of this smartphone is Rs. 7,999. The first flash sale is on September 2 - for which registrations are now open.

The interesting part is that there is a disclaimer on the ChampOne website that says “We are facing technical issue with our payment gateway partner [Ccavenue (Avenues India Pvt. Ltd.)]. You would not be able to register for the application for next 24 hours. We sincerely regret for your inconvenience and would try to get it fixed as soon as possible. Thank you for your support”.


According to the company’s website, it is a Jodhpur-based company and has listed a toll free number, and two other phone support numbers. There have been several stories around some fake websites with such offerings. So, it would be exciting to check if this one is real or fake.

However, the ChampOne C1 boasts good features in its price range. It is dual-SIM device and runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system. It features a 5 inch HD IPS display with 720 x 1280 pixels resolution. It is powered by a 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6735 quad-core processor with 2GB RAM. The device comes with 16GB internal storage, but, there is no detail about the expanded storage.
It has an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera for selfie and video calling. The device is power backed by a 2500 mAh battery. For connectivity, it includes – Bluetooth, 3.5mm jack, Micro USB and has 4G LTE connectivity. It will be available in White, Silver, and Gold colour variants.

It seems a cheap market gimmicks to attract consumers in shorter span.Consumer should beware of such companies.

The Indian government may come out with a regulatory statement that once something is pre-order, it has to delivered .But given the way Indian government works - just see the fraud in the real estate - chances of that happening are low.