Freedom 251 smartphone’s shipping¹ starts, how far can the company go

自由251智能机开始发货了，公司能走多远

He has done the easy part. On July 8, Mohit Goel, founder² of Ringing Bells, the maker³ of what has been touted⁴ — with more than a fair bit of derision — as the world’s cheapest smartphone, personally hand-delivered the first Freedom 251 to Ankita Birla, a 27-year-old vendor⁵ coordinator⁶ at an electronics company in Noida’s special economic zone.

7月8日，铃响公司的创始人Mohit Goel，也就是生产出世界最便宜智能机的那家公司的创始人，亲手把自由251智能机递给第一位客户，27岁的Ankita Birla。

Like many who would have placed an order for the smartphone, Birla was sceptical about actually receiving it. “I never thought they would deliver. I too thought that the company is a fraud,” says Birla, who had become the butt⁷ of jokes in her social circle for registering with the firm online. A flurry of negative reports about the company and the controversies⁸ they were mired⁹ in, such as relabelling an existing brand, defaulting on vendor payments and flouting¹⁰ safety norms, only reinforced her suspicion.

跟许多已经下单的客户一样，Birla 也是怀疑是否能真的收到货。“我从来没想过他们会发货。我也以为这家公司是骗子。”Birla因为在网上订购这部手机而在自己的社交圈子成为笑柄。随后传来这家公司的一系列负面报道和争议，比如重新贴牌已有品牌，拖欠客户款，违反安全标准等，这些问题进一步加强了她的怀疑。

Goel uses the moment — and the photo-op — as an opportunity for redemption. From being branded a fraudster to being accused of running a Ponzi scheme, Goel was “crucified” on the cross of cynicism. “They wrote my obituary,” says the 29-year-old Goel, visibly relaxed in the corner room in his office in Phase II of the Noida SEZ. “But I have delivered what I promised.”

Goel利用这个自我救赎的机会。从被标榜为骗子，到被指责策划了一场庞氏骗局，Goel被“钉上了”十字架。“他们写下我的讣告。”29岁的Goel说。“然而我已经兑现了承诺。”

The last statement may, of course, be premature¹¹. Goel may have convinced Birla that Ringing Bells “is for real” but now he’s got to do it at least another 1.99 lakh times. After all, the company had promised to deliver 2 lakh handsets out of 7.5 crore people who registered for Freedom 251.

最后一句也许说得太早了。Goel也许已经让Birla相信铃响公司是“来真的”，然而他也许至少要重复19.9万次。毕竟，公司已经承诺向订购自由251智能机的7500万人中的20万人发货。

On Friday, Goel claimed Ringing Bells delivered some 2,200 handsets — most of them via courier. He promises to deliver the remaining 2,800 — 5,000 is the target set for the first phase — by Monday.

周五，Goel称铃响公司已经发出了大约2200部手机，大多数是他通过快递发出的。他承诺在周一前发出剩余的2800部手机，而5000部手机是第一阶段的发货目标。