A few days ago, an Indian device called the "Freedom 251" surfaced, so named because it only cost Rs. 251 (About $3.64 or £2.50), making it the "world's cheapest smartphone." If you thought a $4 smartphone seemed a little too good to be true, you may be right. There are now all sorts of questionable issues popping up with this device.

First up, it looks like the company might have done at least a visual switcheroo. When the product site first launched, it looked like this, showing a modern, high-end looking phone with very thin side bezels and three capacitive buttons on the bottom. After news coverage of the phone spread, the site was updated and all the phone images were replaced with a much uglier, much cheaper looking device with thick bezels and a single hardware home button.

Testers in India have gotten their hands on the device, and sure enough, it sports the newer, uglier design. The oddities don't stop there. The company selling the Freedom 251 is called "Ringing Bells" but the hardware sent to testers was actually built by Adcom and carries Adcom branding. On the front of the device is an Adcom logo, which was obscured with... correction fluid? The the Adcom logo is actually covered up with a white blob right on top of the bezel. This editing can be easily removed to show the logo beneath.

It seems the device sent to testers is actually the Adcom Ikon 4. Rebranded phones aren't that uncommon (if you can call a Wite-Out coverup a "rebranding") but this one is problematic given Ringing Bells' sales pitch for the device. First, Adcom is a Chinese company, which casts doubt on Ringing Bells "assembled in India" claim. Second, Adcom doesn't actually seem to be involved with the Freedom 251. When asked about the device, Adcom’s marketing head told The Hindustan Times, “We have no idea that our branding is being used on the Freedom 251. We will look into this.” Third, the Adcom Ikon 4 actually costs about $54 (Rs. 3699) or about 14 times more than the Freedom 251's advertised $3.64 price. Something doesn't add up here.

Turning on the Freedom 251 (Or Adcom Ikon 4?) reveals a surprise bonus feature: possible copyright infringement. The icons on this Android 5.1 phone seem to be ripped right from Apple's iOS. The browser uses the Safari icon from iOS. Nearly all the other non-Google icons seem not just "inspired" by iOS but appear to be direct copy/paste jobs.

Ringing Bells told The Hindustan Times that the device sent to journalists is "just a preview version." So far, the preview has not been very positive.

Listing image by Vishal Mathur