India's $4 smartphone: Too good to be true? 印度4美元的智慧型手機：價格好到讓人難以置信？


What's the real story behind India's $4 smartphone? Just days after launching with enormous buzz, a cutting-edge device with a rock-bottom price is being blasted by industry officials and analysts.
4美元手機背後的真相是什麼？就在產品轟動發表的幾天後，這個價格超級低廉的尖端裝置就已經受到業界人士以及分析師嚴厲批評。

Ringing Bells unveiled its Freedom 251 smartphone on Wednesday, touting features that included a 4-inch display, 1.3-GHz quad-core processor and 8 GB of storage.
Ringing Bellsy在星期三發表了它的Freedom 251智慧型手機，強打產品特色包含4寸螢幕、1.3GHz四核心處理器和8GB的記憶體。

The "made-in-India" product was listed for just 251 rupees ($3.65), a price with the potential to revolutionize India's devices market and make Internet access affordable for tens of millions of people.
這個在印度製造的產品僅僅要價251盧比(3.65塊美金)，這個價格可能會掀起印度智慧型裝置市場的革命，同時也讓十億人都能使用網路。

One problem: Industry insiders say the deal is too good to be true.
有一個問題點：業界人士表示這個價格好得有點讓人難以置信。

"This seems to be a joke or a scam. It is something we are very upset about," said Pankaj Mohindroo, national president of the Indian Cellular Association. "This is being investigated by various government authorities."
「這看起來比較像一個笑話或是騙局，讓我們感到非常失望」印度電訊局部長Pankaj Mohindroou表示「這個案子正在被各個政府單位調查當中。」

In a letter to India's Minister for Communications and I.T., Mohindroo said that even when using the cheapest components, such a phone would cost at least 2700 rupees ($40) to produce. After counting taxes and duties, the price should be at least 3500 rupees ($52).
在寫給印度通訊與科技部長的信中，Mohindroo表示就算使用最便宜的零件，生產那樣的手機至少也要花上2700盧比(40美元)，再加上進出口稅和其他稅，價格至少會到3500盧比(52美元)。

Richard Windsor, an analyst at Edison Investment Research, was also skeptical. He calculated that at the announced price, Ringing Bells will lose $26 on each device sold.
Edison投資研究公司分析師Richard Windsor也提出質疑，經過他計算，Ringing Bells每賣掉一隻手機將會損失26美元。

"This launch has generated a lot of waves, and we suspect that either after the first batch has been sold, the price goes up to $53 per device or that the company quietly disappears," he said. "There is no way that these economics add up in the long term."
他表示：「這個產品的問世引起了許多風波，而且我們猜測，在第一批產品售完後，產品價格將會升到每隻53美元，或者公司會默默的消失，這樣的經濟模式不可能長久。」

Ringing Bells did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails seeking comment.
Ringing Bells並沒回覆那些尋求置評的電話以及電子郵件。

A couple more warning signs: Journalists at the Freedom 251 launch event reported that white-out appeared to have been used to cover another brand on the sample phones they were allowed to test. Photos from the event also show that the phone's home screen icons have been ripped straight from Apple's iOS, an obvious copyright violation.
以下在還有幾個要注意的地方：記者在Freedom251發表會報導指出可供測試的展示機上有立可白遮蓋廠牌的痕跡，活動的照片也發現手機主螢幕的圖示直接抄襲蘋果iOS系統，這是很明顯的版權侵犯。

So what's going on? Windsor has a few theories: The Indian government could be subsidizing the smartphone; a manufacturer could be dumping phones that failed safety tests; or a Chinese company eager to enter the Indian market could be selling phones for cheap.
所以到底發生什麼事？Windsor有幾套理論：印度政府可能有補助智慧型手機；製造商可能把全測試失敗的手機直接丟掉；或是中國公司極度渴望進入印度市場因此以低價販售手機。

Ringing Bells has stated publicly that the phones will be made in India with no government subsidies. However, the prototypes passed around at the launch event resembled a model sold by Adcom. Adcom is an Indian company that imports tech products, but does not manufacture them, suggesting that the phones are actually from a foreign market, most likely China.
Ringing Bells已經公開聲明手機是在印度製造且沒有接收任何政府補助，然而，在發表會活動上使用的手機樣品與Adcom售出的機型相似，Adcom是一家進口科技產品的印度公司，沒有進行產品的製造，因此該手機較有可能是來自國外市場，而當中最有可能的是中國。

Ringing Bells said Thursday that it had stopped accepting orders after its website crashed due to intense traffic. The company has promised to deliver the Freedom 251 to customers by the end of June.
Ringing Bells表示星期四網站被塞爆當機之後已經停止接受訂單，該公司承諾在六月底前會將Freedom251送到消費者手中。

原文網址：http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/19/technology/india-4-smartphone-freedom-251-ringing-bells/





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