January 4, 2012 By

Manufacturers investing in dual-SIM phones

The ability to have 2 SIM cards in one phone, otherwise known as a dual-SIM phone is not something everyone needs or wants but there is certainly a demand from some, especially those who juggle a work and personal phone or those who travel often.

These have existed for some time, but not in the mainstream.  You have often had to import one from ASIA or search high and low for one.

Acer had the DX900 which had mixed success but served a purpose and it seems now that manufacturers are looking into this again.

The Galaxy Y Pro Duos is one example of this, targeting entry-level sector where demand is highest.  However there is demand at the other end of the scale too, so what can we expect?

Well at this time it is not clear but suggestions are being made the Motorola, Nokia and Samsung are investing in this more so it might not be long before we see a dual-SIM high end Android or Windows Phone?!

You can read more at Digitimes.

Source: Digitimes

About Jon

Constantly challenging opinions and looking for new opportunities, Jon develops the product ranges and business activities and very much strives to maintaining growth and taking Clove in to the future.

Never knowing when to stop, he spends too much time in the office! He's very organised; writes lists, reports, spreadsheets, you name it, he's on to it!! When he does relax, however, he can be found driving his pride and joy (his Range Rover Sport), walking his Dog, down the pub or at a local restaurant. He does too like the finer things in life and often lives beyond his means, only the best hotels will do.

Comments

  1. Herb says:
    January 4, 2012 at 11:42 pm

    Hi Jon. Nice Post. Its true, You dont hear much about dual-sim in europe or the uk.

    Well, these aren’t mainstream in the UK or europe for that matter but its very mainstream in the WHOLE of south America.

    Recently i was in Brazil (where my family is from) and set out to buy a new mobile for my mother.

    I went to one of the major Mobile operators’ store in a big shopping mall and asked for for the simplest phone they had. The simplest phones that were available were all dual sim. Basically they are ALL dual sim unless you start to get into the Galaxy S and HTC Desire-like range of phones.

    All manufacturer’s had them. I ended up getting her an simple LG ‘dumb’ phone which in the end came down to about £30.

    Juggle work and personal phones or traveling a lot may be the reason people from Europe and the UK (I assume your article is targeted at them) would need a dual sim phone but in south america it all comes down to one simple thing:

    Most operators offer free (or flat rate) calls inside their own network across the country (in case of Brazil it turns out to be a big area to be able to call for a simplified fee structure) so having two SIMs from two mobile operators means you are just able to make lots more calls for very little money. Ultimately there are only 4 big operators in Brazil (well… 3 if you don’t count VIVO since they are the only operator left with a CDMA-only 3G network so most people only use their GSM 2G network) so its very likely that people you call will be on the same operator as you.

    This is only Brazil i’m talking about (which is a pretty big market though) but friends from other South A. countries tell its very similar setup there as well.

    Ultimately, mobile telephony in the UK and europe is very cheap compared to the markets where you find these dual-sim phones in abundance. You can get a shed-load of minutes and texts for £10 on a sim-only plan on any major mobile network here.

    I personally doubt the dual-sim phones here will go past the your aforementioned niche markets.

    • Chris Ward says:
      January 5, 2012 at 10:32 am

      That’s an interesting post, thanks Herb.

      I didn’t realise how big dual SIM handsets are in south america, but I can see why given the reasons that you’ve mentioned.