The Dual Sim Dilemma Part 1: The Intro

When it comes to phones, most people would want something that has a camera, ultimate connectivity and 3G capabilities, even WiFi. But I...

I want a Dual Sim phone.

In the Philippines, it’s soo unavoidable to NEED more than two sim cards. Because of Sun Cellular’s ingenious Unlimited Call and Text services, they had revolutionized the way consumers use cellular phone technology, and maximized the value for the customer.

Unlimited call and texting, or “Unli,” as it is affectionately called by the locals, has created a need for at least two cellphones, for the average Juan. And yet, don’t you think it would be funny, not to mention bulky, if a person would need to carry two phones? What if the person needs the ultimate in tech and would like to have two 3G-capable phones? Two Nokia Communicators or two Nokia 3G-Capable phones, anyone?

But there is good news. As mentioned, my current technolust includes dual sim phones. With these phones, you can now use two sim cards from one phone, and text your friends in one network, as well as other friends in another network. In the Philippines, this would ensure that your textmates would reply to you, because most likely, they are on Unlimited texting/calling, too, and won’t have spare prepaid credits, called “load,” for other networks.

Though the Dual Sim phone players are mainly Chinese manufacturers, another Asian player also entered the scene. Verzio, a Singaporean company, released their high-end dual sim phones in late 2007. They are one of the few reliable companies who have entered the Dual Sim battlefield.

There are two other key players in this arena: Philips and Samsung.

While Philips’ Dual Sim phone (Xenium 9@9w) is of the “switching” kind, meaning only one sim is active while the other you will need to press a few buttons to activate, if you are using your other sim as backup only, this is surely more reliable than the Chinese phones.

On the other hand, if you want both sims to be active at the same time, you could try the Verzio phones. Or, if you have cash to spare, you could go for the Samsung dual sim phones.

Samsung’s dual sim phones are decently featured: they have Java, bluetooth, and GPRS. They also have video-capable cameras: one is 2MP, the other is at 3.1MP. The Samsung D880 had been launched late last year, while the D780 is yet to have reached the local stores, though it was announced that they’d ship out in May.

While Verzio’s Duplii model seems to be a better buy, with the 3G capabilities and all, I seriously do not like the keypad layout. Not to mention that according to this review, even über-techie YugaTech got puzzled with some Verzio Duplii controls.

In my opinion, choosing the right Dual Sim phone entails much consideration. Tomorrow’s article discusses my standards for a good Dual Sim phone.

Toodlez!


Thank you for the photo:

http://www.cellphone9.com