Nokia C2-00: dual SIM done right?

When we interviewed the regional rep of Nokia regarding the delay of the Nokia C2-00 after the announced it last year, they said they wanted to do the dual-SIM functionality right. So when Nokia Philippines sent us this Nokia C2-00 (as well as the X7), I thought this was my chance to look into Nokia’s dual-SIM strategy.

So here’s the case — most, if not all, of the previous dual-SIM handsets before the C2-00 placed the SIM card tray at the back of the unit, buried beneath the battery.

As such, when you want to switch SIM cards, you have no option but to turn off the unit, remove the back-cover and battery and replace one of the SIM.

According to some study (forgot the source), most dual-SIM users have a primary number which they always use and a secondary number, which has specific use and is the one that’s switched over to a 3rd SIM.

The old process of SIM swapping is tedious or cumbersome so Nokia found a way to solve that — make the secondary SIM hot-swappable. Place the 2nd SIM slot on the side of the phone which you can easily pop-out, replace and activate in less than 10 seconds without turning off the handset.

It’s a tiny detail but a novelty that Nokia introduced. I haven’t personally encountered any other dual-SIM phone that can do that (a quick Google pointed me to a MicroMax M2 handset being sold in India that can also do SIM hot-swap).

Nokia C2-00 specs:
1.8″ display @ 128×160 pixels
65 MB RAM
up to 32GB via microSD
GPRS/EDGE
Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP
VGA camera
Stereo FM
FM recording
Li-Ion 1020mAh battery

Here are some of the dual-SIM functionalities of the C2-00:

* Pop in a second SIM in the external slot anytime (either ON or OFF state) and the phone automatically recognizes it.

* You can choose to have the phone ask you which SIM to use every time you send an SMS or you can set a default SIM to use automatically.

* Each SMS message is appended by the name of the carrier and the SIM used. If you resend a failed SMS, you can also pick another SIM to send it.

* Both SIM uses the same Inbox (that’s why they append the name and SIM number on each SMS to differentiate).

* The phone remembers up to 5 SIMs so your settings will remain intact even if you swap around more than 2 SIM cards.

There’s only one little hiccup I encountered with this hot-swap strategy — you can’t use the external SIM slot as the solitary SIM. You will need the to use the internal SIM tray first before you can use the external slot.

In any case, the Nokia C2-00 is a pretty solid entry-level, dual-SIM phone. It doesn’t have a whole lot of features to go along with it but it’s a worthy attempt by Nokia to thwart the threat that’s eating their market share in the low-end segment.

For a suggested retail price of around Php2,900, the C2-00 is actually a little more expensive than all other brands with the same specs. Where Nokia really excels is the brand-recognition, solid build and quality control, and an excellent service warranty. I guess that’s what a lot of people are looking for when they want to part with their hard-earned money.