Someone asked me why I don’t use dual-SIM phones instead of carrying 2 or 3 phones at a time. I said that if there were only high-end phones that support dual-SIM, I might consider using them. So the question popped up — why aren’t dual-SIM phones picking up?
They’ve been here for years, even started with custom modules for Nokia 5110 and 6110 many years ago (the one that you turn off and on whenever you want to switch active SIM).
Even today, there are very few manufacturers and even phone models that support dual-SIM. Of course, that does not include those Chinese phones that offer triple-SIM and the likes.
Philips has the Xenium 9@9w and 969 while Samsung has the SGH-D780, D880 and D980 DuoS. Filipino company Solid Group is also the one distributing the my|phone dual-SIM phones. Verzio also has the Duplii and Twinn. Aside from these, we haven’t seen similar ones by LG, Sony-Ericsson and Nokia.
That’s probably because of some good reasons:
- Dual-SIM phones need to carry 2 separate transceivers for each SIM and that could easily drain the battery life of the phone (estimated to be between 30-40% lower). That also means phone manufacturers need to increase battery capacity to deliver the same standard usage and that costs more money.
- Supporting 2 SIM cards into a single phone may drastically affect volume of phone sales especially to people who tend to use 2 or more mobile numbers at the same time.
- Telcos might not want to subsidize a phone that a post-paid customer can easily add a competing SIM card into.
Ehem. Sun Cellular actually has MyPhones as part of their line.
They’re really leaders of the pack, aren’t they?
i think because its a plus points if you have two or three cellphone that you’re carrying around. It always catch your attention when you saw across your table a guy placing all his phones on his coffee table.
I have been using Myphone dual sim for a few months now. Although this is not my primary phone, I find it usefull instead of carrying two extra phones. The reason probably why dual phone sims are not that popular is that a lot of people doesn’t know that there are good brands out there that has dual sim capabilities. Some people doesn’t even know that dual sim phones excist. Maybe some more awareness advertising can help boost the dual sim phone market.
kultura nang mga pinoy ang pagiging “tikalon”. Naka expedition nga pero ang daming estafa hinaharap sa courts. Palaging may pyesta kahit nag hihirap ang buhay. Much worst, palaging nakikita mo sa mall kahit walang binibili. same as maraming kang phone, isa lang may load yung iba pang receive ng sun calls. So ayun mga dual-sim hindi patok sa atin kase we tend to spend stuff that boost our image. we have the tendency to be a “social climber”. I myself admit this tendency.
@Money: right on target. Filipinos tend to be obsessive with boosting cosmetic self-image since the Spanish times even in the face of trying times like these.
I would like to use a dual-sim phone, because carrying two separate mobiles with their own simcard is really a pain.
But sadly dual-sim and really, really useful phones have been overshadowed by big brands (Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Apple, LG), and the typical tendency to sport blingy multimedia “burloloy”/”Imeldific” phones that are for pogi points.
i’m using a dual sim phone…but for me it’s just fuzzy to shift from 1 sim to another,so i’m using 1 sim in a dual sim phone..wahahaha….e kung pwde lang sabay na on ung 2 sim e…nag matext mo si smart at globe or (other networks) simultaneously…or di ko lang alam gawin hehe….
I’m planning to buy dual-sim phone but for me, it’s still expensive…Pag may P1,500.00 bibilhin ko na. He he he…
Contrary to other people’s speculation, dual sim phones gives respectable mileage in terms of battery life.
My Verzio Twinn which I use for my Sun and Smart sims gives me 2 days standby time for regular usage. 3 – 4 days for light usage.
Anyway, Verzio also offer excellent product support. My office mate’s Twinn got busted and we brought it at the Verzio Service Center in Bonifacio High Street. She got the phone all fixed up the next working day.
I think dual sim phones are a great thing. I agree, kung ang Nokia magrerelease ng Dual Sim Phones, at un ang gagawin nilang primary phones, naku, kakagatin ng mga Filipino coz it’s NOKIA. Well if it’s MyPhone, ndi nla kakagatin.
This just goes to show that many people still value aesthetic value over utility.
Hmmmm…I think dual sim phones are a great thing. I agree, kung ang Nokia magrerelease ng Dual Sim Phones, at un ang gagawin nilang primary phones, naku, kakagatin ng mga Filipino coz it’s NOKIA. Well if it’s MyPhone, ndi nla kakagatin.
This just goes to show that many people still value aesthetic value over utility.
I woke up today wanting to buy a dual sim phone. I’ve been on the my phone website, looks like there’s a lot of crazy glitches.. so can anyone recommend a sturdy yet affordable dual sim phone?
I had a dual sim phone two (2) years ago, a china phone and it was very useful and is still working up to now. But since I had to preserve the messages that were stored there, I had to safely keep it. I got a new sony ericsson but then I found the necessity of having two sim cards. I wanted to buy a dual sim phone but now that I have experienced a better phone, I cannot give up the benefits of the high tech, quality and useful features of my sony ericsson so I just bought another phone, a motorola phone. My reason for not buying a dual sim phone is that I cannot find a dual sim phone that has the quality and features that I need. I tried Samsung. Duh! So bagal! Hindi maganda, mahal lang sya. Mas mabuti pa ang china phone. I scouted around but I did not find a dual sim phone that suits my needs.
IF ONLY THERE IS A SONY ERICSSON PHONE THAT IS DUAL SIM CAPABLE… I WILL DEFINITELY BUY IT! KUNG NOKIA PWEDE NA RIN. PERO SA TINGIN KO SA UTAK NG NOKIA SA MARKETING, DI SILA MAGLALABAS NG DUAL PHONE. KUNG MAGLABAS ANG NOKIA NG PHONE PAUNTI UNTI ANG FEATURES, I AM SURE NAMAN YANG MGA BAGONG FEATURES NA SINASABI NILA EH NAIMBENTO NA, DI LANG NILA NILABAS AGAD. NAUUTO LANG NILA MGA PINOY. KUNWARI BAGONG FEATURE, EH MATAGAL NA NAMAN UN. KAYA DI NA KO NANINIWALA SA NOKIA. UNLESS! MAGLABAS SILA NG DUAL SIM PHONE.
CAN ANYBODY TELL ME WHERE I CAN GET A DUAL ACTIVE SIM PHONE WITH THE FOLLOWING FEATURES:
3G
WIFI READY
GOOD AUDIO/RADIO
WITH FEATURES OF A TRUE CAMERA
WITH MEMORY CARD
FAST
CAN STORE AT LEAST 600 MESSAGES
I HOPE SOMEBODY COULD HELP ME, IM TOO TIRED CARRYING TWO PHONES. I HATED IT. VERY INCONVENIENT. GRRR…
Everyone has given their opinion on this matter and everyone is correct because no two minds will ever be the same let alone millions of Filipino minds. It all boils down to personal preference. If you don’t need two sims all the time then you should not be in this forum by default. Who should be discussing here are those who do need 2 sims but are not buying those available. Filipino mentality plays the most important part. 1.Ayaw nilang makita sila na may china phone or “cheap” brand na phone” dahil nakakahiya. 2. Galing mo naman may 2 o 3 kang phone ka na dala! Well if you feel ashamed of using a dual sim phone na hindi top brand kahit na kailangan mo then it’s your choice. Do you really need a 10MP camera / Wifi ready / 3G / FM radio / Walkman na Nokia or SE? If you do NEED it and not just WANT it then wala kang choice. I use to carry 2 phones because of necessity. I had a Windows Mobile phone in my left pocket and SE pda phone in my right. Sa totoo lang nakakabwisit! I opted to buy a MyPhone dual sim na walang wifi, VGA lang camera (susmaryosep!) And it’s the best move I made. Wala kasi akong pakialam kung ano man sabihin ng nakakakita sa akin gumagamit nito. I bought it to please ME and not THEM. Just to clarify that this is MY OWN opinion so no offense to those who don’t agree.
P.S to anattack tignan mo yung ETEN Glofish DX900.
Dual sim na Windows Mobile with GPS din kaya lang walang radio. The brand does not ring a bell? Well ACER just bought ETEN so ACER na siya. Baka mag doble na ang price niya dahil sa bagong brand na siya.
The Acer DX900 (Glowfish) still ranges about 25k more or less. More functional than verzio & samsung duos. its kinda big for a girl’s hand though
It’s more like a daddy-O, business guy type 
Guys mabagal ba yung Myphone? I’m interested in buying the Myphone with a QWERTY keypad.. Maganda kaya yun?
Before I wanted to buy yung Verzio but I’ve heard unpleasant comments about it, so yung Myphone nalang.
I’m a HEAVY user since I etxt a lot, call once or twice a day for around 10mins each call and I love playing MP3s on my phone almost all day.. Will the Myphone QWERTY keypad phone survive on me? Hanggang anong gig yung kaya na memorycard ng Myphone?
Hope someone’ll answer, thanks!
I’ve had the Samsung D880 for many years now and I’ve tried many others in between but somehow I cannot give up my D880.
If Samsung can only make it FASTER !!!
It all boils down to one word: “Firmware”.
Pag pangit, di papatulan..
When you have to deal with one personal cellphone and one fleet cellphone to keep track your people or answer your boss calling you on the fleet phone you can think abut dual sim one. I think that the bis phone companies do not like it so the big manufacturers go with the bigger clients.
As the big PC makers and Microsoft.
I met the Chinese 2xsim only a few weeks ago, I am using one that works very nice and looks nice too.
When I presented it to my contacts, I see a lot of interest from the public. Ignoring the issue and the Chinese may be a mistake of the big ones.
I have been using the Duplii for 3 months it’s just a good phone, some text some call… In use it for smart and globe phone and its also good for my sideline load business… the only thing that irritates me here is looking for contacts you hae to scroll it down manually and the phone is slow.
I am looking forward for smoe cherry mobile review… the clam shell looks great. Hopefully it also functions well.
i have verzio twinn and i still using it for more than 2 years na, the other dual sim cannot recieve call na magkasabay matatawagan ang dalawang sim. ang twinn kahit sabay tawagan ang dalawang sim maaccept mo pa rin yung call. lupet dava?
I am using a MyPhone dual sim cp because i became tired of bringing with me 2 cellphones. maganda naman ang MYPhone kasi may 1 year warranty at ang battery pwede ung sa Nokia BL-4C. no probs naman so far. dapat kasi practical sire ng cp ang tingnan natin at hindi ung aesthetics. eh kung mawala man itong cp ko, di naman masakit kasi barato lng 3thou lng bili ko. unlike b4 i sued to have Nokia 6680 at 7210 supernova
iam using a Samsung D980 touch screen dualsim. napakatipid with my globe and PLDT sim. My billing drop by almost 50%. sulit talaga
Yun Verzio Duplii Gamit ko padin, however di ako satisfied…
1. If used often mabilis ma low batt.
2. the headset is ugly
3. the phone is slow
4. not user friendly
5. phone is heavy
I am thinking of getting a Cherry Mobile or a Samsung D880
[...] I actually wrote a similar entry last year — Why Dual-SIM phones aren’t picking up? [...]
i’ve notice that all 3 reasons are for the phone manufacturer and not for the consumer. I think that dual sim phones has a market in the philippines. currently, solid corporation the manufacturer of myphone is leading in selling dual sim phones.