A new mobile phone launched last week with an interesting proposition — two SIMs running on the same phone at the same time. While this idea is not actually new in the Philippines, Verzio wants to penetrate a the aggressive mobile market in the country.
Funny thing happened when I was heading for the press launch last week — got stuck in traffic due to a downpour and when I got the only remaining parking spot near the place, the security guard turned me away (he says it was reserved for another resto). So I headed back home. *heh*
Anyway, dual-sims have been around for ages. Enterprising mobile vendors in GreenHills have been selling them for years while others hack existing (esp. Nokia models) phones to be able to support two SIM slots. In fact, there have been mobile units which offer triple and even quad SIM (yup, 4 SIM cards in one phone!) from China spotted at VirraMall.
What Verzio is trying to do is addressing the growing market of dual-SIM culture in the Philippines. One model, the Duplii, is even 3G capable. Because of the eat-all-you-can promos being offered by Smart, Globe and Sun, consumers are encouraged enticed to carry an extra SIM card or sometimes even have two phones altogether.
So, it’s only economically sound to just get a single phone to hold your 2 SIM cards right? Well for most people, maybe yes. However, I can also see several reason why people have 2 numbers:
- One is a public number and one is a private number. (me!)
- Others have a personal number and another office number. (24/7 tech support, people working for telcos or related industries)
- Some have a dedicated number just for their special someone. Or, the other secret special someone (aha!).
- Hard core SMS users who only have Php15 a day budget for texting. (Text-chatters popularized by Sun Cellular’s All-Day All-Night Promo)
- And those who don’t actually need two numbers but are more gravitated to having two phone units because of specific features. (A QWERTY or Smart phone and a regular slim phone.)
The Verzio Duplii retails for P14,990 (US$ 350) while the Verzio Twinn, P11,990 (US$ 280). As for me, the benefit of having two phones is that I can turn off the other (public) one when I don’t want to be disturbed. *guilty*
It will be interesting to learn how much percentage of the market segment can Verzio attract — the selling point being it’s a cheap dual-SIM capable phone. So, let’s take a quick poll from our readers here who have 2 mobile numbers. Will you go for a Verzio or stick with your 2 mobile phones.
omg nde pala cguro pde to sa mga mahilig mag txt kasi maraming pinipindot pag magt ttxt.la po bang mga shortcut keys to.
balak ko po kasing bumili ng verzio twinn.
nawala kasi yung isa kong phone kasi dalawa palagi ang bitbit kong fone yung isa sun yung isa globe.
by the way where can i get a verzio fone at 3999.
im from quezon city by the way
i have a verzio twinn and i got it from macro last november 2008. the features are good except for the camera and the battery. i tried the bonifacio heights service center but they dont have accessories for the unit. i dont know if verzio is really serious in distributing their product since they have a service center but they dont have accesories for the units they are selling. they know that the battery sucks and what makes it worst is that they dont sell spare battery and this is what stopping me from recommending the unit/brand to anybody.
Hello Mr. Rommel Sorry po sa bad experience nyo sa after-sales namin.Meron po kasi kami sinusunod na Repair center standard procedure. kahit po sa ibang leading brand ganun din po ang standard procedure nila. Hindi po talaga kasi basta pede palitan ang unit kapag lagpas na po sa 7 day,s . dadaan na po sya sa repair process.katulad po ng kaso nyo, intermittent po ang sira nya.since intermittent po at warranty naman po obligation namin palitan yung handset.
Can anybody help me? I have just bought the twinn yesterday and I am loving it except for one thing. In the messages section of the phone… Senders Name on the texts I receive does not show the name… its shows only part of the message it contains instead senders name. Its like in the nokia phones when someone texts u when you have not placed the number on your phonebook….
Is there any way to fix this??
>>ika:
are you trying to ask how could you put some music in your phone? you could put some music by receiving via bluetooth or via usb port (just copy paste)
do you have an idea how to put some java apps? bluetooth is not working when it comes to java apps
even though according to the user’s manual it could
hi. can somebody teach how i could download free music to verzio twinn and where is the service center here in the phil.tnx a lot.
guys the phone is great but I’m wondering how can I put some java apps via usb port and/or bluetooth… i tried to do it but its not working,,, pls advise thanks!
>first of all… i love this phone… so far ok sya (dec’08)…
>ANG NEG: d sya msyadong txt friendly (kc dami pinipindot), wobbly ang slider, d napapalitan na housing and sobrang iksi ng txt tone…
>but other than that…. 4 the price, expandable memory, slider & touch screen pacute, lakas ng speaker and dual sim capability…. ok na ok sya….. sana nga lang matibay kc medyo bago pa yong unit ko
oops, correction…I wrote to them Jan 1, 2009
I have bought a Verzio Duplii last June 2008 and it was working fine until this December 2008 when I found the phone’s power supply seem to be discharging in less than 24 hours (10- 12hours to be exact). I brought the phone to Verzio Bonifacio high street for repairs but the problem seems to be recurrent after getting it back after 2 weeks. I have been going back and forth several times to their store from Batangas city trying to beat the date of my near departure abroad. The company has not yet replied to my request for replacing my defective unit since writing to them last Jan 1, 2008.
So far, i’m not impressed with Verzio’s after sales service and their phone as well.
just bought this phone recently. Very good phone. i like the feature which have security code for text messages and your private files wherin no one can see your personal stuffs esp. your wife, i recommend to guys who have CHICKS SHOULD BUY THIS PHONE which will protect you from being caught by your wife. i guarranteed 100% safe to use, no matter what you put in your cp, it will be safe with a security code. This is the first time i have seen this features in a cp.REALLY GREAT.
For those in Cebu City, Twinn is also available for P3,990 at TechTarget in Ayala Mall. It is located opposite SONY and right before you make an exit to the Terraces.
How about the display resolution of twinn? Is it nice? Can the 1.3MP of it’s camera performs well? I plan to buy one this week at Macro Cubao…
Does anybody know online stores selling Verzio Duplii and shipping to Hong Kong? I checked many sites but could not find it.
cy:
Sa Graphics (main store) po…in Capt. V. Roa Street, across Gaisano city or any Graphics stores located in Limketkai Center, SM City or Gaisano City.
okay ba ang verzio twinn? Plan ko kasing bumili. I heard negative comments about the slider hindi ba prone masira? How is the performance of the phone in terms of reliability and build? I can buy this for 3800 pesos. if not for the dual sim, is it still a better phone in terms of features compared to nokia and sony ericson in this price range?
rcsaint:
where in cagayan did you buy ur verzio twinn?
there’s a verzio twinn, duplii, and envii selling in iligan but i think the price is too much …
By the way can anyone help me on the MMS settings because I can’t seem to send a picture via MMS…I have been using SMART but I hear SMART is not able to send MMS with this (I tried to “GET MENU” from smart but it was not supported) Anyone have any luck sending MMS with this phone? and by what provider?
Thanks
I got mine at MACKRO in Cebu City for 3999.99 pesos….too bad smart doesn’t support MMS setting on it….I’ll try globe
Thanks for the reply. Just wondering, do Verzio twinn cost 3990 ? Was looking for that price but nowhere to be found. CAn u guys give an info .