Dual SIM Phones – The Alternative To Carrying Two Phones

There are occasions and life situations where we need to have two SIM cards. It can be incredibly frustrating trying to take our main SIM card out and replace it with another SIM card every time we want to make or receive calls on another number. Of course, we could carry two phones. But this becomes difficult to manage and can also look a bit strange in some people’s eyes.

The alternative is to carry a Dual SIM phone. Dual SIM phones provide the opportunity to put two SIM cards into a single phone. There are two SIM card slots, normally in the back with the battery as in other phones. You can seamlessly switch between the different SIM cards by simply pressing a button. Some of the dual SIM phones can also be set to change between SIM cards at different times of the day, or when you change location (GPS driven).

With a dual SIM phone you can either manually switch between SIM cards or you can have both SIM cards on, enabling you to receive calls on either number.

Who Needs to Look at Dual SIM Phones?

There are lots of people that can benefit from dual SIM phones, such as:

International Travelers

International travelers can benefit from dual SIM phones by having a home SIM card and an international SIM card in the same phone. When they move to a different country the phone can automatically pick up the international SIM card. This means that incoming calls will be received at cheaper rates from the international numbers that call you.

This can significantly decrease the amount that you spend on your international phone bill. In addition, the people at home phoning your home SIM will still be able to get through to you. You can take your life with you on your normal phone and have the best of both worlds.

Work and Home Phone

Many people, especially those who own their own business, want to have one phone for their home life and another for their work life. It can be frustrating having work phone calls diverted to your mobile phone in the evenings when you want to be on downtime. Many people find that they have to turn their work phone off at night. An alternative is to purchase a dual SIM phone. This provides the opportunity to turn off the work phone during home time which will significantly improve your work life balance.

People with Coverage Problems

Often there is a situation where people have coverage problems through their main network. It may be they want to stay with that network but need a solution that has better coverage alongside it. A situation where this may be the case is where someone has a fantastic deal with a certain operator after many years of loyalty. If they don’t want to give this up, but are failing to get the reception they need when they need it, they could buy a dual SIM phone and pop in a SIM card from another network as well.

There are mobile networks that have excellent coverage of the UK. 3G connectivity hits around 99% of the population. However, different mobile operators have different black spots where they can’t get coverage, or decent coverage anyway. Having two SIM cards can provide the opportunity to get coverage in more locations.

A Look at Some Dual SIM Phones

There are lots of Dual SIM phones in the marketplace. Many of the phones historically have been designed for emerging markets, where networks tend to be poorer than in the UK. If you are buying a dual SIM phone online then make sure you are getting a quality device built for the UK, rather than what can sometimes be substandard devices built for African, Asian or Indian markets.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One come in Dual SIM variants. You get all the benefits of the top class high-end premium end phones, and can pop a second SIM card in too. These phones cost around £525 and £425 respectively.

If you want to look a little lower in the market then you could choose the Alcatel One Touch Idle X. This comes in at around £200, and is a vibrant and high-quality phone. You get a 13 megapixel camera, quality touchscreen display and will really enjoy it.

There are also phones at the budget end of the market, as you would expect. You can get the cheeky, jolly and colorful Nokia Asha 210 dual SIM phone for under £50. This is a really good phone for messaging, coming with a QWERTY keyboard. At just £20 you could go for the Nokia 107. This is a feature phone that is very basic, and will be perfect for those that need a cheap throwaway dual SIM card phone.

Think About How to Switch

If you’re using your dual SIM phone to travel overseas then it may be you want to have a SIM that will automatically switch to make calls from the host country. You may be able to use GPS in order to achieve this. It may be that you want your home SIM to be available as well. Most dual SIM phones will provide the opportunity to have either one or both SIM cards active simultaneously. Therefore, you can stay connected to everyone that you want to be in contact with.

It really can be frustrating having to remember two phones. In addition, you will have to synchronize the phones, or have different files and functionality on the different phones through the different apps and data that they contain. It is much easier to have dual SIM phones and carry everything in one device. With the range of dual SIM phones available on the market you can find one within your price range and with the functionality that you require for your life.

Phil Turner didn’t realize that there was such an option as a dual SIM phone until he visited this page at uSwitch.