I wonder why dual sim mobiles are so scarce
By Koalemos
@Asylum (47893)
Manchester, England
October 11, 2015 1:29pm CST
When my smartphone ceased working, I bought a basic mobile to use until my current contract expires and I can upgrade. Despite costing only £20, it is a dual sim phone and I am finding the feature very useful.
My curiosity was drawn to what variety of dual sim mobiles are available these days, especially the ones available via my network supplier. The models will change prior to my contract ending, but it would have given me a guideline.
To my surprise the choice of models is extremely limited, with the majority of them being cheap basic models. The United States do appear to have a better selection than we have here in England, but still a limited choice.
With the constant competition between companies to capture a portion of the huge mobile phone market, I would have expected this feature to be more available.
8 people like this
10 responses
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
11 Oct 15
This is something that I had never considered until recently, when my mobile broke and I had to but a cheap one for the time being. The model I bought was dual sim, which actually becomes very useful.
I have a contract with EE, so that is the network that I use as a rule. However, it is very expensive to use it abroad, so I bought a sim for Lebara. This means that I can use Lebara when overseas for cheap phone calls without using a separate mobile.
1 person likes this
@Missmwngi (12915)
• Nairobi, Kenya
11 Oct 15
With dual sim you can use two sim cards. Here in our country communication companies have different calling rates,sms rates and bundles as well. With the option you can make use of what is cheap without having to remove one line so that you can put the other
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
11 Oct 15
@Missmwngi I have the same situation concerning calls from overseas, so a second sim has proven to be very convenient.
2 people like this
@buddha3 (1026)
• India
12 Oct 15
@Asylum There may be two reasons.
1. British mostly use iPhones and Blackberries or
2. There is less demand for dual sim phones in England
Here the companies like HTC, Samsung, LG, Sony, Microsoft, and many smaller brands are focussing almost entirely on dual sim phones.
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
12 Oct 15
I think the reason is that many people are holding two cellphones instead of using one cellphone with dual sim.
They have one phone for personal, and another one for work.
The one for work probably is given by the office, so they just cannot say no, and they cannot change to a new phone.
1 person likes this
@Missmwngi (12915)
• Nairobi, Kenya
11 Oct 15
And the most of them are not the classic phones that you can use to browse. Many are the gadgets to just receive calls and texts
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@Missmwngi (12915)
• Nairobi, Kenya
11 Oct 15
@Asylum Yeah. I am sure if the high tech phones had the option many would go for them
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136778)
• India
12 Oct 15
Here many misuse this facility. They will change the sim to suit their needs.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (50317)
• United States
12 Oct 15
Not sure if I know what kind of phone that is ?
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
12 Oct 15
Having a dual sim feature can be convenient but some don't prefer having it because it bites into the battery time. Plus some phones that offer dual SIM feature don't have 3G connectivity so that might explain why that feature isn't available in many high-end phones.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (30426)
• United Kingdom
13 Oct 15
Being a total Philistine in that respect, you'll have to explain all that to me! I only have a basic mobile for emergencies and I only have that because it was a gift.
Ah I have now read below and see that you have already answered my question. Glad I'm not the only person who needed it clarified! How do you switch between the two?
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
13 Oct 15
For incoming calls there is no need because both numbers are active at the same time. When I make a call a screen pops up asking me which sim card to use, either sim 1 or sim 2.
While the call is active the other sim is obviously offline because the mobile is in use, but as soon as the call ends both numbers are available again.
1 person likes this
