Decent Dual Sim phone ???

Jola

Jola

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I am looking for a decent dual sim Android phone, I am not interested in the stripped down versions, I already have a Samsung Galaxy Y Duos and it is no good (poor screen resolution, inadequate RAM, etc, etc).

My minimum requirements are :

Decent CPU and GPU
2GB RAM
16 GB onboard memory
MicroSDXC External Memory Slot (up to 64GB)
720p display
4.3" screen size

I have only been able to find two reasonable phones :

1) HTC One Dual Sim : http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_dual_sim-5498.php

Looks pretty good, but there are some questions about the 3G capabilities and frequencies on both sims.

I need to check that out, and also availability, not sure where to get this.

2) Samsung Galaxy S4 mini dual-SIM : http://www.samsung.com/africa_en/consumer/mobile-phone/mobile-phone/smart-phone/GT-I9192ZKAXFE

This phone only has 540 x 960 (qHD) Resolution, 8GB internal memory and only 1.5GB RAM, so that tends to mark it right down.

I want a dual sim phone mainly because of Vodacom's pricing, what with close to R3 per minute peak time calls.

So the idea is to use a prepaid Vodacom sim for incoming calls, and occasional 3G when in remote areas, and to use Cell C for outgoing calls and 3G data. When I am overseas I will replace the Cell C sim with an appropriate local sim (eg giffgaff in the UK, SFR in France), and will still be able to receive incoming SMS's, etc with Vodacom.

I prefer prepaid Vodacom because it offers facilities not available on contract (eg Free4Sho), and is much more flexible, yet you can still have cheap international calls and SMS roaming.

I am not really worried about LTE, after extensive testing on Vodacom and Cell C I have come to the conclusion that it is not worth bothering about (Vodacom LTE too slow, Cell C LTE poor coverage)

At the moment I use two phones to perform the tasks, and that is a PITA.

Any ideas ?
 
Jola said:
I am looking for a decent dual sim Android phone, I am not interested in the stripped down versions, I already have a Samsung Galaxy Y Duos and it is no good (poor screen resolution, inadequate RAM, etc, etc).

My minimum requirements are :

Decent CPU and GPU
2GB RAM
16 GB onboard memory
MicroSDXC External Memory Slot (up to 64GB)
720p display
4.3" screen size

I have only been able to find two reasonable phones :

1) HTC One Dual Sim : http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_dual_sim-5498.php

Looks pretty good, but there are some questions about the 3G capabilities and frequencies on both sims.

I need to check that out, and also availability, not sure where to get this.

2) Samsung Galaxy S4 mini dual-SIM : http://www.samsung.com/africa_en/consumer/mobile-phone/mobile-phone/smart-phone/GT-I9192ZKAXFE

This phone only has 540 x 960 (qHD) Resolution, 8GB internal memory and only 1.5GB RAM, so that tends to mark it right down.

I want a dual sim phone mainly because of Vodacom's pricing, what with close to R3 per minute peak time calls.

So the idea is to use a prepaid Vodacom sim for incoming calls, and occasional 3G when in remote areas, and to use Cell C for outgoing calls and 3G data. When I am overseas I will replace the Cell C sim with an appropriate local sim (eg giffgaff in the UK, SFR in France), and will still be able to receive incoming SMS's, etc with Vodacom.

I prefer prepaid Vodacom because it offers facilities not available on contract (eg Free4Sho), and is much more flexible, yet you can still have cheap international calls and SMS roaming.

I am not really worried about LTE, after extensive testing on Vodacom and Cell C I have come to the conclusion that it is not worth bothering about (Vodacom LTE too slow, Cell C LTE poor coverage)

At the moment I use two phones to perform the tasks, and that is a PITA.

Any ideas ?
Click to expand...

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9002
 
Most dual sim phones are not meant for markets outside asia.

That said I would place my money on the xperia C, its the only one I found available to buy that is even remotely decent.
 
Jola said:
I am looking for a decent dual sim Android phone, I am not interested in the stripped down versions, I already have a Samsung Galaxy Y Duos and it is no good (poor screen resolution, inadequate RAM, etc, etc).

My minimum requirements are :

Decent CPU and GPU
2GB RAM
16 GB onboard memory
MicroSDXC External Memory Slot (up to 64GB)
720p display
4.3" screen size

I have only been able to find two reasonable phones :

1) HTC One Dual Sim : http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_dual_sim-5498.php

Looks pretty good, but there are some questions about the 3G capabilities and frequencies on both sims.

I need to check that out, and also availability, not sure where to get this.

2) Samsung Galaxy S4 mini dual-SIM : http://www.samsung.com/africa_en/consumer/mobile-phone/mobile-phone/smart-phone/GT-I9192ZKAXFE

This phone only has 540 x 960 (qHD) Resolution, 8GB internal memory and only 1.5GB RAM, so that tends to mark it right down.

I want a dual sim phone mainly because of Vodacom's pricing, what with close to R3 per minute peak time calls.

So the idea is to use a prepaid Vodacom sim for incoming calls, and occasional 3G when in remote areas, and to use Cell C for outgoing calls and 3G data. When I am overseas I will replace the Cell C sim with an appropriate local sim (eg giffgaff in the UK, SFR in France), and will still be able to receive incoming SMS's, etc with Vodacom.

I prefer prepaid Vodacom because it offers facilities not available on contract (eg Free4Sho), and is much more flexible, yet you can still have cheap international calls and SMS roaming.

I am not really worried about LTE, after extensive testing on Vodacom and Cell C I have come to the conclusion that it is not worth bothering about (Vodacom LTE too slow, Cell C LTE poor coverage)

At the moment I use two phones to perform the tasks, and that is a PITA.

Any ideas ?
Click to expand...

The bold part, is this on prepaid? One can switch to a R1,20 (2cents/second) anytime plan on prepaid with Vodacom.
 
supersunbird said:
The bold part, is this on prepaid? One can switch to a R1,20 (2cents/second) anytime plan on prepaid with Vodacom.
Click to expand...

I am not aware of this, will check it out.

ATM I am on a contract that charges close to R3/min, but I will be able to convert to prepaid soon.
 
Last edited:
Usually dual SIM phones come with the second radio only capable of 2G connectivity. So you can do 3G/HSPA and perhaps even LTE on the first primary radio, while the second radio only allows calls, SMS and GPRS/EDGE (i.e. 2G services)

You should double check this before investing in a dual SIM phone as it might not fit your requirements. You should also check how easy/difficult it is to choose which SIM you would like to use for calls and data (if supported). The functionality might be built-in, but switching between the SIMs could be a PITA.
 
The acer liquid E2: its not up to your specifications but a nice phone and as far as I know it was the fastest duel sim phone on the market.
Specifications:
Performance
•MT6589 1.2 GHz quad-core processor
•System memory:
• 1 GB of RAM
• 4 GB of ROM
•Android operating system
Display
•4.5" qHD LCD, capacitive touchscreen
•960 x 540 resolution
Multimedia
Formats supported:
USB connector
•Micro USB connector
•USB client
•DC power-in (5 V, 1 A)
Connectivity
•Bluetooth 3.0 with EDR
•IEEE Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
•GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
•UMTS 900 / 2100 MHz
•HSUPA / HSDPA / GPRS / EDGE
•GPS
•aGPS
Camera
•8 MP rear with LED flash
•2 MP front camera

I had it for a few months runs near stock Android 4.2.2. I got a new Huawei P6 for my son but he preferred the E2 because of the duel SIM and good graphics for playing games. Got it from Orange for R2611.

PS it takes a micro SD upto 32Gb
 
Last edited:
Jola said:
I am looking for a decent dual sim Android phone, I am not interested in the stripped down versions, I already have a Samsung Galaxy Y Duos and it is no good (poor screen resolution, inadequate RAM, etc, etc).

My minimum requirements are :

Decent CPU and GPU
2GB RAM
16 GB onboard memory
MicroSDXC External Memory Slot (up to 64GB)
720p display
4.3" screen size
Click to expand...

Hi,

Based on your initial requirements the only models that you might be able to select are made by Samsung: Galaxy S4 Duos (I9502), Galaxy Note 2 Duos (N7102) and Galaxy Note 3 (N9002).

Those are the models that have at least 2GB of RAM and expandable internal memory, besides a good CPU and display.

As for the Xperia C, it only has 1GB of RAM and the screen quality is not near in compare with the models mentioned above (TFT and 220ppi); however, the prices of those models are pretty much higher that any other dual SIM models of the market, but at the same time are the latest technology of the market (high-end devices)

Hope this helps.
 
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