Android dual SIM handsets - recommendations and reviews

[UKSTEVE]

I think there are now dual SIM adapters for the Lumia series, although the ones I have seen are external and you cannot have both SIMs `live' at the same time - flipping between the two is as easy as switching to `flight mode' and back again though.

+Steve

[Motel75]

A bit OT again, but I discovered a major drawback of a quad-SIM phone when I lost my iPro FX3 and had to replace four SIMs from three countries. Multiple SIMs are convenient, but you really are "putting all your eggs in one basket."

[inquisitor]

There's a French brand called Wiko which floods the market with dual SIM Android phones that are said to be of pretty good quality.

As an entry-level smartphone I like the Wiko Rainbow, which is currently sold for some € 150 at conrad.de (or from eBay.de).

CPU: Mediatek MT6582 Quadcore 1.3GHz
GPU: Mali 400
internal storage: 4GB
microSD slot: up to 32GB
RAM: 1GB
display: 5″, 1280x720px
networks: GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS900/1900/2100
camera (front/back): 2MP / 8MP + LED flash
battery: 2000mAh (changeable)
dimensions: 146 x 74 x 9,3 mm
weight: 167g (inkl. Akku)
extras: dual SIM, USB OTG

No GLONASS or 5GHz wifi.

Rumour has it that Mediatek might release the source code of their chipset drivers into the public domain which would mean that Mediatek-powered phones such as Zopos and the Wiko Rainbow could receive an update to Android 4.4 (Kit Kat) in a few weeks to months.

However I just noticed some very interesting advantages of the Moto G dual SIM (XT1033) which perhaps justify the € 50 difference from the Wiko Rainbow:
+ GLONASS support
+ pentaband UMTS (850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz)
+ Android 4.4 (Kit Kat)

[GadgetKen]

Originally Posted by petkow

Hello everybody. I just thought I would reawaken this oldish thread as my current multi-handset setup used to work perfectly well up until a few days ago when a rather unfortunate incident of a bottle breaking in my bag left one of those phones covered in rather nice brandy and rather dead!

Has anyone got any recent experiences with any half-decent dual-SIM or triple-SIM android phones?

Sorry to hear about the brandy drowning of your phone. Only a waterproof phone like a Sonim would have survived that scenario (there's also some dual sim waterproof phones out there).

Currently using a Blu D230 Rave dual sim handset as my primary phone. H2O(AT&T) in the 3g/gsm slot and Telna in the GSM slot. Works nicely but the screen is only 3 inches and it's a single core processor running an older version of Android. It's getting a bit dated and I need a larger screen, a better camera, more memory capability, and more 3g slots.

Upgrading shortly to a Feiteng H9503 triple sim handset that is being shipped by FedEx from Amazon. Should be in my hands early next week. Slot 1 is a microsim slot with 3g 850/2100 mhz and quad band gsm. Slot 2 is the same specs with a mini sim rather than the micro. Slot 3 is quad band gsm mini-sim only. Has Jellybean 4.2, a dual core processor, ability to take 32 gb micro sd cards, and a five inch screen.

Really wanted 3g in 2 slots so I can run:
1. My Telna(T-Mo USA plus cheap foreign roaming) sim chip in slot one (needs 3g WCDMA in some countries like Canada where no GSM roaming agreements). Decent foreign roaming rates and I like the postpaid billing with no long-term contract to my credit card (no worries about prepaid balances evaporating like some other roaming sim cards that went belly up in the past).
2. H2O/AT&T sim chip in slot two (better chances of completed calls in big US cities on 3G). Nickel a minute calls.
3.And a soon to be activated LycaMobile US/(T-Mobile and limited foreign roaming) sim chip in the third slot. Two cents a minute calls.

Data will be fed in most circumstances by wifi from one of 2 mifi devices (one is AT&T postpaid, and the other is FreedomPop/Sprint free service) or from wifi hotspots. Advantage of this setup is that both of the mifi devices are LTE so it will give a higher speed data connection than the new phone is capable of by itself. As a backup I will program in the APN for the Telna sim chip.

[rfranzq]

Originally Posted by GadgetKen

Upgrading shortly to a Feiteng H9503 triple sim handset .... Slot 1 is a microsim slot with 3g 850/2100 mhz and quad band gsm. Slot 2 is the same specs with a mini sim rather than the micro. Slot 3 is quad band gsm mini-sim only.

Really wanted 3g in 2 slots so I can run:
1. My Telna(T-Mo USA plus cheap foreign roaming) sim chip in slot one (needs 3g WCDMA in some countries like Canada where no GSM roaming agreements). Decent foreign roaming rates and I like the postpaid billing with no long-term contract to my credit card (no worries about prepaid balances evaporating like some other roaming sim cards that went belly up in the past).
Data will be fed .... from one of 2 mifi devices

Saw your related [& vague---no details/specs]post on HoFo.
You are not planning to use Telna for 3G in the US, are you?
Looking forward for your reports and review.

[GadgetKen]

Originally Posted by rfranzq

Saw your related [& vague---no details/specs]post on HoFo.
You are not planning to use Telna for 3G in the US, are you?
Looking forward for your reports and review.

Description of phone in the Amazon US listing: http://www.amazon.com/FEITENG-H9503-...keywords=h9503 Specifications are a bit fuzzy like many Shenzhen phones. From what I've heard the rear camera is really 5 megapixel interpolated up to 8 megapixels. Some dealers also claim it can take a max of 16 gb for a micro sd expansion card where others say 32 gb. Permanent memory is only 512 mb ram and 4 gb rom. The display is big but doesn't have the resolution of the name brands that it's copying. But it has unique features like triple sim capability and the price is very good.

Don't know if Telna works in 3g mode in the US. It's a moot point anyway:
-Neither the Blu dual sim phone I use currently nor the Feiteng phone in transit to me cover the T-Mo 3g frequencies (1700 AND 2100 Mhz or limited 1900 mhz refarmed spectrum as result of the failed merger with AT&T). 3G frequencies on both handsets are 850 or 2100 mhz.
-Also the Telna US T-Mo voice rates are 8 cents out and five cents in. Lyca is only two cents a minute.
What I really need Telna for is travel outside the US where they offer competitive rates. While T-Mo does offer cheap international roaming now...that's only for $50+/month plans. Telna offers a more practical solution for the occasional international traveler like myself. Certainly was cheaper in St. Maarten where I could place Telna calls on Digicel Antilles Francaises for a quarter a minute instead of the hotel room rate of $6 for the first minute and $4.50 for additional minutes.
Telna would make sense for me for US backup data purposes and international primary data purposes for the new phone because it's an easy to set up APN. I don't care if the connection is only Edge or GPRS in the US since my 2 mifi devices are both LTE with fallback to slower standards. It's no big deal to put a mifi device in a jacket pocket or in a small camera case on my belt.

[rfranzq]

Originally Posted by GadgetKen

Don't know if Telna works in 3g mode in the US.
It's a moot point anyway:

Well, if Telna's agreement with T-Mobile is what Piranha uses
for T-Mobile in USA then it is a yes for 3G on T-Mobile.
The Piranha UK phone number I have says it is a Telna phone number.
[For what it is worth Piranha also uses AT&T and gets 3G on it also.]
I live in southern California so yes I am in a refarmed area.

[GadgetKen]

T-Mobile near my home is only 2G and Edge and coverage is weak(nearest towers are shared AT&T and Verizon only). Near my office they have 3g and also patches of LTE. Using T-Mo for talk and text only so that's not important. LycaMobile will go in the 2g slot
AT&T is a strong 3G signal near my home and office so it wins one of the 3g slots in the new phone. And Telna will go in the micro sim 3g slot in the new phone because of some international roaming situations where I do have 3G or 3G is the only option available.
Thought of using Piranha but prefer Telna for inexpensive postpaid. Plus the Telna US rate is more reasonable.

[GadgetKen]

Actually it's LTE plus 3G for AT&T near my home....which is why I have an AT&T mifi device and an H2O/AT&T sim chip.
T-Mobile is going to overlay about half of their US network with LTE by the end of 2014 and the remainder by the end of 2015.

[Stu]

I going to give this a bump and ask what people have come up with in the last year. There is a great Lumia dual SIM with great LTE coverage on both SIMs. I hear One Plus 2 will be dual SIM. What else is out there? Unfortunately, I think it is getting risky relying on pure GSM for voice as some carriers are starting to turn off GSM. I can get buy with HSPA, but would prefer LTE.