Dual sim mobile phones in India

Dual sim phones are all the rage in India now. An estimated 20% of all mobile users in India are believed to be using dual sim mobile phones. Those who keep one mobile number of the office and one for home now do not have to carry two different cells, and can manage their work with a single, multiple-sim phone. Though cellphone giants like Nokia, iPhone, BlackBerry, Motorola and HTC have not ventured into the dual-sim mobile phone market, others like LG, Samsung and a host of smaller gadget makers have dived straight in. Here, we take a look at a range of popular dual sim phones available in India.

Update 22 Dec, 2009: Nokia dual sim phones in 2010

Samsung Duo GSM-CDMA dual-sim world phone

Samsung Duo dual sim phone with CDMA and GSM

Samsung Duo is a dual sim world phone introduced by Tata Teleservices in India. Tata Teleservices runs CDMA-based mobile services under the brand name Tata Indicom. The world phone nature of this dual-sim phones means that you can easily switch from CDMA to GSM networks while roaming, and continue to use both cell numbers. Coming at a price of Rs 12,000, the Samsung Duo dual-sim phone sports a TFT touchscreen of 2.2 inch size, A2DP Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel camera and a micro SD card. The phone supports documents in Word, Excel and PDF formats, and has an internal memory of 10 MB. The Samsung Duo’s mobile camera, with 10X digital zoom, can shoot both pictures and videos.

The Samsung Duo dual sim phone also has an ‘Indian’ calendar, which lists all Indian holidays and festivals, besides flagging the auspicious and inauspicious times of the day. The Samsung Duo dual sim phone has 72 polyphonic ringtones, and can hold 200 SMS messages and 999 contacts (with 5 numbers on each of them). The phone has 210 minutes talk time and 280 hours standby time. The call register on the Samsung Duo dual sim mobile can hold 400 entries, and the languages available include English and Hindi.

LG Mobiles dual-sim phones

LG KS 660 dual sim phone photo

Korean electronics giant LG has introduced its own dual sim phone in India, the LG KS 660. The LG KS 660 is a touchscreen phone, with a 3 inch display screen. The phone has a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and video recording, and works on the GSM-GPRS-EDGE networks. There is no 3G or WiFI connectivity in this LG dual sim phone. The phone also has Hindi language support and has a unique scratch-proof screen. The LG KS 660 also has a unique feature — you can have two simultaneous calls on the two sim cards, and can put one on hold while talking on the other sim. The phone comes with integrated Bluetooth. Anti-theft mobile tracker and multimedia capabilities are also part of the package. It also has something which other dual sim phones don’t: An automatic handwriting recognition system.

Videocon Mobiles dual-sim phones

Photo: Videocon V 1750 dual sim phone

Videocon, a leading maker of consumer durables in India recently entered the mobile handsets business. The V 1750 from Videocon is a dual sim (GSM-GSM) touchscreen phone, and comes relatively cheap at Rs 9750. The Videocon V1750 phone has a 3.2 inch touchscreen, and sports a 3 megapixel camera with image editor. The Bluetooth-enabled GSM-GPRS smartphone has Mobile Tracker, and has memory expandable up to 8 GB. Multimedia features on the dual-sim Videocon V 1760 include Music library search, FM Radio/Recorder/Loudspeaker, 3.5 mm Headset Jack, Adjustable and Preset Equalisers, Bass Enhancer, Music Player supporting formats MP3/ WMA/ AAC/ WAV and a Video Player supporting formats AVI/ MPEG4/3GP. The phone is yet to hit the stores. Videocon did not say when it will be available for sale in India. Another dual-sim phone from Videocon Mobiles is the V 1405 model.

Fly Mobile dual-sim phones

Fly Mobile dual sim phones: Value for money

Two of the leading dual sim phones from Fly Mobile are the MC 160 and E 106. Both have touchscreen displays, and are available around Rs 5500. The two models are GSM-GSM dual sim versions. The new Fly Mobile DS 210 is a slider phone, with a 3.2 megapixel camera. The DS 210 memory can be expanded up to 8GB. The phone comes with Bluetooth, and sports a 3 megapixel camera. Some other dual sim phones from Fly Mobiles include the Fly B 700 and the Fly DS 500.

Karbonn Mobiles

Karbonn Mobile is another company which makes dual sim phones in India. The dual sim phones in the Karbonn Mobile range include KC 441, K 445, K 443, K 460, K 447, K 770, K 332, K 217 and K 451. Some general tech specs of KC 441 are: weight 86 gm; talk time up to 180 mins; screen size 1.8 inches; camera 1 megapixel; Mode GSM; expandable memory up to 2 GB; and FM Radio and MP3 media.

Karbonn dual sim phone K 445 boasts a touchscreen, an MP3 player, mobile tracker software, torch, video player and a WAP browser. There is also an FM radio and voice recording features with the Karbonn K 445.

Karbonn K 443 is a slider dual sim phone, with a 1.75 inch screen. The GSM-GPRS phone has an internal phone book which can hold 100 entries, and its memory can be expanded up to 4 GB. There is a WAP 2.0 browser in this dual sim phone, and has features like one-touch camera, one-touch FM radio key, and one-touch movie player. The Karbonn K 443 dual sim phone has Bluetooth connectivity and USB connectivity.

Karbonn K 460 mobile phone is another slider phone, with a standby time of 400 hours and a talk time of 4 hours. The phone takes a full three hours to charge up, though. The Karbonn K 460 dual sim phone has a 2 inch screen, with a 0.3 megapixel camera — which we think is a disappointment. The GSM-GPRS phone can have its memory expanded up to 8 GB, and has a WAP browser. It comes with FM radio and voice recording. Bluetooth is built-in.

Karbonn K 447 is another dual sim phone from Karbonn, with a 1.44 inch screen. The GSM phone (no GPRS) has an expandable memory up to 4 GB. 64 polyphonic ringtones and a WAP browser are preloaded. The Karbonn K 447 dual sim phone also comes with FM radio and Bluetooth.

Karbonn K 770 dual sim phone has a 2.4 inch screen with a good 3.4 megapixel camera which can shoot both stills and videos. The GSM-GPRS-EDGE smartphone can have its memory expanded to 8 GB, and is preloaded with Java, FM Radio and email support. There is also an anti-theft feature as well as Bluetooth connectivity and PC-syncing and data backup with the Karbonn K 770.

Intex Technologies dual-sim phones

Intex Dual Sim phone pic

The Delhi, India -based Intex Technologies is another company which makes a series of dual-sim GSM phones and world phones. The major dual-sim phones from Intex include the Intex IN 3080 (GSM-GSM), Intex IN 3070 Intex IN 4488 (GSM-GSM), Intex IN 4455(GSM-GSM), Intex IN 5050 (GSM-CDMA).

The Intex IN  3070 is a dual sim GSM-GPRS phone with a talk time Upto 2.5 Hrs. It has a torch light, FM radio, video player and built-in camera.  It supports both English and Hindi. The Intex IN 3080 is a slider dual sim phone with a talk time upto 2.5 hours. The phone has FM Radio, FM recording, sound recorder and Bluetooth, besides a camera. There is USB PC connectivity, and language support for both English and Hindi. The Intex IN 4488 is a clamshell model, which can be folded. The GSM-GPRS phone has a talk time Upto 2.5 hours, besides FM Radio, FM recording, camera and Bluetooth. It also supports both languages English and Hindi. The only dual-sim world phone from the Intex stable is the IN 5050, which has a talk time up to 160 minutes. The memory can be expanded up to 3 GB with a micro SD card. The mobile’s camera shoots stills and videos at 1.4 megapixels. There is also Bluetooth capability and FM Radio and FM recording.

Spice Mobiles dual-sim phones

Spice Mobiles, which is part of Spice Corp, claims that it is the first Indian company to make dual sim phones. The Spice D 6666 supports both CDMA and GSM cards, (world phone) and has a 2 megapixel camera with flash light. With video recording & playback, music player and FM Recording, the Spice D 6666 comes across as a good multimedia phone. This dual sim phone has stereo Bluetooth with remote control application and has expandable memory supporting up to 4GB. Spice M-6060 is a GSM-GSM dual sim phone, sporting a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash. Other features of the M 6060 Spice phone include Stereo Bluetooth, Music Player & FM Recording, video recording with Playback, Wide screen display and expandable memory up to 2 GB. Yet another dual sim phone from Spice is the Spice D-1111, which is also a world phone with GSM-CDMA capabilities. The Spice D 1111 smartphone sports Windows 6.0, touchscreen and stylus, a 2 MP Camera and Outlook Email integration. The D-1111 comes with Internet Explorer,  Windows Live Messenger and push email.

(The range of phones mentioned against each mobile phone maker is only a sampling, and not a comprehensive list. For price, detailed features and more models, refer to the manufacturer’s website. If you know any dual sim phones available in India, do let us know through the comments)