Two Mobile Phones Rolled Into One

If you have two SIM cards (one for work and another one for personal use, for example) you would usually have two mobile phones or only have one phone and swap the SIM cards when needed. The DualSim Slider looks just like any other phone but has the ability to accommodate two SIM cards at the same time, making calls and SMS between contacts a lot easier.

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The DualSim is constructed from glossy piano-black plastic and feels solid. The slider comes with a 2.4-inch TFT screen, a ‘Magic Touch’ pad, a numeric keypad, and a 2-megapixel camera. The USB port used for connecting the charger and headphones is located on the left, while the camera shortcut button and microSD card slot are located on the right side of the unit.

The DualSim’s ‘Magic Touch’ pad is a recessed circle below the screen that acts as the unit’s navigation panel. The main icons consist of a Music, File Manager, Messages, Call History, and Main Menu shortcut, with the screen icons changing according to the task clicked. For example, the pad will display playback shortcuts when using the Music function while a 5-way navigation key will be displayed when the main menu is accessed.

While this particular feature is good, the pad was a bit unresponsive. It was slightly better after calibrating the screen, although we had to press the icons using our fingernails to get the best response from the unit.

As previously mentioned, the unit comes with two SIM card slots, allowing users to have two active mobile lines at the same time. The DualSim comes with two call/pick-up buttons, can send SMS or MMS on the preferred SIM card, and displays call history separately. Our Vodafone and Optus SIM cards worked without problems but failed to connect to the 3 network as it does not support 3G (it immediately connected to the Telstra network and it on roaming).

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The unit can hold up to 400 contacts, has 160MB RAM onboard, and comes with a 2GB microSD card for storing audio and video files. The unit supports Midi, AAC, MP3, 3GP, MP4, and H.263 files which can be transferred via USB. Music can be listened to using the built-in speakers or the proprietary headphone jack. The headphones are not bad, but it could have been better if we could use our favourite set of ‘phones instead of a stock standard one.

The DualSim comes with a web browser, which can be used to browse while on the go. But since 3G is absent on this handset, expect internet sites to load for a long time. The 2-megapixel camera on the device is not the best around, but can still be handy if you want to take impromptu outdoor shots.

In addition to this, the DualSim also comes with a Calculator, Currency coverter, Stopwatch, E-Book reader, Bluetooth, and built-in FM tuner.

The keypad was very responsive and made text messaging easy, although this phone missed out on predictive text function. This is a problem as there are a lot of users who rely on T9 when composing messages.

DualSim claims that the handset has a talktime of up to 200 minutes and up to 5 days of standby time. In our test, the DualSim lasted close to two days.

Overall, the DualSim Slider gives you the opportunity to use two SIM cards at once. It may suffer from poor touch implementation and abysmal battery life, but for $399, some may simply ignore its shortcomings and take the plunge.

See page over for product specifications and final rating.

DualSim Slider Specifications:

Platform: Dualsim, Dual Standby Design
Band: TriBand GSM 900/1800/1900MHz, GPRS, EDGE
Memory:  160MB Onboard ROM/RAM, 2GB Micro SD Card External Memory Included, 400 Contacts Onboard
LCD: 2.4″ TFT LCD 320 x 240 pixels and “Magic Touch” screen
Camera: 2.0 Mega Pixel Camera With Video and Burst Mode
Entertainment:  64 soft poly, Midi, AAC , MP3, 3GP, MP4, H.263
Communication: PC Connectivity, WAP 2.0, JAVA 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0: SPP – DUN – OPP – A2DP – AVRCP
Talk time: 200 minutes
Standby time: 5 days
Size: 109 x 51 x 18mm
Weight: 116g Including battery

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DualSim Slider | $399 | 3.5/5 | www.dualsim.com.au

For: Can take two SIM cards at once; Solid build; microSD card slot; Okay camera output; Tons of additional features
Against: Hard to press touch screen; Not a 3G phone; Battery life
Conclusion: Celebrate duality with DualSim