DuoSIM is a very cool new conversion kit to upgrade standard mobile phones to dual SIM operation so you can have two SIM cards installed and switch between them at the push of a button. I’ve been looking for something like this for a while to make the best use of different data and call rate plans, but up till now the adapters have all required that you cut your SIM card up first, which is something I didn’t really want to do.
So when I stumbled across this ‘no cut’ puppy I got all excited, whipped out my Paypal button and sent over the $28.00 immediately (to Malaysia no less!). A few days later it arrived and I thought I’d share the fun with a short review and video for y’all after the jump. And yes it really does work!
The DuoSIM device is incredibly simple and yet obviously very clever. Just a bit of plastic with some metal contacts, a SIM holder bracket and a very tiny chip. Pah!
1. First thing to do is insert SIM Card Number 2 into metal bracket.
2. Insert flimsy plastic end into SIM socket on phone, taking care to position the metal contact points carefully over the ones in the handset.
3. Insert SIM Card Number 1 on top of flimsy plastic and shut handset SIM clasp.
4. Insert phone battery and arrange SIM 2 decorously on top of battery (keeping it clear of the camera lens of course).
5. Clip on and close handset back cover carefully.
6. Switch on phone.
7. After boot up, select which SIM card to use by clicking OK or Cancel to switch between current card or the second one (they call it ‘Allow SIM card update’?, but what they really mean is ‘Switch SIMs’?)
8. If at any time you want to switch SIMs manually, go to the Dual SIM Card icon on the phone, and then click on it to open up the switching screen (below).
9. You will see a set of options to switch between the two different phone numbers of your SIMs, plus Auto/SW (this setting automatically prompts you to switch every 10 minutes or so), change language (bottom option) and the rest of the options which I have no idea about, since the product comes with absolutely no instructions whatsoever. :-)
10. It’s just fortunate that the thing works really easily. Switch SIMs on the menu and around 10 seconds later the next service operator logo arrives on your screen. No power down or anything naff like that needed. Very cool. Yeah forget about the time differences below, that was because of the photography gaps.
The only thing I’ve noticed so far is that the offline mode doesn’t seem to be really offline with this thing in, because my battery now runs down a lot faster in offline mode than it used to. It’s no biggie, I’ll just switch the phone off or take out the twin SIM on flights, but it’s something to watch out for. It may just be a peculiarity of my setup, of course.
The other thing that’s not really clear from the site is the compatibility of handsets. The site has a long list of compatible handsets on it, which includes a lot of standard 3G and other phones, but even though the Nokia 6110 Navigator I upgraded wasn’t on the list, it still worked fine. So maybe it’s a matter of taking a gamble if your handset is not listed? Oh and remember you’ll need a phone with a back cover which bends enough, or has enough room to cope with the extra SIM.
That’s it. Here’s the video.
