Getting used to a dual SIM phone takes some time and practice if you’ve never used one before. If you choose one. This phone makes it easy and has a seamless one click process to switch bank and forth between two different SIM’s.
My Internet use is about 1/3 text, 1/3 Internet and 1/3 voice so it was important to get all three working. However the phone does not have Internet settings and after a few days of trying, I was not able to get Internet settings from any of the four mobile operators. Eventually a twitter message to @safaricom_care resulted in the setting being e-mailed to me but I never got to use them
Like’s
– It has amazingly long battery life: and lasts for several days of moderate use
– Social media icons are on the home page with twitter and Facebook (but in the last month I have not been able to connect to the internet and appreciate this)
– Neat how it shows you all the messages on each sim card
– You can define auto switch between SIM to take advantage of cheaper network hour offers
– Nice to have a full Qwerty keyboard
Dislikes
– Not a smart phone, so for someone who has owned one before, not having the ability to multi-task is a downer.
– The Keypad auto lock comes on too quickly and you cant edit this duration, unless you deactivate it completely.
– Games ask for ID and internet connection.
Summary:
In this age of number portability and permanently low phone call rates of Kshs. 1 to 3 per minute, a dual sim card for phone calls may not make sense. But as this post from Gmeltdown shows, having an alternative to M-pesa money transfer, i.e. Airtel Money, Orange or Yu cash, as well as having an alternative mobile internet provider to dominant Safaricom, is a wise choice.
Dual SIM phones have their loyal customer base, and this month, Nokia also introduced their first official dual SIM phones for Africa. Finally, if you decide to operate a dual SIM phone like this $90 Samsung, it’s probably a good idea to get the same phone number across different networks e.g. 0722-1111111 and 0735-111111 so your friends and family can easily recognize or memorize the numbers
