Dual SIM card phones have never really caught on in many parts of the world though in emerging markets they are much more popular. Phones with dual SIM slots support the use of two network connections at once but many of the big brands have only dabbled in dual SIM phones. However it seems that might be about to change as a dual SIM version of the flagship Samsung device Galaxy S3 handset has just emerged, leading us to wonder if Apple should follow suit with a dual SIM iPhone 5S.
Its rather strange that dual SIM phones are so much more popular in emerging markets where many local brands such as Micromax, Karbonn, Plum and Celkon produce plenty of them. Of course the major players that we’ve all heard of have produced the odd dual SIM phone such as Nokia with its Asha 305, Samsung with Galaxy Pocket Duos, the Sony Xperia tipo dual and HTC Desire V but dual SIM card phones have not become the norm in many regions just yet.
However, two days ago the news that a Galaxy S3 SCH-i939D smartphone with dual SIM capabilities had been spotted in China seemed to indicate that dual SIM support might arrive with more of the mainstream phones that we all know and love. Dual SIM card phones use two SIM cards that can be active at the same time. This has the advantage of phone owners being able to use one SIM for business and another for personal use without having to carry two separate phones around. Another benefit is that users can have two billing accounts making it easier to charge work use to business expenses while some users might choose to use the extra SIM card slot when traveling abroad.
One reason why dual SIM cards haven’t been adopted more widely by major phone manufacturers is that many mobile phone networks that are closely tied to them prefer their customers to use only their network and don’t want to encourage people to use alternative networks. Nevertheless the fact that Samsung looks to be bringing dual SIM capabilities to the phenomenally successful and mainstream Galaxy S3 is a promising sign that more big-brand dual SIM card phones may be on the way.
The biggest rival to the Galaxy S3 is the Apple iPhone 5 and every time a new phone arrives in one of these hit lines they become the natural competition to the other. We’ve already discussed potential specs and what readers would like to see on the next iPhone, probably to be called the iPhone 5S or even iPhone 6, and maybe we should now add dual SIM cards to the possibilities. After all, the more widely-used a phone feature becomes, the more likely other manufacturers will add it to the mix for their next smartphones and so it would seem like a logical progression for the iPhone 5S to go dual SIM.
We’re interested to hear what you think about this. Would you like to see your favorite smartphone with dual SIM card support? Do you imagine that there’s any possibility that Apple will bring this to the iPhone 5? Maybe you already use a dual SIM phone and would never return to single SIM? Send your comments to let us know.