Is there a dual sim model that meets my requirements?

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spacebug

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Wannabe Geek

#141239 5-Mar-2014 17:17

I'm trying to find a phone that will be suitable for my parents. But they have rather annoying requirements and I'm having trouble finding any model that would suit them. They need:

- Dual sim for Telecom and Vodafone (so 850MHZ XT compatible for one of the sims, which seems hard to find).
- Long battery life. They spend a lot of time with no/limited power, so a phone that needs charging once a week would be great. A smartphone is not going to be a good solution.
- Large display, simple controls. They need glasses to use their phone - small font is bad. Sausage fingers - small buttons are bad too. They just need simple texting and calling capabilities.

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#999624 5-Mar-2014 17:36

Does it need dual 3G?

There are 850mhz 3G dual SIM phones that also cover all the GSM bands, so XT would work on 3G (WCDMA), which is all they have, but the Vodafone SIM would work on 2G

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ajobbins

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#999639 5-Mar-2014 17:44

In any case, if you want a smart phone - this might do the trick:

http://www.mobicity.co.nz/samsung-galaxy-s4-mini-duos-i9192.html

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#999651 5-Mar-2014 17:58

I found one feature phone that will tick the boxes of what you are after.

The Nokia Asha 311 is touchscreen (so no small buttons) and dual sim with the correct bands and price.geekzone says is available from mobicity which will be an import but it's pretty much going to be your only option without going for a smartphone which opens up the choices far more.

I would suggest looking for a solar battery charger or a plug in rechargeable battery bank and then a smartphone becomes a viable option, changing the font on a smartphone is very basic and would make it more legible than a small feature phone screen.

nakedmolerat

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#999654 5-Mar-2014 18:07

Sony Xperia C

Stop data etc and disable most apps = good battery life. Sony has superb battery management build in.

ajobbins

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#999655 5-Mar-2014 18:09

Poll:
The Nokia Asha 311

As far as I can tell, this is single SIM only

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ajobbins

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#999660 5-Mar-2014 18:10

nakedmolerat: Sony Xperia C

While dual SIM, this isn't WCDMA 850 capable, so would limit XT coverage to 2100mhz (urban infill mostly) coverage

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Ultimate Geek
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#999662 5-Mar-2014 18:17

ajobbins:
Poll:
The Nokia Asha 311

As far as I can tell, this is single SIM only

Huh, That's really strange, I was using the phone finder on gsm arena and it listed that as dual sim, If I go and run the same search criteria I had before it now gives no results where prior it listed half a dozen phones. Think I must have goofed somewhere.

spacebug

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#999668 5-Mar-2014 18:29

ajobbins: Does it need dual 3G?

There are 850mhz 3G dual SIM phones that also cover all the GSM bands, so XT would work on 3G (WCDMA), which is all they have, but the Vodafone SIM would work on 2G

No, 2g should be fine for the vodafone-compatible one

old3eyes

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#999674 5-Mar-2014 18:48

The Moto G ($299) will do this. 3G Telecom SIM in slot 1 and the Vodafone SIM is slot 2 . The voda one will fall back to 2G / GSM . I have tried this with a Telecom and a 2D SIM quiet successfully. You can switch the Voda SIM to 3G at any time but the Telecom one will become inactive..

Regards,

Old3eyes

NZtechfreak

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#999701 5-Mar-2014 19:24

+1 Moto G. Look no further.

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spacebug

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Wannabe Geek

#999725 5-Mar-2014 19:41

I was hoping for a non-smartphone though.

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Damager

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#999781 5-Mar-2014 20:35

spacebug: I was hoping for a non-smartphone though.

A bit of teaching and they should be fine.

- Telstra HTC Touch Pro2 - Energy ROM WM6.5.5 20 Oct/Cyanogen Mod Froyo 2.2 - R.I.P
- AT&T Galaxy S Captivate 16GB on XT (now with brother)
- Samsung Galaxy S2 on XT- Runs ICS 4.0.3 Resurrection Remix 9.2
- Business Hours - Work In The Electricity Industry, After Hours - DJ/Turntablist - Will Scratch Vinyl For Free'
- What's next??? S3?

spacebug

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Wannabe Geek

#999803 5-Mar-2014 20:58

It's more the battery requirements I'm concerned about. The more conservative smartphones don't seem to be able to do much more than 48 hours between charges.

openmedia

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#999883 5-Mar-2014 22:59

Need a dual SIM dual 3G at the moment for some trips. Some Asian Countries are starting to turn off 2G networks.

So full QUAD band HSDPA with dual SIM anyone? Doesn't have to be data on both SIMS, but voice and text on both and data on one?

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

timmmay

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#999929 6-Mar-2014 06:50

Very few phones will go 7 days on a charge. Get one of the better rated external battery packs like this one, that'll keep them going for ages. Moto G is a decent phone, battery life seems fine, needs charging every 2-3 days with light use. A Nokia standard feature phone would last a lot longer, but may not do dual SIM.

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