Dual-Sim Smartphone With Android 4.xx. Any Ideas?

[vulcan903]

I picked up the latest Samsung S7652 Dual SIM. Quite happy with it. Had a look in MBK and they were 9,990bt but as I was going back to the UK I went to Siam Paragon and the Samsung dealer and picked one up for the same price, but also got a tax refund invoice and got 600bt back in tax at the airport.

Phone build is good, screen size good. Sometime a little laggy, but only sometimes.

Very pleased with it as I have tried a few China clone models and the UI was a bit hit and miss.

I guess you referred to a Samsung Galaxy S Duos S7562.

Did you not have a problem installing/moving apps to the SD card?

Yes, since posting, I found the 7562 to be really slowing up. I don't have many apps on and the ones I have are BBC News, e bay etc. Nothing too demanding. The keyboard could not keep up with me when writing an sms.

So last week in bkk, I bought a Samsung Grand. At the moment all is well with it. Its bigger than a SGS3 so quite a beast!

It's working well here in the UK and will put a AIS sim in when I am back in LOS next week.

Just sold the 7562 on ebay for £133GBP so lost about £70GBP in 6 months of having it.

Sent from my GT-P5110 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Issangeorge]

I- Mobile IQ6. 8,470 baht, a high spec phone for a very reasonable price. I'm very happy with mine. Only fault doesn't seem to have a compass.

[Para]

UPDATE:

I bought the Q1 this morning.

6190 Baht, including bumper case, screen protection and a 8 GB SD-card.

VERY nice device for the money. Not laggy, compared to my older Android's with "Single-Core CPU"

The rooting was a little bit tricky, but it's done.

Thanks for all suggestions

Is that the one that has all of Thailands 3G frequencies on and also a TV function? I'm not interested in the TV bit at all but to avoid that it looks like I have to go for the IQ2 and theres two versions with different 3G frequencies - which do I buy to use in Thailand and poss the UK? Help!

Go for the IQ2A (ais) It has the 900 mhz band for 3g which is compatible with the Uk and Europe and Oz. The IQ6 (Dtac, Cat,True) has the 850 mhz band better suited to the America's

They quickly brought out the IQ6A for AIS 3G support....

Edited April 1, 2013 by Para

[vulcan903]

I- Mobile IQ6. 8,470 baht, a high spec phone for a very reasonable price. I'm very happy with mine. Only fault doesn't seem to have a compass.

I bought a IQ6 for my son and agree its a good spec for the price. They would sell very well here in the UK. Would import given the chance!

Sent from my GT-P5110 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[nikster]

Samsung Galaxy Grand.

5 inch screen, dual sim, android 4.1.2 for 11,900 baht

I think the main feature on this one is: Looks like a SGS4, is half the price. Samsung pre-empting cheap chinese copycats by making cheap clones of its own devices. It's a good strategy IMO.

It's a standard definition screen but otherwise - wow. Looks impressive in the mall & should be fast thanks to Android JB and dual core processor.

I wouldn't necessarily buy it but that's the first phone where I thought hey Apple really has a problem on their hands. No one cares about spec sheets and those silly S-features. But if you see a giant screen phone that presumably does what you want to do really well - email, facebook, the odd other app, as well as normal phone things like messaging and pictures - and it's only 12k baht - that's a serious value proposition right there. And it looks good.

So you get

- The functions of a high end phone

- The looks of a high end phone

For a half the price. This thing will sell.

Hmm.. .just read a review that said the Galaxy Grand is basically an SGS II with a 5" screen. But Android Jelly Bean makes it fast enough to use.

Edited April 2, 2013 by nikster

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I've had the IQ 5 in my hand, and it seems an awfull lot of phone for the money!

Very good screenresolution, but not nearly as vibrant / bright as my samsung. Might be a tad hard to read in bright surroundings.

Can't go.wrong at the price, and afaik the only halfway decent/trustworthy dual sim model on the market.

The slightly smaller screened IQ4 is even cheaper, apart from the screen pretty much the same specs.

Just stick a 16 G sd card in for extra storage...

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Thaivisa Connect App

I looked at the IMobile IQ series phones lately, and they have some generally nice specs...

But one thing I noticed, even on the 5 and 6 series models, is their wifi seems to top out at G -- no N available.

Since the router in my home is intentionally set to N-only for maximizing my available connection speed, a G wifi phone is a non-starter.

For those upper level model phones, I'd have thought IMobile would have caught on to N wifi by now.

[tigerbeer]

Lenovo P780. Dual Sim. 5in screen (might be too big for some), Quad Core 1.2Ghz. 1Gb Ram. 8mp AF camera with flash. 4000mAh Battery that goes on and on and on and on.

Bought it a couple days ago. only charged it once so far and quiet happy with it. I also love my HTC Sensation XE but with too short a battery life, its a hassle to keep it charged all the time.

Can't be beat at 7k plus baht at most shops. I got mine at 6,890Baht. Got quoted 9,990 at one of the shops at Central Festival, Chiang Mai. Beware.

Lenovo P780 Spec Link

[eliza925994]

Samsung S Duos S7562 is best.

[casualbiker]

Samsung S Duos S7562 is best.

No it's not.

Moto G dual sim is best. They should be at the Mobile expo at Queen sirikit this weekend.. but not 100% sure.

http://www.thailandmobileexpo.com/2014/promotion/

http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g_dual_sim-5978.php

http://www.hatyai4g.com/

Edited February 10, 2014 by casualbiker

[sumrit]

I've had the IQ 5 in my hand, and it seems an awfull lot of phone for the money!

Very good screenresolution, but not nearly as vibrant / bright as my samsung. Might be a tad hard to read in bright surroundings.

Can't go.wrong at the price, and afaik the only halfway decent/trustworthy dual sim model on the market.

The slightly smaller screened IQ4 is even cheaper, apart from the screen pretty much the same specs.

Just stick a 16 G sd card in for extra storage...

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Thaivisa Connect App

I looked at the IMobile IQ series phones lately, and they have some generally nice specs...

But one thing I noticed, even on the 5 and 6 series models, is their wifi seems to top out at G -- no N available.

Since the router in my home is intentionally set to N-only for maximizing my available connection speed, a G wifi phone is a non-starter.

For those upper level model phones, I'd have thought IMobile would have caught on to N wifi by now.

Don't know where you got your information from.

I've got an i-mobile IQXA and an IQX2 and a friend has got an IQ5.3. Just checked the spec a couple of phones in the IQ6 and IQ9 series as well and all of them support WIFI B, G and N.

Both the IQXA and the IQX2 are also excellent value.

http://product.i-mobilephone.com/

[steve187]

Huawei are good i just bought a y511 and I am very pleased, its one sim only, they do a dual sim version , but sure sure where it is available, but the g610 (6000baht) is dual sim, 5inch screen, android 4.2.2 available from jaymart who have shops in big c stores - http://www.jaymart.co.th/ViewPro.asp?8226

[build6]

any particular reason this thread (started in 2012, last post mid-2013) was revived?

my favourite dual-SIM phones are all not sold in Thailand

(LG Optimus L5II Dual (E455) sold in Malaysia, LG Optimus G Pro Lite Dual (D686) sold in Singapore)

not all dual-SIM phones allow for both SIMs to have 3G networking (some models out there only allow the SIM card inserted in a particular slot to have fast networking). It makes a huge difference

Edited February 11, 2014 by build6

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I've had the IQ 5 in my hand, and it seems an awfull lot of phone for the money!

Very good screenresolution, but not nearly as vibrant / bright as my samsung. Might be a tad hard to read in bright surroundings.

Can't go.wrong at the price, and afaik the only halfway decent/trustworthy dual sim model on the market.

The slightly smaller screened IQ4 is even cheaper, apart from the screen pretty much the same specs.

Just stick a 16 G sd card in for extra storage...

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Thaivisa Connect App

I looked at the IMobile IQ series phones lately, and they have some generally nice specs...

But one thing I noticed, even on the 5 and 6 series models, is their wifi seems to top out at G -- no N available.

Since the router in my home is intentionally set to N-only for maximizing my available connection speed, a G wifi phone is a non-starter.

For those upper level model phones, I'd have thought IMobile would have caught on to N wifi by now.

Don't know where you got your information from.

I've got an i-mobile IQXA and an IQX2 and a friend has got an IQ5.3. Just checked the spec a couple of phones in the IQ6 and IQ9 series as well and all of them support WIFI B, G and N.

Both the IQXA and the IQX2 are also excellent value.

http://product.i-mobilephone.com/

My post on that was almost a year ago, so I of course can't remember after all this time what specs site was showing me B and G for their 5 and 6 series phones. I wasn't talking, a year ago, about their XA or X2 models that you reference, or the IQ9.

I was talking about the IQ 5s and 6s, and the 6 series models a year ago were probably earlier versions vs. those now, e.g., 6, 6.1, 6.2, and now 6.3.

At any rate, on the IMobile website you've linked above, I don't see any mention on their specs info of just what wifi bands their phones are capable of, though I don't doubt their models now a year later are more robustly specced than they were a year ago.

That's what happens when a year-old thread gets revived.

[build6]

That's what happens when a year-old thread gets revived.

heh

insofar as it's happened though, maybe worth talking about more dual-SIM phones? Alcatel has one that seems quite interesting:

http://www.alcatelonetouch.com/global-en/products/smartphones/idol_xplus.html

dual SIM, top-specced (which is fairly unusual since most other manufacturers seem to keep dual-SIM phones at the lower end of their product line).

anybody with any experience of this phone?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On the link you posted above for the Idol X Plus, it appears to show a phone with no LTE capability and a 3G bands compatibility of only 900/2100 -- which wouldn't be ideal for Thailand.

Networks: Quadband (850/900/1800/1900), UMTS 900/2100

When I go to the Alcatel Thailand website, I don't see any mention of an Idol X Plus. But I do see a One Touch Idol with entirely different specs.

Edited March 29, 2014 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Richard-BKK]

I use a Lenovo S820, this phone can connect to 3G on both SIMs and can be configured as WIFI hotspot – and you can still receive calls.

I use the Lenovo S820 mainly in Vietnam and Indonesia (I have a Vietnamese Viettel Mobile and a Indonesian Telkomsel SIM in it) when I'm in Vietnam or Indonesia I turn the Lenovo S820 into a hotspot and connect with my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to the WIFI connection provided by the Lenovo phone.

With this I can use all the functions of my main phone without paying a fortune to roaming, and I can call local numbers and can be called without having to worry about the cost. And if somebody calls me on my Samsung Note 3 I just call them back from my Vietnamese or Indonesian SIM (depending in which country I'm)...

The WIFI hotspot options works also great if I want to use my notebook and connect to the Internet. Another positive thing is that for both phones I only need to take one charger as they use the same mini-USB connection, also helpful if I want to use the USB datacable.

The Lenovo S820 costs now-a-day just over 6,000 THB, and it comes with 4.7 inch screen, Quad-core Cortex-A7 processor, 12MP camera, Corning Gorilla glass, option for MicroSD card for up to 32GB... and all other stuff you expect from a modern smartphone...

Battery last about 2 days, one and a half day if I stay all the time online with 3G and WIFI hotspot.... That is pretty good, I had other backup phones with more powerful batteries that didn't lasted more than 6 hours if I connected to 3G and configured the phone as WIFI hotspot.

The big advantage of buying a Lenovo over a brand like i-Mobile is that you have support in any language and that you know that you will receive updates if they find a security problem or the phone can be upgraded to a newer version of Android.

P.S. Lenovo is also the company that bought the Motorola company from Google....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The S820 also shows as no 4G/LTE and only 3G on the 900/2100 Mhz bands.

[casualbiker]

The S820 also shows as no 4G/LTE and only 3G on the 900/2100 Mhz bands.

Where did the original OP mention 4g??

There are many decent phones available around the 5-8k price range. I'm using a Motorola Moto G. Very happy with it.. does it have 4g ...

No.. but then 4g coverage is patchy anyway.

Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I just pointed out TWO issues....in response to Richard's Lenovo post above.

1.No 4G/LTE.... not a big issue now, but might be if you're forward thinking about the purchase of a new phone that's going to cost a couple hundred dollars.

2. 3G only on 900/2100 Mhz, which would be limiting for anyone wanting to use True Move H or DTAC, since they both have a sizeable presence on the 850 Mhz 3G band. But if you're an AIS only customer and expect to remain that while using the phone, no problem.

Edited March 29, 2014 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Richard-BKK]

I just pointed out TWO issues....in response to Richard's Lenovo post above.

1.No 4G/LTE.... not a big issue now, but might be if you're forward thinking about the purchase of a new phone that's going to cost a couple hundred dollars.

2. 3G only on 900/2100 Mhz, which would be limiting for anyone wanting to use True Move H or DTAC, since they both have a sizeable presence on the 850 Mhz 3G band. But if you're an AIS only customer and expect to remain that while using the phone, no problem.

TrueMove and Dtac all move to 2100 Mhz, all the other frequencies need to be returned to the authorizes So for one or two months pay more to buy a telephone that supports an standard that is faded out?

All Thai mobile providers now support 2100 Mhz, including TOT, AIS, TrueMove,ThaiMobile, Dtac... ToT 3G has a contract with AIS so you will automatic switch to AIS when there's no TOT signal...

4G/LTE and Thailand, I think we have two shopping malls in Bangkok where you can connect to an experimental 4G network... If we look back on 3G before everybody could agree on which standard which frequency etc etc... I probably need already another telephone...

I mostly use my Lenovo S820 in Vietnam and Indonesia, and 4G/LTE is also there only experimental available and is pretty expensive... As you pay with the amount you use... now if I check my email send email, browse the internet a bit its okay but imagine if I could look online TV... I bet I cannot top-up my prepay card fast enough...

[Richard-BKK]

Another telephone I considered, but not had the time to wait for it... was the Lenovo S930, it also has fuel GSM/3G dual SIM stand-by and it supports 850/900/1800/1900 for 2G and 850/900/2100 for 3G. Also if you looking for a telephone with a good battery live this is it.... it comes with a 3000 mAh battery.

The Lenovo S930 comes with Android 4.2.2, but, Lenovo already announced that a Android KitKat 4.4.X will be coming soon...

If you buy a i-Mobile you basically stuck at the Android version installed...

The Lenovo S930 is available for around 9,000 THB, the online Thai shop InvadeIT sells it for 9,990 THB....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

TrueMove and Dtac all move to 2100 Mhz, all the other frequencies need to be returned to the authorizes So for one or two months pay more to buy a telephone that supports an standard that is faded out?

Not quite correct about that...

TrueMove and DTAC will be continuing to operate 3G services on the 850 Mhz band for years to come, along with their newer 2100 Mhz 3G bands. In True Move H's case, they probably have a bigger 3G footprint on 850 Mhz than they do on 2100 Mhz right now.

So the 850 Mhz 3G band will continue to be significant for True Move H and DTAC for quite some time ahead. The frequency that True Move is having to surrender (was supposed to be last Sept. and now is slated to be this September) is its current 2G network on the 1800 Mhz band.

Looking ahead in Thailand, it's the 900 Mhz 3G band that's looking more uncertain, as AIS is slated to lose its license for that band in 2015, and then would only have the 2100 Mhz band -- barring some future changes.

[Richard-BKK]

I'm about to purchase a new mobile too and I-Mobile is top of the list so far, for last few years I have had a contract with AIS, what would any advantage be with a dual sim phone?, ie with another provider. Thanks.

One advantage, and basically the biggest advantage is that you can split your promotion. For example you can on SIM 1 select the cheapest possible call rate, and on SIM 2 you can select the best data plan you need... Most of the time if you want to call cheap you not get data connection cheap...

Another benefit is, some wired-Internet providers, like TOT have a promotion that if you take a a ADSL connection from 10mb/512kb (590 THB per Month) you also get a free 3G SIM (3G 2100) with free 1GB download all for free... Also TOT is if you live in Bangkok probably one of the cheapest 3G providers, also if you top-up your prepay card it will not expire after 30 days... So if you top-up 300 THB and not go online that much that month you can keep using it the next month without the need to top-up again... I know two people who aren't heavy Internet users and they check email, use Whatsapp and a few other messengers all within the free 1GB per month from ToT.

[build6]

No LTE is correct - I think the decision was made that "now is not the right time for the majority of the market". I am inclined to agree with them (I mean, how many people are on 4G now?), at least for now.

Alcatel doesn't seem to be a big player (at least not in Asia) so their publicity machine isn't anything like the others; but the idol X+ has quite a few positive reviews online - and I think there's a preorder push now:

https://a.pgtb.me/0FXT33

On the link you posted above for the Idol X Plus, it appears to show a phone with no LTE capability and a 3G bands compatibility of only 900/2100 -- which wouldn't be ideal for Thailand.

Networks: Quadband (850/900/1800/1900), UMTS 900/2100

When I go to the Alcatel Thailand website, I don't see any mention of an Idol X Plus. But I do see a One Touch Idol with entirely different specs.

[ThaiLife]

I thought I would add the New Asus ZenFone range of dual SIM phones , prices seem reasonable

Zenfone 4 - 2,990 ฿
Zenfone 5 - 5,990 ฿
Zenfone 6 - 8,990 ฿

Asus Web Site

http://www.asus.com/th/Tablets_Mobile/ZenFone_Products/

[guzzi850m2]

I thought I would add the New Asus ZenFone range of dual SIM phones , prices seem reasonable

Zenfone 4 - 2,990 ฿

Zenfone 5 - 5,990 ฿

Zenfone 6 - 8,990 ฿

Asus Web Site

http://www.asus.com/th/Tablets_Mobile/ZenFone_Products/

Yes very good prices indeed and I like the model no's, easy to overlook compared to the very confusing i-mobile range that's made with Thai logic (nobody get it).

Thanks for sharing, it's nice to know.

[roban]

Zenfone 6, could replace my Asus Fonepad, IF....

it has a separate "notification LED" for missed calls, SMS, messages (Line/Whatsapp)...

Fonepad/Fonepad7 hasn't and this is more than annoying, except the caller-delay, which Asus wasn't able to fix with all their patches.....

Ahh, and not forget, the locked bootloader.

At least, I wouldn't believe Asus, when it comes to OS-Updates.

4.2+4.3 had been announced for the first Fonepad, but have never arrived.

Edited April 25, 2014 by roban

[build6]

I thought I would add the New Asus ZenFone range of dual SIM phones , prices seem reasonable

Not only do the prices look good, I'm looking at the online manuals and they seem to allow for both SIMs to have HSPA networking!

(still need to manually toggle WCDMA mode between the 2 SIMs but that's better than having to physically swap the SIM cards around). That's excellent!! (and better than the Alcatel I was so excited about previously! Alcatel idol X+ only allows the first SIM to have 3G data connections, which is a travesty)

[ThaiLife]

I thought I would add the New Asus ZenFone range of dual SIM phones , prices seem reasonable

Not only do the prices look good, I'm looking at the online manuals and they seem to allow for both SIMs to have HSPA networking!

(still need to manually toggle WCDMA mode between the 2 SIMs but that's better than having to physically swap the SIM cards around). That's excellent!! (and better than the Alcatel I was so excited about previously! Alcatel idol X+ only allows the first SIM to have 3G data connections, which is a travesty)

The phone does seem to give value for money and both SIM's networking is a bonus

[ Below - Zenphone 5 ]

The Asus Case

One possible downside is the non removable battery

[roban]

Well the Zenfone 6 is nice, but atm too expensive here in Thailand.

It seems, it sells for ~200USD in the US, whereas the price in TH is ~280USD.

So we have to wait a little bit, (usually only a few weeks) until the price is on a similar level