China's first dual SIM card mobile phones to be released
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-06-16 17:15

China United Telecom ( China Unicom) , the world's third biggest mobile telecommunications carrier, said Wednesday three mobile phone handsets produced by Motorola, Samsung and LG have been selected as China's first dual SIM card mobile phones.

These models are Moto A860, Samsung SCHW109 and LGW800, all boasting of cutting-edge manufacturing technology and designed for high-end users who often go abroad for business, said a senior manager of China Unicom.

Citing as an example, the manager said Moto A860 is fitted with a 1.2 million pixel micro-camera, and its data can be transferred to a computer or vice versa.

Users of the new handsets carrying both GSM and CDMA SIM cards will be able to switch between GSM and CDMA networks, and enjoy roaming service in countries where only one of the networks is available, explained the manager.

As for prices, the manager said they are more competitive than the high-end mobile phones with a single SIM card on the market, and China Unicom will release low-end dual SIM card phones in the future. But he declined to give more information.

China Unicom said last month it planned to release in mid-July mobile phone handsets with dual-band technology that shares data and voice service between GSM and CDMA users.

The introduction of the new handset will also help attract new mobile phone subscribers as the company's GSM and CDMA networks cover almost the whole Chinese mainland. Its mobile telecommunications users exceeded 100 million by May 5.

Wang Jianzhou, board chairman and president of China Unicom, displayed three handsets compatible with GSM and CDMA networks in March at an annual business meeting. The handsets were manufactured by Samsung, LG and Motorola.

The State-owned company was set up a decade ago to break the monopoly of the State-owned China Mobile over the country's mobile telecommunications market.

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