Two SIM Cards, One Phone?

[Kimboinatl]

So it looks like I'm getting a Blackberry for work, which is good and bad news. The good news is that I'll have two phones, so I can use my work phone for calls, and I have Google Voice. The bad news is that I would have to carry around two phones.

I'm thinking about unlocking my Android phone so that I can pop my work SIM card into it when I want to use it for work. I have Touchdown loaded on it, so I can pretty much do everything with it that I can with a Blackberry. I can see a few potential problems though:

1) What if someone wants to get in touch with me using Blackberry IM?
2) I would have to swap SIM cards in and out if I wanted to switch between T-Mobile (personal) and AT&T (work)... I could totally see myself dropping a SIM card or breaking one or something.

Are there any solutions to either of these issues? Concerning #2, I was wondering if there was possibly a way of having one SIM card in the phone, but being able to switch it back and forth (like flashing the data from a different SIM onto it or something) so that I wouldn't have to keep swapping SIMs.

 

[AndroidSPCS]

You can't flash data from a different SIM, that's illegal.

There are some Chinese iPhone clones that offer 2 SIM card trays, not sure how they work but I'm sure the phones are crappy.

Best answer is to carry two separate phones. That's what I do, and it's really not that big of a deal. It's actually a good idea, as you have a back up phone in case one carrier has bad signal, the other carrier might have decent signal.

And if one phone battery dies, the other one has you covered. I much prefer it that way.

 

[lordofthereef]

Just doing a Google search, apparently Samsung B5722 has dual SIM trays. I assume you would have to get this ordered from outside the US though. Not terribly sure how reliable that phone is or anything, but they do seem to exist.

I also know they do make dual sim adapters for phones, although I admittedly don;t really know exactly how they work and what specific models they work with.

 

[Kimboinatl]

You can't flash data from a different SIM, that's illegal.

D'oh... ok, I won't try that then.

Best answer is to carry two separate phones. That's what I do, and it's really not that big of a deal. It's actually a good idea, as you have a back up phone in case one carrier has bad signal, the other carrier might have decent signal.

And if one phone battery dies, the other one has you covered. I much prefer it that way.

Very good points here.

 

[CptGemini]

Best answer is to carry two separate phones.

And if one phone battery dies, the other one has you covered. I much prefer it that way.

Thats pretty much why I keep my old cell phones for reasons like that or when one crashes. I have a vibrant now and stil have my G1 and old motorola flip phone from like 5 years ago (still works too).

 

[Kimboinatl]

Been carrying around the Blackberry and the Cliq, and it's actually turning out to work pretty well. One really nice thing about the Blackberry - the charge on it lasts forever. So if my Cliq runs out of juice, I can just use my Blackberry, and my Google number dials both phones. I usually answer my Blackberry to save minutes on my T-Mobile plan.

 

[NunyaBidnez]

If you don't want to carry two phones (at the same time), Google Voice is your answer.

Step 1: Use your Google Voice number as your primary number for personal calls. The hardest part is getting all your friends to stop using your old number.

Step 2: Add your Blackberry to the list of phones you want calls forwarded to. Now all your friends and family can reach you on your work phone by calling your Google Voice number.

Step 3: Set up a "Ring Schedule" for your Blackberry so Google Voice won't ring that phone when you're off of work.

Now you can carry your Blackberry when you're on the job and still receive all your personal calls. When your off the clock, you can go back to using your personal Android phone and leave your Blackberry at home, because you should never be forced to take work calls during your free time.

If you absolutely must carry your work phone at all times, you'll just have to give up your android phone and accept the idea of being a blackberry user or continue to carry two phones.

 

[takeshi]

What if someone wants to get in touch with me using Blackberry IM?

If you're referring to BBM it's a BB-only solution. If you can get your contacts to use an IM solution that's supported on multiple platforms they won't be stuck chatting with only BB users.

Are there any solutions to either of these issues? Concerning #2, I was wondering if there was possibly a way of having one SIM card in the phone, but being able to switch it back and forth (like flashing the data from a different SIM onto it or something) so that I wouldn't have to keep swapping SIMs.

Why can't you just keep the work SIM in your Android device? You mention GV so there's no need for the number provided by your carrier if you have GV.

Best answer is to carry two separate phones. That's what I do, and it's really not that big of a deal. It's actually a good idea, as you have a back up phone in case one carrier has bad signal, the other carrier might have decent signal.

And if one phone battery dies, the other one has you covered. I much prefer it that way.

I also just prefer keeping work stuff separate. My employer doesn't care what's on their device or anything but you never know what things will be like in the future.

The company Blackberry 8310 actually came in handy on a stretch of interstate in Kentucky where Verizon apparently didn't have data coverage for whatever reason. The 8310 may be only EDGE but when EDGE is the only option it sure beats the alternative.

 

[AndroidSPCS]

...I also just prefer keeping work stuff separate. My employer doesn't care what's on their device or anything but you never know what things will be like in the future.

The company Blackberry 8310 actually came in handy on a stretch of interstate in Kentucky where Verizon apparently didn't have data coverage for whatever reason. The 8310 may be only EDGE but when EDGE is the only option it sure beats the alternative.

Agree 100%.

I'm shocked at how many people don't think this way and do a lot of personal texting / calling / browsing on company owned blackberries / phones.

 

[Kimboinatl]

Agree 100%.

I'm shocked at how many people don't think this way and do a lot of personal texting / calling / browsing on company owned blackberries / phones.

Yeah, this is my only hesitation with popping my company SIM card into my Android phone. A friend of mine did this with his iPhone, and seems happy so far, but you never know.