Best DUAL SIM android phone?

[P1rat3]

I cancelled my order from computeruniverse, and this morning put in an order for a V350 from expansys usa... in <2 hours I had an email telling me it shipped... alright!

I just did the same at Expansys.ca. I got the confirmation and shipping notices within 15 minutes of placing my order. Let's see how fast they arrive!

 

[will_wonka]

What are the software glitches you have encountered?

Software wise its down to the Viewscene 3D, well laid out and great presentation, but the hardware is struggling with the graphics and obviously the processing power required, I have had 5 lock ups with the VS 3D thus far and i'm only 24 hours into ownership!

In short, I am seriously wondering if the wait was worth it. Its not the presentation of the phone (it is nice) its just the way its executed (lack of power, lock ups, Froyo! and what seems like a pitiful battery life of 4-6 hours under minimal use Additionally, the Music side of things, well what can I say, it sounds dreadful with earphones and distorts badly on speaker.

Another thing is the earpiece call quality, it seems muffled in comparison to (a) the iPhone and (b) the Wildfire and (c) my old Nokia C5

The GPS etc etc works as it should, Marketplace is ok, but restrictive (not sure whether its the UI overlay or whatever that is restricting apps) some that were present on my HTC Wildfire S are NOT available on this phone.

I will give it another 24 hours, but currently thinking of ditching and going back to 2 phones!!!!!!! Scary stuff. Something is irritating me and I can't quite put my finger on it completely, I think its collective things rather than one specific.

 

[P1rat3]

Software wise its down to the Viewscene 3D, well laid out and great presentation, but the hardware is struggling with the graphics and obviously the processing power required, I have had 5 lock ups with the VS 3D thus far and i'm only 24 hours into ownership!

In short, I am seriously wondering if the wait was worth it. Its not the presentation of the phone (it is nice) its just the way its executed (lack of power, lock ups, Froyo! and what seems like a pitiful battery life of 4-6 hours under minimal use Additionally, the Music side of things, well what can I say, it sounds dreadful with earphones and distorts badly on speaker.

Another thing is the earpiece call quality, it seems muffled in comparison to (a) the iPhone and (b) the Wildfire and (c) my old Nokia C5

The GPS etc etc works as it should, Marketplace is ok, but restrictive (not sure whether its the UI overlay or whatever that is restricting apps) some that were present on my HTC Wildfire S are NOT available on this phone.

I will give it another 24 hours, but currently thinking of ditching and going back to 2 phones!!!!!!! Scary stuff. Something is irritating me and I can't quite put my finger on it completely, I think its collective things rather than one specific.

Oh no! What happens when you go to vanilla android rather than using their front-end? I seem to recall that they said you could switch back to it. Maybe it's better?

Please can you try and report back a thorough review after trying to turn off the obviously power draining Viewscene - because if it's as bad as you say, I may just either refuse delivery of the one that I just ordered or turn around and return it unopened to Expansys.

 

[Shiny Side Up!]

will_wonka is going to make me cry.

My V350 arrives from Expansys tomorrow... Like P1rat3, I am starting to question my purchase and wonder if I should refuse the shipment or return it...

I guess we now know why the phone was delayed and delayed.

 

[P1rat3]

will_wonka is going to make me cry.

My V350 arrives from Expansys tomorrow... Like P1rat3, I am starting to question my purchase and wonder if I should refuse the shipment or return it...

I guess we now know why the phone was delayed and delayed.

Ugh. I've never been less thrilled for a delivery. Mine is supposed to be here by noon today. I have asked Expansys what the difference is for them between refusing the delivery and shipping it back to them unopened.

 

[Nortonko]

I added the link to the Russian forum to the wiki (can't post a direct link here yet).
You can use Google translate the follow the conversation and read the instructions.
I've ordered an A60 myself and if nobody did it by then, I'll try to add the missing languages to the ROM using the translations from the G11i ROM (which should be compatible since they use the same chipset).

which Wiki?

 

[smurfOnE]

The Viewsonic wiki now shows bugs and comments for the v350.

 

[Malcovitch]

Hi All,

I've been reading this thread, and I wanted to ask something, so I joined!

I'm looking for a dual sim Android phone with a secondary front-facing camera so I can use it to make Skype calls. I've looked at the Wiki and the only ones mentioned have 0.3 MP cameras. The single sim phones I've looked at in the shops (in the UK) all have 1.3 + MP (Samsung, HTC).

Does anyone have any info? I'm looking for something that'll work in the UK and Spain.

Cheers!

 

[will_wonka]

Apologies for the delayed response, especially P1rat3 & Shiny Side Up!!! Hope you got it sorted with Expansys.

Well after much deliberating and considerable patience on my part, enough was enough! I have requested an RMA from Expansys (yesterday).

IM(honest)O, I am gutted by the events that have led to my decision.

The phone is effectively trying to be something it is not, as stated before great idea, badly executed. It is apparent that the hardware is just not man enough for the job, period. It struggles with Froyo, so no wonder OTA updates have been disabled, Ginger would destroy it!

The keyboard and interface have, and please remember this is my personal experience, extensive lag and on quite a few occasions of attempting to send texts, the dreaded force close window appeared. Very frustrating.

The screen is utterly dreadful, I actually suffered from eye strain using this phone and I jest you not, it gave me a headache for all the wrong reasons. In sunlight it is almost impossible to see! Having forgotten how good screen technology has advanced, WTF did they go with a plain TFT with such low resolution?

The charge point is hidden behind a flimsy very cheap feeling cover that over time I am convinced would break off or work loose from its seemingly thread like retainer strip. Very bad design.

The worst thing and this was the decider for me and is the main reason for me returning, it loses calls! Bombshell of the year, a phone that loses calls! Effectively, my number 2 SIM was sporadic at the best of times, the number 1 SIM not so bad, but still had temperamental moments. The Data aspect was ok for the time it was in use but again of course that was signal dependant which if I monitor (as I have done here) the duration of my daily weekday journey to London Waterloo, was NOT in receipt of a signal for about 65% of the journey on SIM 2 and 50% of the journey on SIM 1.

That may not seem bad on a moving object at 80mph (British Rail is quite slow) but both my Nokia and iPhone used to retain the signal much better. The other hilarity is that one SIM is Voda and the other is TalkMobile, which uses Voda. You would think that SIM 2 would have better reception considering that is the GSM only puppy! Bizarre.

As the phone was going to be used as my main business number and personal number for the prior this phone would be suicidal for business.

In short, call drops, flaky overlays and terrible graphics.

As a positive, its a good looker!

I am truly mortified and have now gone back to my {stopgap} Wildfire S which I bought 2 weeks before the VS 350 and have now invested in a Samsung Galaxy S2.....in short, i'm back to the dreaded 2 phones!!!

......the only saving grace in all of this, I now have 2 phones with amazing graphics that don't drop calls, have polished overlays and have I mentioned the stunning graphics.

The winner and niche aspect of the V350 was always the Dual SIM ability. If only they had gone for Active SIM and if only they had gone for polished, refined and reliable.......instead they went for cheap, cheap and cheaper............in my opinion, the wrong thing to do in this consumer led live or die market of smartphones.

I do hope they enter the marketplace in the future with better offerings, but even at the

 

[Crake]

At this time I think the brand company will be make phone more power with a better processor.

There isn't any with a processor 800 or more mhz?

You will got the new Gigabyte g1345 in a few days.

 

[smurfOnE]

I was torn between:

• v350
• getting a very cheap Eclipse or Simvalley model while waiting for something great.

If I were doing this over, I would go cheap. But I can't be bothered with a return, and the v350 is functional enough to go forward.

I don't care about cosmetic things like the USB cover. And as a hacker I tolerate s/w glitches.. that can be fixed later. I like the fact that rooting the v350 does not seem to void the warranty.

The dual standby situation is good enough as long as data usage doesn't block calls. I have not tested this yet.. but if downloading a webpage blocks the phone from ringing on either sim, that's a show stopper.

 

[smurfOnE]

I can confirm that the phone is Dual SIM Standby and not Active as hoped. Effectively if you are on a call with one SIM, the other SIM is unavailable and would divert to voicemail etc.

I can live with voice calls not being interrupted. More importantly, can a voice call interrupt data use?

I'd test it myself but I don't have a decent data plan.

 

[dmtaylor247]

Mate these are all tacky, when is someone gonna produce a decent dual sim

 

[teckidecki]

Has anyone got any idea where you can download the user manual for the v350......

must say my experience with the v350 is not as bad as will_wonka's, yes no ota's is annoying, v. annoying and w_w may be correct about the reason why but I haven't noticed any real lag with the interface or keyboard, both are normal on my phone. The screen is not great but I didn't expect it to be though I have to remember its 480 x 320 and really not a big issue. It functions fine and the touch response is very good i.e. on par with my SE Xperia Arc. Most phones are crap to read in sunlight except for the super omeled's.

Is it worth

 

[Shiny Side Up!]

I will be interested to hear how expansys responds to your RMA, will_wonka. My V350 arrives Monday - they tried to deliver Saturday but I wasn't home.

 

[will_wonka]

I can live with voice calls not being interrupted. More importantly, can a voice call interrupt data use?

I'd test it myself but I don't have a decent data plan.

I would test it, but its all boxed up ready to go back now

Let me just say that as previously described, I had real difficulties in receiving calls. Whether that was due to dicky reception or whether it was due to data, who knows. In places where my other phones would work quite happily with data and voice, the VS seemingly only offered one or the other but mostly none.

It may need a software tweak or it may be hardware related, I may have just been unlucky (although a friend also ordered one and his is also going back due to receiving no calls, so it cant all be coincidental!) I think the issue may be design inherent.

Sorry I cannot offer any more advice.

 

[will_wonka]

I will be interested to hear how expansys responds to your RMA, will_wonka. My V350 arrives Monday - they tried to deliver Saturday but I wasn't home.

Will update on here SSU when I have got a response!

 

[flamer]

This one certainly caught my eye Huawei U8520 (Android with dual SIM) unveiled by the FCC Unwired View

being a name brand I feel confident that the specs are true, and it has the most powerful specs so far, 1ghz CPU!!!! 512mb ram and 2gb ROM!!

best of ... 3G!!

screen is a bit of a let down at 3.2 but same res as v350 and only running froyo.

looks promising..

 

[Mr Floppy]

best of ... 3G!!

looks promising..

Only one 3G band in Australia? 2100Mhz?
Huawei U8520 Deuce Dual SIM Black | Buy Discounted Unlocked Cheap Outright Phone Techoni Mobile Phones Australia

 

[flamer]

Only one 3G band in Australia? 2100Mhz?
Huawei U8520 Deuce Dual SIM Black | Buy Discounted Unlocked Cheap Outright Phone Techoni Mobile Phones Australia

depends what provider you are with: UMTS frequency bands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[cha_indian]

i just ordered Lenovo A60 from etotalk.com and i got a confirmation message from etowalk.com !!!! Are they both the same companies ?? Hope they are sending a good phone

 

[jeroensteijl]

I am using the V350 for 3 days now and I mus say for me it is exellent! It even connects with my RNS315 (volkswagen)bluetooth carkit without any problem. Okay the usb cover could be better, the screen is hard to read with sunshine but real no further complains so far. I am using it for social networking, email, browsing, gps & some apps from android market etc. etc., Sim2 is my work-sim.

 

[Nortonko]

i just ordered Lenovo A60 from etotalk.com and i got a confirmation message from etowalk.com !!!! Are they both the same companies ?? Hope they are sending a good phone

yes this is the same company.

 

[baalco]

I am using the V350 for 3 days now and I mus say for me it is exellent! It even connects with my RNS315 (volkswagen)bluetooth carkit without any problem. Okay the usb cover could be better, the screen is hard to read with sunshine but real no further complains so far. I am using it for social networking, email, browsing, gps & some apps from android market etc. etc., Sim2 is my work-sim.

Hi,
what about the battery life?
Thanks

 

[smurfOnE]

Has anyone got any idea where you can download the user manual for the v350......

I've not seen one, but I'm actually glad about that.

In the absence of a user manual, the phone can be rooted, and I suspect it would then be difficult for VS to void the warranty by claiming it was "misused" (considering proper use has not been documented). This could make the v350 ideal for hackers.

And since you're also interested in updating the device, you may have to root it in order to do that.