Quad Sim Quad Band phone now being sold

[PhotoJim]

I've ordered one, too. We still have full-power analog TV here in Canada (in fact, my province doesn't even have any digital or HDTV broadcasts at all - you need cable or satellite to get them) so I can give the TV functionality a good test.

[GadgetKen]

After 22 hours of standby yesterday and today plus 4 phone calls and some java games and TV set watching, I've got about a 40% charge left on the battery. Will charge it up tonight. With the higher capacity battery on order it should be even better.

Tried adding more low power analog tv stations near my office (closer to a major city than my home), and got 2 English speaking tv channels (one a CBS affiliate and the other a CW affiliate) plus the 3 Spanish speaking tv channels I previously had loaded in. Main reason for getting the phone was just having all my sim cards active simultaneously, the analog tv set, dual cameras, fm radio video/audio recorders, and java capability are just nice extras. Plus I don't have to pay fees for using any of those extra features.

Added some more Java games including an Atari game set that includes Asteroids, Centipede and Tank, as well as PacMan and Tetris. Also put in a java based freeware French/English dictionary. Might also add a multi-language phrase dictionary I saw online. Add Java applications by a bluetooth transfer from my MacBook Pro that uses a Millenicom/Verizon modem.

[Roti2000]

These are great posts. Very informative. I've read about these sorts of phones, but have never seen/used multiple SIM phones before.

Here's the question, on the aliexpress site this phone is advertised as "quad standby."

I am assuming this means that you turn on the phone and have to choose ONE of your SIMs for the phone to monitor? If someone calls on the other SIM numbers does it go to voicemail?

I have heard of "active dual SIM" phones before, which I take to mean that you are monitoring both SIM numbers simultaneously, i.e. assuming you are not on a call, you can get calls from either SIM line.

I would really like one of the latter--I'm headed to Mexico and I already have a TELCEL Amigo with free incoming, but I wanted to get an AT&T Prepaid US SIM to get the occasional US call.

I am assuming that the "standby" phones don't work this way.

If anyone can clarify just how the multi-sim phones work, that would be greatly appreciated!

[GadgetKen]

The number of sims listed as standby are the number of lines that can be monitored for receive at the same time. On some phones it equals the number of sims, on a few multi-sim phones, it may be less.

If you are receiving a phone call on any of these standby sims, then it would ring and you would answer. However, some phones only have bluetooth on one of these sims (in the case of my dual sim MFU v200 it's on both, on the case of this quad sim phone it is only advertised as bluetooth on line one). Answering from the handset without bluetooth would be on any of these lines. Likewise with a wired handset.

For placing phone calls, there are multiple send buttons on the phone. If I bring up my phonebook (a composite of all sims with a sim card number indicator next to each phone number), I can then specify which sim I want to dial the call. Or I can manually dial a number and then press the send 1/2 or send 3/4 button to specify I want to call with one of those sims (and then specify which of those 2 sims I want to dial from a menu either on the touchscreen or with the directional keypad).

Note that not all sims may work in all countries, and rates will vary by country used. In the US, all 4 sims would be active for me (although roaming rates using the Digicel card would be high). When I am in Grand Cayman early next year, the Digicel and Ekit sims would be cheapest for calls, while the AT&T/Jolt and T-Mobile/Tuyo would only work in emergency call mode since they are prepaid sim chips without roaming in that country.

[Roti2000]

Thanks a lot Ken--that makes a lot of sense. I have one of those ekit SIMs also (Passport) so it will be interesting to see how that whole callback thing functions with various multi-SIM phones.

If only this quad sim had WIFI!

[GadgetKen]

There is such a thing a microsd wifi card: Spectec Computer Co., Ltd but I can not guarantee it will work in this phone (caveat emptor).

[rfranzq]

Hello all. Could everyone that is getting this phone report back after you get it with your experiences? Also, is this the only quad SIM phone out now?

[GadgetKen]

The Fly-Ying F160 is also being private labeled as the Otech F1, but there is no other quad sim phone that I am aware of.

There are some triple sim (either GSM/GSM/GSM or GSM/GSM/CDMA(ruim)) and loads of dual sim phones, but this is the first I've seen with four sims. Don't know if competing phone companies in China will come out with quad sim phones because this is sort of a niche product.

[GadgetKen]

Got the Nokia BL-4u battery clone in the mail. Smaller than the Fly-Ying battery although connectors the same, so not compatible (despite what the phone ad said). No big deal because I can just use it for a Nokia phone or open it for the lithium cells.

Will just swap the two included packs when needed. Might try at a phone kiosk in a shopping mall some time to figure out what the phone battery is the equivalent of (if anything).

[PhotoJim]

I got my phone yesterday. I haven't done much with it, other than to install some SIM cards (eKit Simple Calling, the eKit US/UK number SIM, Orange UK and T-Mobile US). It's a little useless in a sense here in Canada since all four are roaming on Rogers but the phone works. I'm guessing the radios aren't always on the same frequency since the signal strengths vary. (Rogers has 2G coverage at both 850 and 1900 MHz here.)

The TV works - we have four SDTV analog broadcasts here. Picture quality isn't very good, but because I'm several kilometres away from the broadcast sites, a person needs directional antennas to get good signal indoors. I'll play with it outdoors and see if it's better. It's certainly watchable.

The radio works well. More distant signals are prone to noise but still listenable. A 100,000 watt signal broadcast from 70 km west of here was a bit staticky but not overwhelmingly so. (It comes in perfectly in my car.) Local stations are fine.

I haven't actually made a real call with the phone yet, just called a busy signal to be sure the phone works. I'll play with it over the next few days.

So far I'm pleased. For the money the phone does a lot.