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Old Oct 8, 2009, 2:06 pm
  #1  
tcl
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Buying Dual Sim phones & phone plans in HK

I'm going to be in HK in November & December and was wondering where I could get a "true" Dual Sim phone in HK? Would Broadway or Fortress or the other bigger shops have "true" Dual Sim phones? Or is this something I would have to look for in the Wan Chai and Mong Kok areas? Or even in Shenzhen?

By "true" Dual Sim, I am referring to a phone where both Sims are active at the same time so I can receive calls from 2 Sims at the same time instead of switching from one to the other.

I'd ideally like to find a "true" Dual Sim that is Quad Band and hopefully has Wifi. Is there one like this on the market?

Also, I heard of a one-Sim-two-use plan in HK, but cannot find any information online about that. I'm assuming this plan is for HK & Shenzhen only. Can anyone explain how this works?
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Old Oct 8, 2009, 6:33 pm
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If you look at the fortreess website you will be able to find "real" dual sim phone. That would be the best bet in IMHO as they come with warranty and have real software ( not some hacked kind).

As far as the plan you talk about im not to sure what you mean but it may be something that is offered by China Mobile (which also operates in HK) you get two numbers. One for HK and one for the mainland yet it goes to your same sim
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Old Oct 8, 2009, 6:40 pm
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Originally Posted by bundi404
As far as the plan you talk about im not to sure what you mean but it may be something that is offered by China Mobile (which also operates in HK) you get two numbers. One for HK and one for the mainland yet it goes to your same sim
China Unicom offers a sim card that has two numbers, one for use when in HK and the other when in China - primarily Kwangtong province. The downside is cost per call is higher than having two different numbers. Available for purchase in HK (china unicom store has it, not sure if 7/11 does?) - retail list price is RMB120 but they have expiration dating. I just bought two that expire Dec 31, 2009 for about HK$70 each.

www.gd.chinaunicom.com - but it's in chinese

TCL - btw, check the other thread for answer to your 'other' question

Last edited by dtsm; Oct 8, 2009 at 6:46 pm
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Old Oct 8, 2009, 7:22 pm
  #4  
tcl
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Bundi404: Thanks for the heads-up on the Fortress website; didn't realize they have a mirror site in English now I'm much more comfortable buying from them. However they only have up to Tri-band and the N. American GSM850 is a freq I really need for my American and Canadian Sims.

dtsm: Thanks for the info on the China Unicom phone plan. Will get someone to translate it for me However it still looks like having a dual phone is probably the better way to go in terms of cost.

Sorry about the similar post in the other thread I had some more local questions that I thought would get answered here but overlooked there

How are the Mainland Chinese phones? Do they have quadband? & are they reliable?
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Old Oct 8, 2009, 7:38 pm
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I think for a proper Dual SIM phone with a better known brand will be LG KS660.

Note that it only works with 2G network

For one card two number, you can get plan from PEOPLES, which is a child company of China Mobile. http://www.hk.chinamobile.com/p_roam...o_intro_en.jsp

But, for me as an infrequent visitor to China, I bring 2 phones
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Old Oct 8, 2009, 8:57 pm
  #6  
tcl
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Thanks ChrisLi for the English site. The unlimited free calls to China sounds good. When in HK, I am frequently hopping back and forth across the border and so having 2 phones and sometimes 3 is a pain.
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Old Oct 9, 2009, 4:32 am
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Originally Posted by tcl
How are the Mainland Chinese phones? Do they have quadband? & are they reliable?
Answered in the other thread: YES
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Old Oct 11, 2009, 2:41 am
  #8  
tcl
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Can anyone give ballpark prices for a Dual Sim Standby Quadband phone for Hong Kong and the Shenzen/LoWu City area? The JNC brand from fortress is HK$500 so I'm assuming less than that?

Last edited by tcl; Oct 11, 2009 at 2:41 am Reason: typo
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Old Oct 13, 2009, 7:23 pm
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I just read magazine while waiting for doctor and China Mobile Stored Value SIM now support on demand 1 sim 2 number. You activiate the china number only when needed on 1 day / 7 day / 30 day basis @ HKD /15HKD / 25 HKD

For that you don't need to signup for contract/plan which is quite good

http://www.hk.chinamobile.com/p_prep...alk_vas_en.jsp
http://www.hk.chinamobile.com/pop_icmn_en.jsp

Last edited by ChrisLi; Oct 13, 2009 at 9:03 pm
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Old Oct 15, 2009, 8:58 am
  #10  
 
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Originally Posted by tcl
Can anyone give ballpark prices for a Dual Sim Standby Quadband phone for Hong Kong and the Shenzen/LoWu City area? The JNC brand from fortress is HK$500 so I'm assuming less than that?
Saw an iphone clone with dual sim standby for RMB630 in Huaqiangbei Shenzhen. Will get one to try out soon.
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Old Oct 15, 2009, 9:57 am
  #11  
 
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Originally Posted by kitsura
Saw an iphone clone with dual sim standby for RMB630 in Huaqiangbei Shenzhen. Will get one to try out soon.
'tai guei'!

I exchanged pms with tcl - mini iPhone (VIP model) can be had for rmb350-400 max. the iPhone with dual sim is older model and probably should cost even less (?)

Word of caution to all buyers - the software isn't even close to the real iPhone. If you want to make regular calls out and receive calls in, works like a charm. If you say return a call from someone that called you, it's like a 6 step process!

I didn't try any of the other applications except the camera (ma ma hu hu!).

In Shenzhen try:
4A-043B, 4/F
Hua Jiang North Rd

Actually the entire building is devoted to mobile phones.
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