UPDATED with Judie’s pictures from MWC
ViewSonic not only announced some great new tablets at MWC but they are also announcing a host of new smartphones. Among them is the first Ice Cream Sandwich Dual-SIM Smartphone.
Why dual-SIM? Dual-SIM phones are expected to see an 80% growth rate in the next two years and, according to market research group Strategy Analytics, 206 million dual-SIM handsets will be sold worldwide in 2014. That compares to compared with 41 million in 2010.
As the ViewSonic Press Release notes,
Dual-SIM phones are expected to grow as users prefer to carry one handset for both private and professional use. They allow the use of two services without the need to carry two phones at the same time but yet maintain separate numbers, data and bills. In addition users can take advantage of different pricing plans for calls and text messages to certain destinations as well as mobile data usage, helping to save on expensive roaming charges while making mobile communication easier to manage.
As Brian Wei, Head of Product Marketing for ViewSonic Europe noted,
ViewSonic’s Dual-SIM smartphones are the ideal solution for corporate markets, frequent travellers, those studying abroad or wanting to keep in touch with friends and family overseas. We have designed these phones with the users in mind so while they are sophisticated and packed with features, they are also a simple and effective way to communicate.
Here’s a quick look at the phones.
The ViewPhone 4s is a dual-SIM 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display smartphone.It runs Android 4.0 Ice cream sandwich and offers a high resolution super clear IPS panel and wide viewing angles. Each SIM port is capable of performing independent tasks simultaneously. European Launch is expected Q2 2012.
The ViewPhone 5e is a 5” Capacitive multi-touch display. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The screen has a resolution of 800×480 WVGA. The dual-SIM phone comes packed with PicSel Smart Office, allowing the user to have full editing capabilities for Microsoft word, Excel and PowerPoint documents as well as market leasing file viewing for Adobe PDF documents and images. European Launch is expected Q3 2012.
The ViewPhone 4e is an entry level Smartphone. It has a 3.5” capacitive touch display and is only 10.3mm wide despite still being a dual-SIM Smartphone. It runs Android 2.3 gingerbread and has a 650MHz processor. With an FM radio and good quality streaming capabilities, the ViewPhone 4e “does not compromise on its features”. European Launch is expected Q2 2012.
Finally there is the ViewPhone 3. This phone “allows users to separate work and personal calls, providing more freedom and privacy across both networks, including GSM, EDGE and HSDPA”. It has a 3.5” capacitive touch display and 5 Mega pixel camera. A Qualcomm 800Mhz processor drives it and the phone runs Android 2.3 It is expected late Q1 2012.
Check out the company website here www.viewsonicseurope.com/uk/company/news