Last week was a milestone in phone history, as Nokia finally wised up and released a couple of dual-sim phones on the market. The C1-00 and C2-00 share the distinction as Nokia's first ever dual-sim models, but there's a crucial difference between both phones.
The Nokia C1-00 will ship during the third quarter of this year. It will cost around 30 euros (around $36.50), a price clearly for the budget market. For that amount future buyers will get a phone with a built-in flashlight, FM radio, 3.5mm earphone jack, and a promised six weeks of battery life. While the phone accepts two sims, it can only use one of them at a time.
The Nokia C2-00 on the other hand will cost around 45 euros ($54.50), and is scheduled for a Q4 2010 release. It's basically a slightly larger C1-00 with dual-standby capability, meaning it can keep both sims active at the same time. One sim slot is hot-swappable, and there's also a microSD slot that accepts up to 32GB memory cards.
Both phones also pack a VGA camera, some 3G access, and of course, Bluetooth. It's not clear why anyone would get the C1-00. We always like our dual-sim phones to keep both sims active all the time. Maybe the C1-00 is perfect for people who lead two lives, represented by the switching between active sims.
Whatever the case, it's clear that Nokia should rethink its naming scheme soon. Before you know it, we'll be writing about the N900-XXX!
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