As mobile phone usage needs grow, non-branded hybrid-sim smartphones serve as an affordable alternative Mobile phone usage in the UK has grown substantially over the past few years. According to market regulator Ofcom, at least 94% of UK adults personally owned a mobile phone by the first quarter of 2017. More specifically, however, Britons’ adoption of smartphones has seen a significant increase, with that number only expected to surge as existing users consider owning a secondary phone for a variety of reasons, least of which is safety.
Smartphone adoption per household is on the rise in the UK, according to the ‘State of the Smart’ survey by consulting firm Deloitte, smartphone usage in the UK rose to 85% of the total adult population in 2017, from just around 52% five years earlier. That survey also showed that at least 30% of such users intended to buy a new or second-hand smartphone within a year’s time.
For existing mobile phone users in the UK who are looking to buy an extra mobile phone as a backup to their primary phone, choosing a non-branded smartphone that is affordable and comes armed with additional features such as a dual sim slot or a hybrid sim slot may be an ideal solution.
Dual SIM Smartphones Seen As A Good Second Phone Option For Mobile Phone Users Non-branded phones The growing body of research on user’s buying trends confirms that price is a key decision-making factor when purchasing a new or additional mobile phone. For this reason, buying an unbranded mobile phone may be a sound choice as these generally come with more practical features, while mimicking the look of the more expensive smartphones.
To be sure, the availability of additional features is another reason to be considered when choosing to buy an additional phone. A majority of non-branded mobile phones and smartphones being offered in the market come with dual sim slots or hybrid sim slots.
Hybrid SIM phones With a hybrid sim slot, you can use your phone to operate two sims or swap one of the sim slots to accommodate an SD memory card phone with 32 GB memory. This means, your hybrid sim phone can also double up as an SD memory card phone as they allow you to use one of the sim slots to insert your memory card.
In other words, you can literally use your phone as a dual sim smartphone or as a single sim smartphone but with an expanded memory space. However, if you’re planning to use the additional sim slot to have an expanded memory space on your phone, you need to ensure you get the right micro SD card size as some phones have size limitations.
Advantages of Hybrid SIM Phones What’s great about these phones is that they save a lot of space and are hence very slim. These are also very simple and easy to use. Too easy, in fact, because you can use a simple pin to easily insert or remove an extra sim or SD micro card.
Also, this feature is great to have when you’re travelling and need an additional slot for a sim from a different and perhaps even cheaper carrier. The option to switch between using it as a dual sim and a single sim with an additional memory card has been a lifesaver for me when travelling to different locations. At such times, I find I can use this feature to quickly switch from one carrier to another without losing all my contacts.
In conclusion According to Statista, 40% of UK adults owned two mobile phones at home, while 16% had 4 or more mobile phones per household. The growing adoption of smartphones in the UK suggests users are increasingly warming to the idea of owning more than one phone to serve their varying needs. Still, when price and functionality are key factors, the non branded hybrid sim phones may top the list.
