Onyx unveils dual-SIM handsets

The Nero touch-screen phone lets users fit two SIM cards

UK-based Onyx has introduced a range of mobile handsets that can take two SIM cards, allowing buyers to use different networks for business and personal calls, or to carry an international SIM for use when travelling abroad.

Announced today, the three new handsets are the clamshell-style Flip, the Slider music phone and the Nero touch-screen handset.

Onyx also said that it plans to launch a dual-SIM smartphone based on Google's Android platform in the near future.

The ability to fit two SIM cards enables users to access two different networks and tariffs on the one handset, according to Onyx. This allows the user to take advantage of the best available tariff, or to fit a different SIM for travelling abroad.

It could also aid businesses by letting users make personal and business calls from different mobile accounts, without having to carry two handsets.

According to Onyx, the devices have a unified contact list, but sport an extra green 'call' button associated with the second SIM to let users easily choose which one to use when placing a call.

"These new handsets offer consumers a different choice, one that many people have been crying out for," Onyx chairman Zafar Mirza said in a statement.

The Flip phone is described as a lightweight and stylish clamshell handset, while the Slider music phone has email functionality and a 2-megapixel camera. The Nero also has email capability, a camera and a touch-screen interface.

An Onyx spokesman said that the company is in discussions with the UK mobile networks to carry the phones, and that they will also be sold SIM-free through retail outlets starting at about £120.