Khe Longsean, a 22-year-old Information Technology student studying at the University of Cambodia, has been using his Chinese-imported Dual SIM mobile phone for more than a month now.  He finds it easier to carry one phone at a time with two SIM cards.

Before switching to the Dual, Khe Longesan had been using a Single SIM mobile phone since high school.  Recently though, he decided to buy a Dual SIM mobile phone while continuing to use his Single SIM.

“I don’t have to carry two phones with two SIMs,” Khe Longsean said.  “Whenever people call me, I just answer SIM one of SIM two.  It’s all very easy to use.”

He is not the only one who has begun to take advantage of the Dual SIM mobile phone’s convenience.  In fact, thousands of other Cambodian teenagers are following suit.

Seng Bopha, whose family runs Sopheap Piseth mobile phone shop, said that with the increasingly cheap SIM promotions from mobile phone service providers, a lot of teens are buying new SIM cards to use and throw away after exhausting the promotion accounts.   

“They need mobile phones to use with those SIMs, but when they buy a Dual SIM mobile phone they do not need to change SIM cards all the time.  It’s more convenient for them,” 22-year-old Seng Bopha said.

She pointed out that Chinese Dual SIM mobile phones are very popular among users, especially teenagers. “They‘re cute and cheap,” she said.

Attentive to customer needs, Hello, a mobile phone service provider, introduced a Dual SIM mobile phone to the Cambodian market in February, priced at $21 per handset.  “It is the best Dual SIM handset bundling package in town,” Hello claims.   

“This Dual SIM handset offers customers freedom to carry a 2nd SIM in a highly multi-SIM market hence generating loyalty amongst our customer base,” Tim Vireaktey wrote in email.

When asked how many Dual SIM phone Hello sells per month, Tim Vireaktey answered nonspecifically: “Hello continues to be tremendously successful in the sales of this product since its launch.”

Seeing the potential of the Dual SIM mobile phone, Nokia introduced two new Duals in Cambodia at the end of May, part of a billion dollar strategy to profit off the trend.  (Check out this week’s “What’s New” for details on the product).

Adding to the technology’s momentum, Mary T. McDowell, Executive Vice President of Nokia’s Mobile Phones department, introduced a newer and more innovative Dual SIM card mobile phones which access the internet and have GPS mapping capabilities, among other features.

With the dominance of Chinese Dual SIM mobile phones and local phone service providers driven by low prices and a host of promotions, Nokia has to offer something novel and exciting to gain entry into the Cambodian cell phone market.  

In a interview regarding Nokia’s strategy to gain a share of the market, Mary T. McDowell explained that the combination of exciting features, affordable prices, quality manufacturing, and integration of other Nokia services like maps and web browsers, should be enough to attract customers. 

Khe Longsean, who uses a Chinese Dual SIM mobile, said he looks for a cheap price and an attractive case when he is buying a phone.  “Chinese Dual SIM mobile phones are cheaper than the Single SIM phone and have more functions.  Though I can’t access the internet through my Dual SIM, I can still use the browser on my single SIM,” said Khe Longsean.