Nokia has released two new C-series, dual-SIM card handsets in Africa in an effort to cater to a market where people often subscribe to multiple operators.One of the two handsets officially released yesterday was originally meant to come on to the market in the fourth quarter of last year. When the first C-series handset was launched, company officials said the company was responding to user demand across Africa. The two models that were officially released on to the African market this week offer a convenient and intuitive experience for switching between SIM cards, according to company officials."The Nokia X1-01 and the Nokia C2-00 pack more memory, better battery life and far richer SIM change," said Kenneth Oyolla, the general manager for Nokia East and Southern Africa.

"In addition to their various unique features, both of these phones remember the settings for up to five separate SIM cards, each of which can be personalized with a dedicated name as well as preferred call, SMS or data settings," Oyolla said.
As competition among the telecommunications providers in markets like Uganda and Kenya intensifies, with players locked in non-stop price wars, users have been spoiled for choice and that is where the dual-SIM handsets have come into the picture. Users are motivated to hold or own more than one SIM card because they don't want to miss out on a good offer while maintaining another line could be for identity purposes.
"In our market today, most people subscribe to more than one telecom player. As it is, either your SIM card is in the phone or in the wallet," Emmy Olaki, the marketing and communications officer at Uganda Telecom said in e-mail.
"But if people are able to have two SIM cards operational at the same time, then that will be good for both the telecom players and the users," Olaki said. "Also, this being a Nokia product, am sure those who did not like the Chinese clones will go for something that is value for their money."
Although Samsung retails handsets with the dual-SIM capability as well, many dual-SIM phones on the African market are Chinese clones.
The X1-01 offers an enhanced dual-SIM music experience, allowing users tor store and shuffle thousands of songs with up to 16GB of memory support. The Nokia C2-00 on the other hand, offers 32GB of storage and lets users browse the Internet, read e-mails and enjoy instant messaging with either SIM card.