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The HTC One is finally getting a microSD memory card slot — and a second SIM card to boot.
HTC today announced a dual-aim version of its excellent flagship Android smart phone, addressing the question of memory that was one of the only things we didn’t like about the One.
Even if you’re not bothered about having a second SIM card, the dual-SIM phone improves on the original One by adding a microSD slot, so you can store up to 64GB more movies and music, apps and snaps.
The trade-off is that the back comes off to get at the SIM cards, which does detract from the slickness of the One’s beautifully made aluminium unibody.
The dual-SIM phone holds two SIM cards at the same time, so you can choose which number to use for each call or text message, switching between them without turning the phone off. That’s handy if, as a f’instance, you’re abroad and you want to take advantage of a local number with local call rates, without cutting off your home number for the duration of your trip. Or perhaps you’re sick of carrying a personal phone and a work phone. Or maybe you want to have one number for the wife and another for the mistress. Hey, we’re not judging.
The dual-SIM version of the One can only be bought directly from HTC at the moment, for £494.99. You can place your order now but the date it’ll be delivered into your hands is yet to be confirmed.
HTC is also “in advanced talks with a number of networks and retailers” to carry the dual-SIM phone, but it’s likely to be a hard sell.
“Dual SIMs have never really taken off in the UK,” industry expert Jonathan Leggett at uSwitch told CNET recently. “Networks never really got behind them, so many consumers don’t really know they exist. That may be because networks would stand to lose out financially if pay as you go customers have handsets that make it easier to avoid higher-priced, cross-network calls.”
Would you use a dual-SIM phone? Now it’s got a memory card, is the HTC One the perfect phone? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
