Nokia C1-00 review: Dual SIM-phony

Introduction

After years of watching their rivals introduce one dual SIM phone after another, a few months back Nokia finally decided to join them and unveiled its first mobile phones capable of accommodating two SIM cards at the same time. Eager to see what it held in store, we took one of them, the Nokia C1-00, for a spin around our testing grounds.

Nokia C1-00 official photos

Instead of even bothering to catch up with the competition, the Finns chose to play the game by their own rules and made their first steps into the dual SIM mobile phone market by announcing a couple of entry level devices. No luster and certainly nothing groundbreaking, these devices (including the C1-00) pack only the most basic of features.

So, you get what you pay for. And what you need. Which is dual SIM telephony. The Nokia C1-00 works with two SIM cards and comes with a color display, a built-in FM radio and a handy flashlight.

Here’s the pros and cons of getting a Nokia C1-00.

Key features:

• Entry level dual SIM feature phone
• Dual-band GSM support (GSM 900/1800 MHz), no dual standby
• 1.8" 65K-color display of 128-by-160-pixel resolution
• FM radio
• Flashlight
• Low price
• Promising 1020mAh battery

Main disadvantages:

• Only one SIM card is active at a time
• Keypad not comfy enough
• No memory card slot
• No support for GPRS, EDGE or Bluetooth

As the short specs sheet reveals, there is no camera on the C1-00 back, and there is no need to look for a memory card slot either – you won’t find any. However, it would’ve been more surprising to actually see those on a 30-euro mobile phone. Long story short, the Nokia C1-00 feature pack is actually just fine.

What isn’t, though, is the phone’s dual SIM functionality. While this still is a dual SIM capable device, there is no dual standby on board. In other words, only one of the two inserted SIM cards is active at a time while the inactive one is unreachable.

Nokia C1-00 live shots

Despite that, the Nokia C1-00 is still quite useful. You don’t need to turn off the phone each time you want to toggle the active SIM card, and let’s not forget that the C1-00 is among the most affordable phones out there.

Let’s see what else is under the Nokia C1-00 hood. Join us on the next page to take a look at the phone’s design and construction.