Most handset makers sell a majority of their devices through operators, so they’ll do anything to maintain that relationship, even if it means not bringing a product that consumers want out to market. We’re talking about multi SIM devices of course, the phones that let people have more than one phone number so they can save themselves some money on calls and texts instead of making operators richer and fatter. Chinese handset vendors were the first to sell dual SIM devices, but Samsung became the first real credible brand to do so. Nokia joined them in the dual SIM device race during the summer of 2010. But let’s say you want more than two numbers? For the most part you’ve been plain shit out of luck and forced to either carry a dual SIM device and a separate phone or worst case scenario three separate devices, but LG thinks they can help out. They’ve just announced the A290 for the Russian market and it’s the first triple SIM device from a top tier handset maker. There have been triple SIM devices in the past, but we never really saw them outside of China and from the images alone you could spot some pretty questionable build quality.
Now the A290 isn’t going to win any awards in the specs department. It has a 2.2 inch screen, 1.3 megapixel camera, and a 1500 mAh battery, but hey, this is a device for the penny pinching talk and text crowd, not the iPhone toting 1%. Will LG make it available outside of Russia? Something tells us that if they do then it sure as hell isn’t coming to Europe or America. Maybe China, but at that point they’re just going to be competing with what the local vendors are producing.
We just have one question: If you can’t afford talking and texting through one SIM card, how can you afford to have three girlfriends? That’s a lot of dates.