tri-sim
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With three SIM slots, Acer's Liquid E700 is a phone for frequent travelers
Not that you'd know from its formulaic product name (seriously, Acer, you've gotta switch things up), but the 5-inch Liquid E700 Android smartphone has an interesting feature geared toward travelers: three SIM slots. Dual-SIM phones are one thing, but why would anyone need space for three? Acer envisions you having separate work and personal cards, with trips abroad requiring one more. And though it's mostly a matter of convenience -- you can keep your home SIM in the phone while also popping in one at your international destination -- the setup has the side benefit of preventing you from losing any cards as well.
GooPhone and LG to offer first tri-SIM smartphones using MediaTek chips
Dual-SIM phones are handy in regions where international travel and prepaid service are common, but even those devices aren't always enough for jetsetters. Thankfully, GooPhone and LG have come to those customers' rescue by launching the first smartphones based on a new MediaTek Triple-SIM chip. Both the leaked GooPhone X1+ (shown above) and a just-shipped variant of the Optimus L4 II (after the break) can juggle three phone lines without a big hit to battery life. Neither tri-SIM phone is high-end: the X1+ reportedly carries a 5-inch FWVGA display and a dual-core MT6572 processor, while the L4 II sports a 3.8-inch HVGA screen and an unnamed 1GHz chip. Despite those limitations, we suspect the handsets will be vital to anyone who'd rather not switch SIMs when crossing the border. LG's phone is already on sale in Brazil, while the GooPhone X1+ should ship to multiple countries within the next several days.
Qualcomm grows Snapdragon 200 family with six new chips, targets emerging markets
Just because Qualcomm's gone to plaid (aka. reached ludicrous speed) with its Snapdragon 800 flagship doesn't mean the company's been standing still at the other end of the market. The Snapdragon 200 family just received a major boost with the introduction of six new chips geared at China and other emerging markets. Available with dual- and quad-core CPUs, the processors are manufactured using a 28nm process and incorporate HSPA+ (21Mbps) and TD-SCDMA radios. The new SoCs are optimized to provide good multimedia performance and long battery life, with support for dual cameras (up to 8MP rear and 5MP front), multiple SIMs (dual standby, dual active and tri standby), iZat location tech and Quick Charge 1.0. Qualcomm's Adreno 302 GPU rounds up the spec list, making these chips well suited for devices running Android, Windows Phone and Firefox OS. The company's expected to begin shipping these new processors (8x10 and 8x12) in late 2013. Full PR after the break.
