Sondra Sneed
Beyond E-Tech, Chinese manufacturer, is serious about ‘Made in China,’ ventures out beyond OEMs to engineer own line: Duet
HOUSTON, TX - It’s no secret, even to the Chinese, that if a product says, “made in China” there’s a stigma attached. But chinese manufacturer, Beyond E-Tech, has its U. S. office in Houston, Texas, and is backed by Advanced Battery Technologies (ABAT) to prove that they are serious about the cell phone business here and abroad. They have also taken on the FCC’s regulatory challenge to build the first FCC Approved dual-SIM phone. They call it “Duet.”
These phones are unlocked and available to GSM operators. The products satisfy two consumer demographics: the multi-national traveler and the individual who has to carry two phones. They are not the first dual-SIM phones to come from China, but are the first that are legal to trade.
Duet’s ability to combine your personal phone and a travel phone into one device has prompted National Geographic to also take the Duet D888 seriously. They stamped their brand on its case as their next generation travel phone. Orders have come from Cellular Abroad’s website, which is providing pre-paid services on the Nat Geo SIMs. These SIMs carry free, unlimited incoming call services in over 50 countries, and 90 cents per minute for outgoing calls.
The Duet D888 is so dual purpose that you can text from one SIM while talking on the other, from the same phone. Its usefulness got attention from CNET’s senior editor Kent German, who summarized a “3.5 stars - very good” rating by saying frankly, “The Duet D888 won’t impress otherwise, but its capability to accommodate two SIM cards at once is more than welcome.” For CNET to review the product at all shows its marketability and to receive a “very good” rating means there is a lot to covet about this phone and the manufacturer who’s made great efforts to bring it to market. CNET’s editor took it with him on a trip to Australia and provided a full report of its features and performance on CNET.com.
Sebastian Harrison, Cellular Abroad’s president was positive about the phone and its manufacturer stating, “We were looking for a quality handset with unique features for our new National Geographic Travel Phone. We needed a company who could work with us in a timely fashion to add customization at the factory level. FCC approval is imperative and a US presence is a significant plus. Thus far they have exceeded our expectations, so much so that besides the customizations that [Beyond E-Tech] is doing for us on the Nat Geo-branded phone, we have also decided to distribute their non-branded phones as well.” Cellular Abroad is actively expanding its distribution channels and the company’s marketing VP, Scott Nielsen, (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)), will handle distribution requests made to Cellular Abroad about the Duet line-up.
The success of the D888 lead to another dual SIM phone called the D8, which is a touch screen phone that is very good looking and also received CNET coverage. A review is available on CNET’s website.
Beyond E-Tech’s partner association with ABAT is a boon for consumers because every phone they make comes with an extra battery. They have also equipped their phones with two camera lenses so that video calls are possible, which places their phones a step ahead of the US market demand. The manufacturer has been making phones for major OEMs like Samsung and Motorola, so they know the drill on getting FCC approval before entering US trade borders with products. “Many Chinese manufacturing companies don’t know the business,” says Melinda Huang, Houston-based general manager. “We have worked very hard to do everything right so that we can take this company and our products to a level that changes the market’s perspective about ‘Made in China.’”