The Sim Tool review

11 August 2004 19:08 GMT / By Stuart Miles

We’ve all either lost or had our mobile phone stolen at some point. If you haven’t then you probably never carry it around. For the less fortunate, this little tool might come in handy. The Sim Tool is a backup device the size of a credit card calculator for your mobile phone sim card allowing you to make a copy of it, in case it gets stolen.

If you do get your phone stolen or simply leave it on the train after a night out, this backup unit means that you won’t have lost all your numbers alongside the phone. Okay so you could just write them all down and then spend the next week keying everything back in, this however promises to allow to you simply press one button and everything is done for you.

It’s cheap, easy to use and is potentially a lifesaver. Once you get a new sim card you slot it in the side and can then easily transfer your numbers over to the new card (however be warned this will delete anything already on the card - yes we almost deleted all our contacts testing the thing). Additionally you can add and edit numbers and names using the calculator like interface on the three line black and white LCD display. The unit can store up to 500 contacts regardless of how many sims they have come from, although once transferred to the unit you can’t separate the numbers out again.

Verdict

While you’re not going to be using this unit everyday, it is a handy little device to have in case that horrible day comes when you’ve parted company with your phone. The unit is easy to use and not only allows you to backup your sim card, but also allows to you manually add or edit numbers as well - a handy feature, but one we could see little use for as it’s no different from a entering a number via your phone. Is there a downside? Well it will only allow you to store 500 numbers in the memory, but for the average user we can’t see this being a problem.

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Review Recap

Made by: Porta-Charge
Price as reviewed: £15
The good: Backup your sim without a computer, small and easy to use
The bad: Could delete all of your contacts with one swift button press
Quick verdict: While you’re not going to be using this unit everyday, it is a handy little device to have in case you’ve parted company with your phone
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