Onyx announces a trio of dual-SIM mobiles- the Flip, Slider and Nero

The list of British mobile phone manufacturers is a short and inglorious one. Yet there’s still one slightly below the radar company which has been manufacturing devices since early 2008 – namely Onyx. Today the company has announced the impending arrival of a trio of mobile phones that it claims are ‘affordable, aspirational and alternative devices.

The trio, the Flip, Slider and the Nero, are also innovative in that they all boast twin SIM card holders, the theory being that savvy users can choose which SIM they use thereby saving money on text calls. Alternatively they can combine a business number and a personal number with different networks and tariffs yet use the same handset.

Details about the handsets are still a bit sketchy – but here’s what we know

The first of the trio is the Flip, a budget clamshell handset.

Slightly better specified is the Slider which also includes email functionality and a two mega pixel camera.

Completing the range is the Nero which boasts a touch screen and also includes email and a two mega pixel camera. It has 2.4inch QVGA Touch screen, 240 x 320, 262K colours, WAP, Bluetooth and FM radio and 320MB of storage on board.

“These new handsets offer consumers a different choice, one that many people have been crying out for,” said Zafar Mirza, Chairman of Onyx. “They are stylish, practical and will be very competitively priced. And the dual-sim function means that consumers can shop around for the best tariffs or have a great phone to take with them as they travel abroad.”

The company has also outlined plans for a further handsets including an Android based model with a five mega pixel camera and a phone that uses the Windows Mobile operating system. All are dual SIM.

So far the company has deals with a range of European mobile phone networks including divisions of Vodafone (Italy) and O2’s parent company Telefonica in Spain. There is no announced deal with a UK operator yet though, or is there any confirmation when the devices will go on sale.

The Nero is at the top, pictured below are the Flip and underneath, the Slider.

Here’s Onyx’s last UK mobile