Technology start-up Mobile Genius has developed a device that aims to "liberate people from expensive roaming call charges" and allows access to two SIM cards anywhere in the world.
The Hong Kong-based company says the device allows travellers to use their home and business lines globally and enables them to keep their work and personal lives separate, while benefiting from a built-in personal artificial intelligence assistant.
The Mobile Genius SIM card hub allows users to receive and place calls or SMS from multiple numbers on a single device through the Mobile Genius app. The calls are always billed at the user's local mobile carrier rate from anywhere in the world, effectively cutting out roaming charges altogether.
Users insert their SIM cards in the Mobile Genius device and leave it in their home or office while travelling. The hardware device then allows travellers to access their SIM cards through an iOS app, letting them send and receive calls on their local number, without any subscription fees.
The hardware allows the use of multiple accounts of popular services like WhatsApp to separate business and personal messages.
"The device also includes built-in artificial intelligence features to make its users more productive, acting like a personal assistant by highlighting important information and organising their agenda and tasks on the go (patent pending)," the company says.
Mobile Genius has launched a crowdfunding campaign via Indiegogo to try bring this device to production. The group is looking to raise $180 000 (R2.5 million) through the crowdfunding campaign.
The developers say it's not exactly a smartphone but comes with a 4G modem.
"Mobile Genius is designed to be a companion product that works together with your smartphone. Once you install the Mobile Genius app on your smartphone, you can then connect your smartphone to Mobile Genius and use the 4G modem to make and receive calls," the group explains.
The Mobile Genius team has experience in product development from hardware companies such as Motorola, Freescale Semiconductor and Telefield.
The device is available on Indiegogo for pre-sale until 28 November, with plans for production to start in January 2018 and for devices to ship to customers in September 2018.
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