The Duet includes National Geographic’s pay-as-you-go National Geographic Travel SIM card, allowing affordable calling in 185 countries, free incoming calls in more than 80 countries and 30 minutes of outgoing call credit (for most countries). Users have the option of inserting another SIM card in the phone and having a secondary number and service. This option is perfect for those who need to retain their current phone number while overseas or who want a secondary number dedicated for business or family. The service also offers 24/7 toll-free U.S.-based customer service directly from the handset via a three-digit access number.

The National Geographic Duet Travel Phone is available online through www.CellularAbroad.com, www.Amazon.com, www.Expansys-usa.com and other select retailers.

[via phonemag]

“With the launch of National Geographic Mobile, we are pleased to partner with leading carriers and global handset manufacturers, aggregators and developers to share our library of award-winning photos, video and new properties. This is a great opportunity for us to leverage our wonderful assets and feed the growing demand from consumers who are looking for compelling, rich media content on their cell phones and for us to extend our mission globally,” said Prince.

National Geographic will soon partner with PlayPhone to drive mobile content distribution online. The subscription-based service will allow consumers to download National Geographic wallpapers, ringtones, video and games through their personal computers to their phones.