Patent ID: 7814237

Claim:
A dual-mode mobile communication terminal operating in a first communication mode and a second communication mode, the dual-mode mobile communication terminal comprising: a first slot receiving either one of a first card and a second card, the first and second cards being detachable from the dual-mode mobile communication terminal and having user subscriber information for the first communication mode and the second communication mode, respectively, the first card being of a first card type and the second card being of a second card type, the first card type being different from the second card type, such that each of the first slot and the second slot recognizes both the first card type and the second card type; a second slot receiving either one of the first card and the second card; a control unit automatically selecting a drive mode according to which of the first and second cards are inserted into at least one of the first slot and the second slot, and determining if the selected drive mode corresponds with a communication mode of a current system, wherein the control unit selects an initial mode of a provider as the drive mode when both the first and second slots include one of the first and second cards, selects a mode corresponding to one of the first and second cards inserted into the first slot as the drive mode when no card exists in the second, selects a mode corresponding to one of the first and second cards inserted into the second slot as the drive mode when no card exists in the first slot, and performs mode change into another mode when a signal of the initial mode is not received until a predetermined period of time elapses in the initial mode; and a message advising a user to insert another card is output on a text display unit when a signal of the drive mode is not received for a predetermined period of time.