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The nano-SIM standard: manufacturers take sides over the shrinking SIM card

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Conflict is brewing in the mobile world over the adoption of a new, smaller standard for the SIM card — the chip in each GSM phone that dictates which network you connect to and your cellphone number. On one side is Apple, which introduced the incumbent Micro SIM in its iPhone 4 and is pushing its own design for the new nano-SIM. Opposing Apple are Motorola, Nokia, and RIM, who believe that their design is technologically superior and less likely to cause damage to a handset since it's harder to improperly insert it. Apple has said that, should its design be adopted, it will license any related patents to its competitors royalty-free on condition that they reciprocate in kind. However, industry body the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (or ETSI) still has to decide which standard to adopt — follow the whole story right here.