Last week, Apple and Nokia got into a very public dust-up over the future of the SIM card — a staple in phones all around the world — thanks to a Financial Times article pointing out that the two had filed competing proposals with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) for the so-called "fourth form factor (4FF) UICC," more commonly known as the "nano-SIM." The nano-SIM proposals seek to standardize a new SIM card that would be even smaller than the current micro-SIM popularized by the iPhone, freeing precious extra millimeters inside the phone's chassis for more circuitry, more battery capacity, and slimmer profiles.
We've now had a chance to see the original proposals for the nano-SIM standard from Apple, Nokia, and RIM, and we have a better idea on what the ETSI will be voting on later this week.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Apple appears to have the most conventional proposal:
Apple suggests that the nano-SIM should effectively be a micro-SIM stripped of virtually all its plastic. This is the card that the::unwired had a chance to see back at Mobile World Congress from Giesecke & Devrient, the firm that debuted the first commercial SIM two decades prior. Another SIM provider, Oberthur Technologies, is prototyping examples of Apple's card as we speak (pictured below, set inside the outline of a standard 2FF SIM for comparison).
In soliciting proposals for the nano-SIM standard, the ETSI has said that the new card must support eight electrical contacts — as current SIMs do — but it doesn't specify the layout or configuration of those contacts. Apple maintains the old configuration; in other words, with an adapter, you could theoretically use their nano-SIM in a micro-SIM or mini-SIM phone sold today. Nokia and RIM take a very different approach:
The 4FF proposals from Apple's competitors look more like microSD cards than present-day SIMs, which would presumably make it difficult or impossible to use an adapter to get them working with older phones. Nokia points out that its proposal wouldn't require a tray or other SIM carrier — in all likelihood, that means that the Nokia design has notches that would allow it to be held in place in a slot. The Apple proposal, being stripped of all plastic surrounding the contacts, requires some external holder to keep it in place.
Another ETSI requirement for the 4FF standard reads:
The design of the fourth UICC form factor shall prevent the 4FF from becoming jammed in a Mini-UICC reader. An example is that if the 4FF is turned 90 degrees and it fits perfectly into the Mini-UICC reader (4FF length = Mini-UICC width).
Nokia contends that Apple's design violates that requirement, and it's easy to see why: its nano-SIM is roughly 12mm long while the existing micro-SIM is 12mm wide, giving users the opportunity to jam a nano-SIM sideways into a micro-SIM slot and get it hopelessly stuck. It's a scenario that the ETSI's documentation specifically calls out.
Notably, recent verbiage both from the Financial Times report and from Nokia itself group Nokia and RIM into the same camp, so it seems that the two giants (along with Motorola) have put aside their differences in an effort to fight Apple here — it's unclear whether the consortium is proposing Nokia's or RIM's original design, though it's a safe bet that Nokia threw its weight around in this relationship. Either way, it's a little surprising that Apple's design is in many ways the least controversial — it rocks the micro-SIM boat as little as possible, whereas Nokia is looking for a more thorough reboot of the now 20-year-old Subscriber Identity Module.
Which design will come out on top? The ETSI meets to decide later this week, and we'll be paying close attention.
Comments
Looks pretty simple…Apple are also apparently offering royalty-free patents licenses to get their SIM authorised.
By d0mth0ma5 on 03.26.12 6:00pm
For something as fundamental as a SIM card, the others would probably do the same especially given that they are a large conglomerate.
By JimRamK on 03.26.12 6:01pm
Yes, but the others had been using the fear factor of Apple having patents on a fundamental technology to try and block Apple’s design. That’s why Apple have apparently taken this approach.
By d0mth0ma5 on 03.26.12 6:04pm
Good Guy Apple
I just wish it didn’t require a tray.
By JimRamK on 03.26.12 6:05pm
I’m really not that bothered about the tray or lack thereof, I like the backwards compatibility though.
By d0mth0ma5 on 03.26.12 6:07pm
In any case, we probably won’t see any of these before at least 3 years. By then, I will most definitely be upgrading from my GNex
By JimRamK on 03.26.12 6:08pm
That, and Motorola and co. have been known recently to use standards-based patents under FRAND licensing as leverage, so would you trust them with the standard?
By Centaur on 03.26.12 10:26pm
BIG Issue is you ll get your Apple nano-SIM stuck in your phone one day.
By klakus on 03.26.12 6:09pm
I’ve never gotten a Micro-SD stuck..?
By iMax on 03.26.12 6:10pm
Read the article. It specifically says that apple’s nano sim could easily be jammed in side ways in a micro sim slot. It has no notches to hold it in place either, like your micro-sd card does. Nokia’s nano-sim would be more like a micro-sd card.
By wodin on 03.26.12 6:15pm
Which is probably why they’re using a tray.
By d0mth0ma5 on 03.26.12 6:50pm
Which again uses more space. LOL.
By Sake on 03.26.12 7:10pm
I was going to disagree, but then I realized there was a possibility that you were actually saw the unreleased nano-SIM tray and weren’t talking out your bum.
By DavyW on 03.26.12 7:12pm
I think requiring a tray is… inelegant.
By Vasp on 03.26.12 8:50pm
I don’t think so. It is more elegant than a gaping slot. Look at Apple’s SIM trays, they are quite elegant and don’t ruin the appearance of the device. They also prevent the SIM from being inserted incorrectly.
By theREALdotnet on 03.27.12 1:17am
Yes and Nokias on the Lumia 800 is the same.
By tallem on 03.27.12 7:53am
Having a small separate flimsy mechanism that also detaches itself from the phone IS rather inelegant. A single slot is much more refined compared to 4 thin break lines that correspond to the footprint of the tray.
Anyway, the point is, if Apple has it’s way, it will be forcing everyone else to use a tray, no matter what the form factor is, no matter what the size of the phone or the price-point of the phone.
It’s not even going to save any space, compared to the Nokia proposal, it’s actually larger if you take into account the required tray.
The Nokia proposal allows for diversity and flexibility. You can simply just slot it in, you can have it on a tray or you can even have them inside the phone body (e.g. removing the battery cover). Apple’s proposal doesn’t allow for such variety.
It’s clear, Apple haven’t considered the impact of their proposal on other phone manufacturers.
By Pippa Pip on 03.27.12 8:25am
When you see the proposed tray, then you can start talking about the tray size. For now, you’re just assuming.
By Iconoclysm on 03.27.12 9:58am
Fact: a thing that exists takes more space that one that doesn’t exist.
No matter what the design of the tray will be, it will take more space than no tray at all.
By Hamaki on 03.27.12 6:16am
I don’t get it. So where the SIM will be housed in those tray-less designs won’t take space?
By thenewperson on 03.27.12 8:25am
I have and I have a ton of microSD. Especially when lighting is low and you can’t see the orientation it is supposed to go in. When it gets stuck, it’s not a simple thing to remove. It REALLY gets stuck.
By ounkeo on 03.27.12 5:10am
Royalty-free… but they expect that a reciprocal agreement on one of the other parties patents to be licensed royalty-free back to apple
By No_Underscore on 03.26.12 9:18pm
which I think is absolutely fair
By 3825 on 03.26.12 9:21pm
I kinda like the Apple proposal because it could be easily backwards compatible with Micro SIM and Mini SIM with an adapter…. but the Nokia design is better because it doesn’t require a tray to work.
By martonikaj on 03.26.12 6:00pm
They just need a tray that is an adapter for nokia’s design when placed in a micro-sim or regular sim slot and all would be right with the world.
By wodin on 03.26.12 6:16pm