SIMFi SIM Card with Wi-Fi Connectivity Announced by Sagem Orga & Telefonica

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Sagem Orga and Telefonica are the companies that are getting ready to offer the world’s first SIM card that’s ready to turn your smartphone into a Wi-Fi spot. Called the SIMFi, the new product features integrated Wi-Fi support and, if you ask me, it’s only logical to see this finally happen.

We already have EyeFi memory cards that are capable to connect wirelessly to the Internet so why not give SIM cards the same ability? The press release says that “using the SIM as a hotspot is expected to have the potential of becoming the next killer application.” Sure the SIMFi sounds pretty interesting as a concept but will it offer the same performance as a regular Wi-Fi card?

Sagem Orga and Telefonica want to use the SIMFi as a WLAN modem. That modem is apparently embedded in the SIM card and it’s driven by the SIM toolkit applets running the SIM card. That will let Telefonica broadcast HSPA Internet through Wi-Fi to your laptop or netbooks as the SIMFi can be basically inserted “in any type of classic handset to act as a universal and interoperable HSPA/Wi-Fi router for any device.”

Does that mean that the SIM card will also work as a regular SIM card that will let us make and receive calls and stuff? Maybe Remy Cricco, Technology Innovation Manager at Sagem Orga has the best answer for us:

We strongly believe that SIMFi, with its unprecedented functionality for wireless access, will significantly improve the user experience. If customers can connect their notebooks to the Web anytime and anywhere by simply using what they have with them most of the time and what is the most trusted secure device – the SIM card – adoption can be expected to be enormous.

Pricing details and release dates are currently unavailable but we’ll be definitely following this concept in the near future. Maybe more carriers should consider implementing it!