Nano SIM Cards Are Even Smaller than the Micro-SIM

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Apple is looking into means to shrink the SIM card from its current size and thickness. But as Apple has proposed the use of a Virtual SIM card already hardwired into devices, a German company has found a way to produce an even smaller version of the micro-SIM:  the nano-SIM.

When GSM phones were first invented, these used a credit card-sized SIM that actually plugged into the device. Well, you can imagine how and unwieldy these could be. My first Motorola MicroTAC GSM required the entire card to be plugged in. But as Apple and other mobile manufacturers are finding ways to make thinner smartphones and tablet computers, smaller components are required.

Apple’s SIM card requirements shrunk with the iPhone 4 and iPad, and these use microSIM technology, which is about 30% smaller than the regular-sized mini SIM card. The company is pushing for smaller SIM card standards, and a Munich-based company, Gieske & Devrient (G&D), has actually produced the first-ever nano-SIM, which is 30% smaller than the micro SIM, and 15% thinner. Reports say that mobile device manufacturers are likely to adopt the technology by early 2012.

Apple has submitted the nano-SIM standard to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), which plans to standardize the technology by end of 2011, so that manufacturers and mobile networks can already utilize the new technology in upcoming devices. Meanwhile, adapters will make the nano-SIM backwards compatible with older devices that require a mini or micro SIM.

A smaller, slimmer SIM card will mean that devices can also start to become slimmer. Apple’s proposed virtual SIM technology aimed to do away with a plug-in SIM, which will negate the need for extra components on a tablet or smartphone circuit board. But this means users might find it difficult to switch networks and switch phones. A smaller nano-SIM can also open up the possibility of miniaturizing the space requirements of dual-SIM phones.

Of course, with smaller nano-SIM cards, it will be easier to lose your SIM!