Apple has pitted itself against Motorola, BlackBerry and Nokia, all of whom are concerned over the control that Apple could have over upcoming nano-SIM card technology.
The FT reports the nano-SIM will be 30% smaller than the already tiny micro-SIM currently used in the iPhone, Motorola RAZR and the Nokia Lumia 800, and Apple is pushing to standardise a drawer-like housing for the card itself.
Image source: Giesecke & Devrient (G&D)
The nano-SIM will be approximately 12mm x 9mm, according to Giesecke & Devrient. They estimate the SIMs are 30% smaller than the micro-SIM and almsot 60% smaller than many SIMs in use around the world.
In doing so, other manufacturers will still be able to use Apple's design under license, but fear that Apple will end up owning all of the patents – something that is unlikely too well with the other mobile giants.
Nokia believes its own proposal has significant technical advantages but the final outcome won't be decided till next week. Either way the technology has the potential to result thinner phones, though it won't make swapping phones any easier.
This article originally appeared at Stuff.tv
