Future smartphones and tablets may soon get even smaller after a German firm made that it called the world’s smallest subscriber identity module (SIM) card, which it dubbed the nano-SIM. Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) said its “nano-SIM" is two-thirds the size of a micro-SIM, which is presently being used on new devices like Apple’s iPhone. “The invention of the SIM card remains a milestone in the history of G&D. With the nano-SIM, we have shown how this development can move closer to perfection," said Axel Deininger, Head of G&D’s Secure Devices division. G&D said it will showcase the nano-SIM at the CARTES & IDentification 2011 trade show from November 15 to 17. According to the company, the nano-SIM may find its way into the first mobile devices as early as next year. It said this may lead the current trend towards smaller cards, 20 years after it produced the first-ever SIM cards. G&D said the nano-SIM measures about 12mm x 9mm, and is about 30 percent smaller than the micro-SIM. The firm added the thickness of the cards has been reduced by about 15 percent – a tremendous technical challenge. “Compared to the SIM cards most widely used today, the nano-SIM is almost 60 percent smaller. It offers device manufacturers the crucial advantage of freeing up extra space for other mobile phone components, such as additional memory or larger batteries. And because nano-SIM cards are significantly smaller and thinner, they will also make it easier to create thinner devices," it added. G&D said it made initial samples available to various mobile network operators for testing. It said it expects the standardization of the nano-SIM to be implemented through the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) by the end of the year. On the other hand, it said backward compatibility with older device models is ensured by an adapter solution that allows the nano-SIM to be integrated into all established mobile devices for universal use. Source:- http://www.gmanews.tv/story/238306/technology/german-firm-creates-worlds-smallest-sim-card
It's getting past my bedtime. and I'm not sure I really understand the implications of this - if phones and tablets are going to get smaller, then isn't a tablet going to turn into a phone, and a phone become unusable without a microscope and fingers smaller than an embryo's?!
