Apple wins in nano-SIM card battle

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SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France, June 4 (UPI) -- Apple has won another technical battle as its proposed next generation of mobile SIM cards has been accepted by a European standards body.

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute has decided on a new standard size and insertion technique for so-called nano-SIM cards that could lead to smaller mobile devices in the future, venturebeat.com reported.

Nokia, Apple, Motorola, and RIM all had competing proposals, with Nokia and Motorola campaigning for a push-in type of card while Apple proposed a tray-based design, eventually accepted by the institute.

The new nano-SIM cards will be 12.3 millimeters by 8.8 millimeters, about 40 percent smaller than current SIM cards, and have the same thickness as the current Micro-SIM standard, the institute said.

Embedded in smartphones and tablets, SIM cards, or subscriber identity modules, store mobile users' identification information.

In smartphones, with every millimeter of space important, there has been increasing pressure to make SIM cards ever smaller.

The institute's acceptance means manufacturers can move forward with developing devices to use the new, smaller standard.