We’ve been using Mini SIMs since at least 10-15 years, when the telecom industry made the shift from that credit card sized SIM cards, and it worked just fine. Apple changed things for the better in 2007 with the first iPhone, when the MicroSIM was introduced. Since then a few smartphones have implemented micro-SIMs but it’s not yet an industry standard in the sense of worldwide adoption.
Things are about to change once again, with the introduction of Nano SIM, one third smaller than the current microSIM and one third of the total area of your normal Mini SIM. The problem is that Apple and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) are supporting one nano SIM standard while Nokia, Motorola and RIM are supporting another standard. The good news is that only one of the two will be used in the future so thankfully we won’t be dealing with compatibility issues, especially since backward compatibility with current standard(s) via adaptors will be provided.
What’s the advantage for you and me? Smaller, thinner and lighter smartphones are the advantage, so either way consumers are the winners.
Here’s a diagram with the size comparison between Nano, Micro and Mini SIMs:
SIM size comparison
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