Apple's iPhone 5.
Did we really need a new SIM card format with Apple's new iPhone?
There's
a lot to get excited about with the iPhone 5, especially if you're
yearning for a little more screen real estate, but there's also a lot
to be frustrated about. This latest iPhone is the
least-backwards-compatible iPhone yet -- that's an awkward phrase but
you know what I mean. The change in screen size means it won't work
with tight-fitting accessories such as many cases and car kits. The
connector change to "Lightning", while ignoring the micro-USB standard,
means that it won't work with older chargers and music docks without
the extra expense of cumbersome adaptors. And the change from a
micro-SIM card to the smaller nano-SIM will also make life harder for
those who tend to mix and match smartphones and SIM cards when they
travel.
It's easy to pay out on Cupertino for pushing new formats, but the truth is that a new SIM format was coming regardless.
Both
the Lightning connector and nano-SIM format are slightly smaller and
thinner than their predecessors, which Apple claims is necessary to
cram more into the new phone. But you can't help but feel the nano-SIM
change is as much about Apple throwing its weight around and making it
harder for iPhone owners to stray from the flock.
Apple
tends to lead the way with SIM card changes, making it just that bit
harder to swap between phones. Jet-setting businessfolk who swap SIMs
to avoid the global roaming sting
might want to hold off on upgrading to the iPhone 5 until they're sure
they can get their hands on nano-SIMs everywhere they need them.
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When
Apple first moved to the micro-SIM card format with the iPhone 4, I was
concerned that telcos would use it as an excuse to gouge customers --
denying them the best call and data deals simply because they were
using an iPhone. Thankfully it seems my fears were misplaced and
Australian telcos seem happy to switch your number across to a
micro-SIM, perhaps only charging a few dollars to cover the cost of the
SIM.
Considering this I think it's unlikely that Australian
telcos will pounce on the nano-SIM as a chance to gouge customers, but
that might not be the case in other countries. I certainly wouldn't
want to turn up in a foreign country and hope for the best when it
comes to obtaining a good deal on a nano-SIM. Trimming down a standard
or micro-SIM to a nano-SIM seems a much riskier prospect now the margin
for error is so thin.
It's easy to pay out
on Cupertino for pushing new formats, but the truth is that a new SIM
format was coming regardless. It was just a question of which format
won the standards battle. There's been a lot of behind-the-scenes
wrangling over this new nano-SIM format, with the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute finally backing Apple's design
over proposals from Motorola, Nokia and RIM.
The
competition proposed a notch-based design which would let SIM cards pop
in and out without the need for a tray. At one point Nokia even
threatened that it wouldn't license its SIM-related patents if Apple
won this battle, fearing that Apple's push was related to the mobile
patent wars. Nokia backed down and Apple pledged to offer royalty-free
licensing for the new micro-SIM format, but you can understand why this
makes competitors nervous in this age of legal battles.
The
long-term trend is towards embedded SIM cards -- a concept which telcos
have fought because they know it will put more control in the hands of
Apple. Cupertino backed down this time, but you can be sure embedded
SIM cards will be back on the table during the next major iPhone
hardware refresh. Apple will claim that it's all about cramming more
into the phones, but it's pretty hard to take the control freaks at
Cupertino at face value when it comes to these things. The fact that
the telcos and other handset makers don't trust Apple's motives speaks
volumes.
What's your take on the nano-SIM issue? Is it more about hardware design or about maintaining control?
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