ETSI Memilih Design Nano-SIM Buatan Apple

Setelah persaingan design Nano-SIM yang cukup sengit antara Nokia, RIM, Motorola dan Apple, tampaknya dapat diprediksikan design nano-SIM mana yang akan terpilih. European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) baru saja mengumumkan kriteria-kriteria khusus yang dibutuhkan untuk sebuah 4FF Sim Card (nano-SIM).

The fourth form factor (4FF) card will be 40% smaller than the current smallest SIM card design, at 12.3mm wide by 8.8mm high, and 0.67mm thick. It can be packaged and distributed in a way that is backwards compatible with existing SIM card designs. The new design will offer the same functionality as all current SIM cards.

ETSI has said that the new card must support eight electrical contacts — as current SIMs do — but it doesn’t specify the layout or configuration of those contacts. Apple maintains the old configuration; in other words, with an adapter, you could theoretically use their nano-SIM in a micro-SIM or mini-SIM phone sold today

Namun lain lagi dengan pesaingnya. Nokia dan RIM menghadirkan design yang lebih mirip microSD ketimbang sebuah sim card. Mereka menggunakan sistem slot input tanpa tray untuk memasukan sim card ke dalam ponsel (Persis seperti kebanyakan sistem memasukkan microSD). Secara kasar, dapat kita perkirakan bahwa design yang diajukan oleh Nokia dan RIM ini tidak akan bisa digunakan di handset model lama.

Jika kita perhatikan, design nano-SIM Apple memang yang paling memenuhi kriteria ETSI namun belum berarti design Apple telah sepenuhnya terpilih karena ETSI sendiri belum menentukan design mana yang nantinya akan digunakan. Penentuan design baru akan diumumkan beberapa minggu lagi di website mereka dengan tajuk TS 102 221 specification.

The new form factor was adopted by industry with the involvement of major mobile network operators, smart card suppliers and mobile device manufacturers. The new design will be published in due course in ETSI’s TS 102 221 specification, freely available like all ETSI standards from the ETSI website.

ETSI isn’t releasing any further details of the vote or the winning specification, only saying that the decision had been made, according to a spokesman at the standards organization. The proposer of the winning specification was identified by card maker Giesecke & Devrient, which had a representative on the committee.