AT&T boss hints at work on Apple's new SIM card format
AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega said in an interview this week that a smaller SIM card is a "no-brainer" and his company is looking into it, but declined to make the direct connection to Apple that the France Telecom CEO made last week.
When asked by All Things D's Ina Fried whether AT&T is interested in the smaller SIM card that Apple and France Telecom have reportedly agreed upon, de la Vega acknowledged that the carrier is "working with the industry" to look at the possibility of smaller SIM cards. "I think that probably will happen," he said.
In late May, France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard said in an interview that Apple and wireless carriers had reached a compromise to use a smaller SIM card format instead of an embedded SIM chip that Apple had expressed interest in. According to Richard, the next iPhone will be "smaller and thinner," partially due to a reduction in the SIM card footprint.
According to another executive at Orange, a subsidiary of France Telecom, Apple in May submitted a new requirement for a smaller SIM form factor to a European standards institute. The iPhone 4 and iPad currently utilize a micro-SIM solution.
Like Richard, de la Vega expressed a preference for a smaller SIM card over an embedded SIM. "We think that making the card smaller and shrinking the size is a no-brainer and we should be able to make that happen," he said, in response to a question about the possibility of an e-SIM.
During the interview, de la Vega expressed disappointment at Windows Phone sales. ?We actually like [Windows Phone 7] very, very much,? he said. ?It hasn?t sold as well as Microsoft or us would want it to.?
Despite the lackluster sales, the AT&T chief remained optimistic about Microsoft's prospects. "I think for the first thing out of the chute it is pretty good,? he said. ?I think they just need to make it better? Giving customers more application choices, having a bigger app store with more functionality on the phone?I think that is all that it needs.?
For de la Vega, the iPhone and Google's Android have been "positive surprises," while sales of Research in Motion's devices have dropped off. "Android and Apple are really the hot products right now," he added, noting that customers have been "choosing other products rather than traditional BlackBerries."
The executive also challenged tablet makers to continue to raise standards in order to compete with Apple's iPad. According to de la Vega, all the manufacturers who make smartphones are also offering AT&T tablets. "The question is which ones of those are good enough to stand up to the iPad. That?s a very high bar," he said.
Speaking at the D9 conference earlier this week, de la Vega confirmed that AT&T is working on a shared data plan that would allow users to pool minutes and data plans between devices.
When asked by All Things D's Ina Fried whether AT&T is interested in the smaller SIM card that Apple and France Telecom have reportedly agreed upon, de la Vega acknowledged that the carrier is "working with the industry" to look at the possibility of smaller SIM cards. "I think that probably will happen," he said.
In late May, France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard said in an interview that Apple and wireless carriers had reached a compromise to use a smaller SIM card format instead of an embedded SIM chip that Apple had expressed interest in. According to Richard, the next iPhone will be "smaller and thinner," partially due to a reduction in the SIM card footprint.
According to another executive at Orange, a subsidiary of France Telecom, Apple in May submitted a new requirement for a smaller SIM form factor to a European standards institute. The iPhone 4 and iPad currently utilize a micro-SIM solution.
Like Richard, de la Vega expressed a preference for a smaller SIM card over an embedded SIM. "We think that making the card smaller and shrinking the size is a no-brainer and we should be able to make that happen," he said, in response to a question about the possibility of an e-SIM.
During the interview, de la Vega expressed disappointment at Windows Phone sales. ?We actually like [Windows Phone 7] very, very much,? he said. ?It hasn?t sold as well as Microsoft or us would want it to.?
Despite the lackluster sales, the AT&T chief remained optimistic about Microsoft's prospects. "I think for the first thing out of the chute it is pretty good,? he said. ?I think they just need to make it better? Giving customers more application choices, having a bigger app store with more functionality on the phone?I think that is all that it needs.?
For de la Vega, the iPhone and Google's Android have been "positive surprises," while sales of Research in Motion's devices have dropped off. "Android and Apple are really the hot products right now," he added, noting that customers have been "choosing other products rather than traditional BlackBerries."
The executive also challenged tablet makers to continue to raise standards in order to compete with Apple's iPad. According to de la Vega, all the manufacturers who make smartphones are also offering AT&T tablets. "The question is which ones of those are good enough to stand up to the iPad. That?s a very high bar," he said.
Speaking at the D9 conference earlier this week, de la Vega confirmed that AT&T is working on a shared data plan that would allow users to pool minutes and data plans between devices.
Comments
Maybe I'm missing something, but the SIM card is already pretty tiny. Even if you cut its size in half, it's not going to make THAT much difference.
Exactly I feel like I'm on crazy pills.
What is this really about?
Maybe I'm missing something, but the SIM card is already pretty tiny. Even if you cut its size in half, it's not going to make THAT much difference.
The surrounding hardware (card reader) probably takes up more space on the inside when all is said and done. It's also possible that making it smaller allows a better internal arrangement of components.
Anyone learn anything new?
Maybe I'm missing something, but the SIM card is already pretty tiny. Even if you cut its size in half, it's not going to make THAT much difference.
Exactly I feel like I'm on crazy pills.
What is this really about?
For the amount of data they store they are quite large, and you also have to consider the components it connects to inside the device. Have you see inside an iPhone?Why does the plastic have to be that thick? Why so much extra plastic around the metallic points? Why are the 6 pins so spaced out?
For the amount of data they store they are quite large, and you also have to consider the components it connects to inside the device. Have you see inside an iPhone?Why does the plastic have to be that thick? Why so much extra plastic around the metallic points? Why are the 6 pins so spaced out?
Exactly, the SIM card stores almost no information compared to the memory components in a mobile device. A flash chip on on an iPod Touch stores 64GB! The SIM is a hangover from the old days that the cellphone industry should shake off. But of course, an electronic SIM would mean a single phone could be dynamically made to shift carriers, and the carriers wouldn't like that would they? In my opinion it shouldn't even exist.
Next best thing? Tiny SIM.
What if it's both. What if the pictures of the iPhone with the 'larger' screen are just pictures of a 'smaller' iphone with the same size screen? I think I'd actually dig it more, the iPhone feels a bit big sometimes, even the 4.
I know some people in some countries are going to hate this. In Thailand, for example, they just introduced the micro-SIM very recently due to the launch of iPhone 4. Now you throw in yet another SIM card standard... let's call it the pico-SIM, I have to imagine some foreign carriers are about to lose their minds already. LOL.
Welcome to Apple's world!
I know some people in some countries are going to hate this. In Thailand, for example, they just introduced the micro-SIM very recently due to the launch of iPhone 4. Now you throw in yet another SIM card standard... let's call it the pico-SIM, I have to imagine some foreign carriers are about to lose their minds already. LOL.
Welcome to Apple's world!
This is what passes off for 'insight' from the CEO of a major company!?
Anyone learn anything new?
I've learnt that small and thin means fat an ugly to Apple, no matter how small and thin things get.
I'm forgiving, I'd say for the next few years let the world standardise on MicroSIM.
But if they do somehow come up with a new SIM card format, let it be something which doesn't require a SIM at all! There's no point making anything physical that is smaller than a MicroSIM, you still need a SIM tray and a hole to push it out and plastic and metallic contacts.
If any of the carriers had some real guts they'd go for a totally SIM-free solution. But then everything sounds great when you're an armchair CEO.
Anyway, maybe in the next few years all cellphones will have NFC chip and there will be no need for a SIM. You can setup and transfer your number from device to device using it in combination with a password. Maybe I should patent this!
Users need to be able to mix and match to suit their needs.
Apple should use imbedded sim their pTent describes
Giving consumer choices
We could jump from
Carrier to carrier based on which costs less
Apple should become MVNO
I'd love that pay through iTunes
Telcos are just data pipes
However what I really want is the iPhone to officially and happily hold 2 SIMs at the same time - it wouldn't bother me how they do it.
Currently I have a 3GS from work and a 4 for myself - each on different carriers. It would be great to just have a single handset that could deal with both numbers at the same time. Work policies prevent me from using some the unofficial adaptors/add-ons/methods that are available to achieve this.
It strikes me that it is ridiculous for carriers to put barriers in place to restrict hardware development. Apple should just go SIM-less and be done with it. The carriers that want the customers would get on the bandwagon pretty quickly if they didn't want to loose their market share.
However what I really want is the iPhone to officially and happily hold 2 SIMs at the same time - it wouldn't bother me how they do it.
The electronic SIM would resolve that. Just like a gift card you buy at a grocery store you can pay for minutes/data and input the secret number into the device. This could be done for multiple carriers and countries. It could also be intelligent enough to change the SIM usage between countries without having to turn off your device, take it half apart, switch SIMs, put it back together and restart it. One day.
This is what passes off for 'insight' from the CEO of a major company!?
Anyone learn anything new?
This weasel is an expert at saying absolutely nothing. They all are. And Ralphy-boy isn't the CEO of at&t. He's the president of at&t Mobility. The CEO of at&t is a slime ball known as Randall (don't you call me Randy) Stephenson. There are so many levels of management at this outfit that it looks like the Smith family tree.
For the amount of data they store they are quite large, and you also have to consider the components it connects to inside the device. Have you see inside an iPhone?
Why does the plastic have to be that thick? Why so much extra plastic around the metallic points? Why are the 6 pins so spaced out?
I have seen the inside of two iPhones, but I wasn't paying much attention to the SIM hardware. A little more concerned about making repairs.
I think the main idea is for compatibility. The adapters from mini to regular are dead simple too, I made a couple in less than 15 minutes, so it's easy to switch between the two different SIM receptacles, and it's been reliable too.
Another thing to consider is human factors engineering. If you're comparing the size of the SIM and those of the other chips inside a phone, keep in mind that SIMs are designed to be handled, most chips are not without special precautions. The thickness of the card isn't much in my opinion, especially considering a chip designed to be handled.
It does look like Apple's SIM carrier can be shrunk a bit, and you can reduce the chip area by 30 to 50% and still maintain pin compatibility. But that's pushing the human factors part of the problem.
I have seen the inside of two iPhones, but I wasn't paying much attention to the SIM hardware. A little more concerned about making repairs.
I think the main idea is for compatibility. The adapters from mini to regular are dead simple too, I made a couple in less than 15 minutes, so it's easy to switch between the two different SIM receptacles, and it's been reliable too.
Another thing to consider is human factors engineering. If you're comparing the size of the SIM and those of the other chips inside a phone, keep in mind that SIMs are designed to be handled, most chips are not without special precautions. The thickness of the card isn't much in my opinion, especially considering a chip designed to be handled.
It does look like Apple's SIM carrier can be shrunk a bit, and you can reduce the chip area by 30 to 50% and still maintain pin compatibility. But that's pushing the human factors part of the problem.
I think that is the problem. I shouldn't have to handle anything that goes into the internal guts of my phone to use it. The carriers are still holding onto an archaic model. SIMs can be spoofed. The data is extracted to the baseband for use. There is nothing that can't be done with other technologies if Apple (or some other company) can move enough carriers to a better standard that benefits the users.
I think that is the problem. I shouldn't have to handle anything that goes into the internal guts of my phone to use it. The carriers are still holding onto an archaic model. SIMs can be spoofed. The data is extracted to the baseband for use. There is nothing that can't be done with other technologies if Apple (or some other company) can move enough carriers to a better standard that benefits the users.
I think that makes sense, but I wonder if the optimism is misplaced. It would seem to me that any attempt to create a new system would be bogged down in attempts by carriers to lock it down even more thoroughly to make you go to the issuing carrier for permission to switch to another carrier.