It would make me a bit less pessimistic about it if it were a GSM-wide standard, and not just an Apple thing. However, I think the inability to swap the SIM card to another device is a serious drawback. In fact, I would think then that the carriers would love this idea. It's a great way for them to force you to get a seperate contract for every device you own instead of being able to use the same contract by simply moving the SIM card to another device.
I think most of you are missing the point. What exactly are you ?swapping? when you swap the card? The data! That?s it. The physical card is just a method by which to accomplish this task, but as pointed out many times in this thread there are plenty of ways to move codes and data between devices. Most of the ways I have conceived would be faster and easier than physically swapping a SIM card.
Oh, I can conceive of a system such as you describe. But it involves one where the carrier use Apple's method of updating the SIM. Therefore, it limits you to only be able to use carriers that Apple has deemed "approved". Does it mean less control by the carriers? Sure, that's why they are upset. But while that's a good thing, it also means more control by Apple, not you. Think back to DRM'd music. How many people bitched because they couldn't play their music on non-Apple devices?
Go back and read the original article about how the embedded SIM would work. It's still a SIM. It needs to be re-encoded/updated for each carrier you want to use. There's no "hardcoding" as you mentioned above. If that were the case, we'd be right back to the pre-SIM days. If you wanted to use the iPhone with a new carrier, you'd need a new "virtual SIM" added to the embedded SIM. Therefore, you need some sort of system you'd connect your phone to at the carrier's kiosk, or an over-the-air update via software, to add a new carrier to your phone. Either way, it's completely under Apple's control as to who they determine to have agreements with. If the carrier doesn't have an agreement with Apple, your phone won't get updated to work on their network because you certainly aren't going to hand-enter all the info necessary to make your phone work on the carrier's network.
I love Apple products and use many of them. But in case you haven't noticed, Apple lately has been more and more about controlling how they will allow you to use their products and how they can monetize that control (they are a for-profit business, after all). There are good aspects to what Apple is doing, but let's not blindly follow along like sheep just because it's Apple.
If you had read and paid attention to the original article and its source articles, you'd know that Apple wouldn't be the company managing the SIM card information.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiggin
It would make me a bit less pessimistic about it if it were a GSM-wide standard, and not just an Apple thing.
How about traveling? You arrive at a foreign airport at 1:00am. Of course all the mobile phone carrier shops are closed. Normally, with GSM and an unlocked phone, you just go to a convenience store or a vending machine and get a prepaid SIM, and you just pop it in. How would that work with an embedded SIM?
It would be like a dual SIM phone, except with the capability to store SIM information from a lot more than just two carriers. No need to track down a SIM card because you already have everything you need on the phone. How would the SIM information get to your phone in the first place? I heard the Internet is good at delivering information. What if you were unable to acess the internet, because you forgot to sign up before you left home, and somehow none of the airports had wifi? If this were a standard, which is what it's on its way to becoming, a kiosk could easily send your phone that information over bluetooth just as easily as they dispense SIM cards now.
Some people have no imagination. I don't know why people are so attached to a piece of plastic, when the data on the chip embedded in the plastic is the only important thing.
You have any evidence for this? It's a crazy assertion. The idea is very simple. Just like you change WiFi networks with your software, in the same way you would change Carriers with an embedded SIM through your software. No freedom is taken away, rather a bunch more is given to you.
It's not at all a crazy assertion. It's a distinct possibility.
If the phone has an embedded SIM, you can only change it in a way that handset vendors/carriers allow you to. If the software on the phone doesn't allow you to change it, "like you change WiFi networks with your software," or if the carriers refuse to support that, then you simply can't do it.
Like many things, the devil is in the details, so, until we see exactly how this is implemented, it's impossible to say with certainty whether this is good for consumers or not. It could work out well, and make it more convenient for consumers to swap SIM info. Or, it could work out badly and make it impossible for them to do so. Or, it could end up somewhere in between.
What if you were unable to acess the internet, because you forgot to sign up before you left home, and somehow none of the airports had wifi? If this were a standard, a kiosk could easily send your phone that information over bluetooth just as easily as they dispense SIM cards now.
1) ...or any of the other methods stated in this thread. I don't get why people think that tiny amount of data can only be enter the device via a plastic card when there are faster and more convenient methods available to us.
I like the idea of multiple virtual SIMs. This would take up so little space and allow you to quickly switch your carrier right from your phone's Settings.
PS: Isn't one issue GSM-based phone have is a faulty SIM or connected plate? Wouldn't this prevent this eventuality?
1) ...or any of the other methods stated in this thread. I don't get why people think that tiny amount of data can only be enter the device via a plastic card when there are faster and more convenient methods available to us.
I like the idea of multiple virtual SIMs. This would take up so little space and allow you to quickly switch your carrier right from your phone's Settings.
PS: Isn't one issue GSM-based phone have is a faulty SIM or connected plate? Wouldn't this prevent this eventuality?
I'm not a frequent SIM swapper, but I'd assume a soldered in chip would allow for a more reliable connection.
I work for a telecoms provider in the UK and, merely speaking from my experience of the systems currently in use (MNP for porting mobile numbers) I believe this would be tricky to implement.
Currently, if I have a number active on a SIM it exists on my operators billing system and HLR. If someone trying to activate my number on another SIM it'd fail because they don't own the number. Currently I would have to get a PAC to change provider.
At the moment the provider has 48 hours to give this code but this will soon change to 2 hours. Even if my SIM was capable of potentially connecting to any UK network, using current practices I'd have to transfer the number with a PAC. If I was in contract I'd pay a termination fee.
For the people talking about Apple managing it with a menu or something that displays the available networks...that doesn't really fit in with current systems, as Apple would still follow the same process...disconnect on network A, connect on network B. Apple couldn't request termination of a contract on behalf of a customer of most, if not all, carriers require the contract holder to make such a request.
I see no reason for the carrier to care as there's no difference. They sell a network locked handset with subsidy and an 18 month/24 month contract. At the end they unlock the phone. OR, they sell unlocked, full price PAYG. PAYG is seen as low value anyway as the revenue isn't guaranteed.
Unless there is a full rework of the porting system it's not going to be as convenient as it potentially could be. Also, in terms in creating a new account with a new provider, there'd have to be a system created to apply for service on the phone, that's linked to credit agencies etc and you get a yes or no.
As for going abroad, I don't think it'd be possible as you'd have to get a new number for the foreign network as different countries have different numbers. UK numbers start 07 and have 11 digits and this number couldn't port to a foreign network at the moment. so you'd need a new number in whatever country you're in. You couldn't get a contract there as there is no credit history etc so it'd be PAYG only.
If there are major changes then potentially this could be a really good system. A fair few years off I believe. Not the embedded SIM idea per sé but certainly the easy switch of provider.
1) ...or any of the other methods stated in this thread. I don't get why people think that tiny amount of data can only be enter the device via a plastic card when there are faster and more convenient methods available to us.
I like the idea of multiple virtual SIMs. This would take up so little space and allow you to quickly switch your carrier right from your phone's Settings.
PS: Isn't one issue GSM-based phone have is a faulty SIM or connected plate? Wouldn't this prevent this eventuality?
From the previous AI article about this subject it seems that you need a PC or a special device to change the chip RAM setting in order to switch carriers.
It's like Verizon's CEO saying --- they expect the US to go something like 500% wireless penetration in the future (100% for cell phones and the other 400% on stuff like smart meters). There is simply zero need to put a SIM card in a smart meter.
The carrier-subsidy model for mobile phones is silly and I'd be glad to see it go. I buy the device, you provide the connection. Carrier should have no concern with the hardware other than it meets their service requirements. Having AT&T worrying about the financing of my device makes just about as much sense as VISA subsidizing my "Airline miles" -- another silly and obfuscatory arrangement meant to disguise and sugar-coat the real costs of the products involved.
From the previous AI article about this subject it seems that you need a PC or a special device to change the chip RAM setting in order to switch carriers.
That was poorly described and it was only discussing the initial activation, not the process of switching between active SIMs on your phone.
I think most of you are missing the point. What exactly are you ?swapping? when you swap the card? The data! That?s it. The physical card is just a method by which to accomplish this task, but as pointed out many times in this thread there are plenty of ways to move codes and data between devices. Most of the ways I have conceived would be faster and easier than physically swapping a SIM card.
Isn't a lot of the stuff on a SIM card encrypted? A ton of stuff works on PCs, but not on Macs. Sure they could swap data between devices but you would find umpteen devices which you could not do so with a Mac because the vendor couldn't be arsed writing a driver or App.
Companies as big as Samsung don't even write Mac versions of their apps to support their own phones, such as enabling such basics as firmware updating.
The idea of a universal mechanism for exchanging SIM settings between devices is nice, but a pipe dream.
The GSM CCTV device I mentioned would be a case in point. It has a USB socket but no way will it work with a Mac. Same with USB 3G modems, sure you could load the settings from a PC but only one in ten vendors would provide a way of doing so from a Mac.
A SIM is a single physical object, how do you have a packet of data act like that so it can't be copied, only moved?
A SIM is a single physical object, how do you have a packet of data act like that so it can't be copied, only moved?
What point is there in encrypted data on a card that billions of phones around the world are designed to read? You pop it in and it associates data on that card with that cellular device.
Because of that, the data can be copied to other SIMs. You can even change your phone’s IEMI, something that some countries require to active a device and, I think, is illegal to spoof.
There is simply no reason that you have to have a physical card to gain access to a cellular network, and with the so ways to transfer data with modern devices the need is dramatically reduced.
edit: The only encryption I see is when talking to the carrier. It looks like the total size might be 20 digits. You could input that by hand or NFC or BT could do it from a secure setting option within the phone, while being able to store dozens and dozens of virtual-SIM entries. That doesn’t sound easier and better to you than carrying a bunch of cheap plastic chips with you as you travel. Chips that can affect how your phone works?
The GSM CCTV device I mentioned would be a case in point. It has a USB socket but no way will it work with a Mac. Same with USB 3G modems, sure you could load the settings from a PC but only one in ten vendors would provide a way of doing so from a Mac.
It sounds like you’re talking about drivers for that accessory to a Mac, not about access to the carrier’s network.
... That doesn?t sound easier and better to you than carrying a bunch of cheap plastic chips with you as you travel. ...
Well, but the issue is, with an embedded SIM, would you be able to change it? Maybe, maybe not. No one knows right now how it would be implemented, and even if you were allowed to change it, how that might work. The advantage of the plastic chips is that at least you have control over changing them now.
Try and get an unlocked Nokia phone in Australia, you'll find they don't exist, all loaded up with network crapware as they are, good luck with finding a "vanilla" unlocked one.
They sell unlocked phones in Australia, doesn't seem that hard to find.
Just because your employer doesn't want to sell them doesn't mean they aren't available.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hill60
My iPhone 4 on the other hand IS unlocked, I can put any microSIM in it I want from any carrier who wants my money.
My Nokia phone is unlocked, I can put any SIM in it, what is your point? I can go to Telecom NZ, Vodafone NZ, 2 Degrees in NZ and purchase an unlocked Nokia phone from any of them. They are not loaded down with "crap" anymore, they have a operator splash screen and the APNs preloaded. But hey, if you don't like that, just flash the phone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hill60
btw isn't Ireland, you know, sort of in Europe?
Well actually it isn't, it is part of the EU, but it isn't part of continental Europe, there is some water and another island) between it and Europe
Well, but the issue is, with an embedded SIM, would you be able to change it? Maybe, maybe not. No one knows right now how it would be implemented, and even if you were allowed to change it, how that might work. The advantage of the plastic chips is that at least you have control over changing them now.
But the future is 500% wireless penetration, with 400% of those in things like smart meters.
Well, but the issue is, with an embedded SIM, would you be able to change it? Maybe, maybe not. No one knows right now how it would be implemented, and even if you were allowed to change it, how that might work. The advantage of the plastic chips is that at least you have control over changing them now.
No,you don?t have control. If a phone is locked you still have to use that carrier. You can?t put in different SIM cards from different carriers in various countries and have them automatically work. You have to use and unlocked phone.
This sounds a lot like people want the feeling of control with a physical object.
No,you don’t have control. If a phone is locked you still have to use that carrier. You can’t put in different SIM cards from different carriers in various countries and have them automatically work. You have to use and unlocked phone.
This sounds a lot like people want the feeling of control with a physical object.
Right, the way it currently works, if you buy an unlocked phone, or get it unlocked, you can then swap SIM cards. The point is, we have no idea at this point in time if embedded SIM cards would work the same way, or if it would effectively mean the end of unlocked phones, or, assuming that doesn't happen, how easy or onerous the process of swapping SIM info might be. Until there are hard details on how it would work, and how it would be implemented, there's no way to know that embedded SIMS will be a positive thing for the consumer.
So, yes, people would prefer the devil they know to the devil they don't.
Right, the way it currently works, if you buy an unlocked phone, or get it unlocked, you can then swap SIM cards. The point is, we have no idea at this point in time if embedded SIM cards would work the same way, or if would effectively mean the end of unlocked phones, or, assuming that doesn't happen, how easy or onerous the process of swapping SIM info might be. Until there are hard details on how it would work, and how it would be implemented, there's no way to know that embedded SIMS will be a positive thing for the consumer.
So, yes, people would prefer the devil they know to the devil they don't.
It is positive for the consumer --- simply by advancing the other 400% wireless penetration.
Physical SIM card has zero place in the 500% wireless penetration world.
Comments
It would make me a bit less pessimistic about it if it were a GSM-wide standard, and not just an Apple thing. However, I think the inability to swap the SIM card to another device is a serious drawback. In fact, I would think then that the carriers would love this idea. It's a great way for them to force you to get a seperate contract for every device you own instead of being able to use the same contract by simply moving the SIM card to another device.
I think most of you are missing the point. What exactly are you ?swapping? when you swap the card? The data! That?s it. The physical card is just a method by which to accomplish this task, but as pointed out many times in this thread there are plenty of ways to move codes and data between devices. Most of the ways I have conceived would be faster and easier than physically swapping a SIM card.
Oh, I can conceive of a system such as you describe. But it involves one where the carrier use Apple's method of updating the SIM. Therefore, it limits you to only be able to use carriers that Apple has deemed "approved". Does it mean less control by the carriers? Sure, that's why they are upset. But while that's a good thing, it also means more control by Apple, not you. Think back to DRM'd music. How many people bitched because they couldn't play their music on non-Apple devices?
Go back and read the original article about how the embedded SIM would work. It's still a SIM. It needs to be re-encoded/updated for each carrier you want to use. There's no "hardcoding" as you mentioned above. If that were the case, we'd be right back to the pre-SIM days. If you wanted to use the iPhone with a new carrier, you'd need a new "virtual SIM" added to the embedded SIM. Therefore, you need some sort of system you'd connect your phone to at the carrier's kiosk, or an over-the-air update via software, to add a new carrier to your phone. Either way, it's completely under Apple's control as to who they determine to have agreements with. If the carrier doesn't have an agreement with Apple, your phone won't get updated to work on their network because you certainly aren't going to hand-enter all the info necessary to make your phone work on the carrier's network.
I love Apple products and use many of them. But in case you haven't noticed, Apple lately has been more and more about controlling how they will allow you to use their products and how they can monetize that control (they are a for-profit business, after all). There are good aspects to what Apple is doing, but let's not blindly follow along like sheep just because it's Apple.
If you had read and paid attention to the original article and its source articles, you'd know that Apple wouldn't be the company managing the SIM card information.
It would make me a bit less pessimistic about it if it were a GSM-wide standard, and not just an Apple thing.
You should be a little less pessimistic then...
http://www.gsmworld.com/newsroom/pre.../2010/5726.htm
How about traveling? You arrive at a foreign airport at 1:00am. Of course all the mobile phone carrier shops are closed. Normally, with GSM and an unlocked phone, you just go to a convenience store or a vending machine and get a prepaid SIM, and you just pop it in. How would that work with an embedded SIM?
It would be like a dual SIM phone, except with the capability to store SIM information from a lot more than just two carriers. No need to track down a SIM card because you already have everything you need on the phone. How would the SIM information get to your phone in the first place? I heard the Internet is good at delivering information. What if you were unable to acess the internet, because you forgot to sign up before you left home, and somehow none of the airports had wifi? If this were a standard, which is what it's on its way to becoming, a kiosk could easily send your phone that information over bluetooth just as easily as they dispense SIM cards now.
Some people have no imagination. I don't know why people are so attached to a piece of plastic, when the data on the chip embedded in the plastic is the only important thing.
You have any evidence for this? It's a crazy assertion. The idea is very simple. Just like you change WiFi networks with your software, in the same way you would change Carriers with an embedded SIM through your software. No freedom is taken away, rather a bunch more is given to you.
It's not at all a crazy assertion. It's a distinct possibility.
If the phone has an embedded SIM, you can only change it in a way that handset vendors/carriers allow you to. If the software on the phone doesn't allow you to change it, "like you change WiFi networks with your software," or if the carriers refuse to support that, then you simply can't do it.
Like many things, the devil is in the details, so, until we see exactly how this is implemented, it's impossible to say with certainty whether this is good for consumers or not. It could work out well, and make it more convenient for consumers to swap SIM info. Or, it could work out badly and make it impossible for them to do so. Or, it could end up somewhere in between.
What if you were unable to acess the internet, because you forgot to sign up before you left home, and somehow none of the airports had wifi? If this were a standard, a kiosk could easily send your phone that information over bluetooth just as easily as they dispense SIM cards now.
1) ...or any of the other methods stated in this thread. I don't get why people think that tiny amount of data can only be enter the device via a plastic card when there are faster and more convenient methods available to us.
I like the idea of multiple virtual SIMs. This would take up so little space and allow you to quickly switch your carrier right from your phone's Settings.
PS: Isn't one issue GSM-based phone have is a faulty SIM or connected plate? Wouldn't this prevent this eventuality?
1) ...or any of the other methods stated in this thread. I don't get why people think that tiny amount of data can only be enter the device via a plastic card when there are faster and more convenient methods available to us.
I like the idea of multiple virtual SIMs. This would take up so little space and allow you to quickly switch your carrier right from your phone's Settings.
PS: Isn't one issue GSM-based phone have is a faulty SIM or connected plate? Wouldn't this prevent this eventuality?
I'm not a frequent SIM swapper, but I'd assume a soldered in chip would allow for a more reliable connection.
Currently, if I have a number active on a SIM it exists on my operators billing system and HLR. If someone trying to activate my number on another SIM it'd fail because they don't own the number. Currently I would have to get a PAC to change provider.
At the moment the provider has 48 hours to give this code but this will soon change to 2 hours. Even if my SIM was capable of potentially connecting to any UK network, using current practices I'd have to transfer the number with a PAC. If I was in contract I'd pay a termination fee.
For the people talking about Apple managing it with a menu or something that displays the available networks...that doesn't really fit in with current systems, as Apple would still follow the same process...disconnect on network A, connect on network B. Apple couldn't request termination of a contract on behalf of a customer of most, if not all, carriers require the contract holder to make such a request.
I see no reason for the carrier to care as there's no difference. They sell a network locked handset with subsidy and an 18 month/24 month contract. At the end they unlock the phone. OR, they sell unlocked, full price PAYG. PAYG is seen as low value anyway as the revenue isn't guaranteed.
Unless there is a full rework of the porting system it's not going to be as convenient as it potentially could be. Also, in terms in creating a new account with a new provider, there'd have to be a system created to apply for service on the phone, that's linked to credit agencies etc and you get a yes or no.
As for going abroad, I don't think it'd be possible as you'd have to get a new number for the foreign network as different countries have different numbers. UK numbers start 07 and have 11 digits and this number couldn't port to a foreign network at the moment. so you'd need a new number in whatever country you're in. You couldn't get a contract there as there is no credit history etc so it'd be PAYG only.
If there are major changes then potentially this could be a really good system. A fair few years off I believe. Not the embedded SIM idea per sé but certainly the easy switch of provider.
Cheers.
David
1) ...or any of the other methods stated in this thread. I don't get why people think that tiny amount of data can only be enter the device via a plastic card when there are faster and more convenient methods available to us.
I like the idea of multiple virtual SIMs. This would take up so little space and allow you to quickly switch your carrier right from your phone's Settings.
PS: Isn't one issue GSM-based phone have is a faulty SIM or connected plate? Wouldn't this prevent this eventuality?
From the previous AI article about this subject it seems that you need a PC or a special device to change the chip RAM setting in order to switch carriers.
It's like Verizon's CEO saying --- they expect the US to go something like 500% wireless penetration in the future (100% for cell phones and the other 400% on stuff like smart meters). There is simply zero need to put a SIM card in a smart meter.
From the previous AI article about this subject it seems that you need a PC or a special device to change the chip RAM setting in order to switch carriers.
That was poorly described and it was only discussing the initial activation, not the process of switching between active SIMs on your phone.
I think most of you are missing the point. What exactly are you ?swapping? when you swap the card? The data! That?s it. The physical card is just a method by which to accomplish this task, but as pointed out many times in this thread there are plenty of ways to move codes and data between devices. Most of the ways I have conceived would be faster and easier than physically swapping a SIM card.
Isn't a lot of the stuff on a SIM card encrypted? A ton of stuff works on PCs, but not on Macs. Sure they could swap data between devices but you would find umpteen devices which you could not do so with a Mac because the vendor couldn't be arsed writing a driver or App.
Companies as big as Samsung don't even write Mac versions of their apps to support their own phones, such as enabling such basics as firmware updating.
The idea of a universal mechanism for exchanging SIM settings between devices is nice, but a pipe dream.
The GSM CCTV device I mentioned would be a case in point. It has a USB socket but no way will it work with a Mac. Same with USB 3G modems, sure you could load the settings from a PC but only one in ten vendors would provide a way of doing so from a Mac.
A SIM is a single physical object, how do you have a packet of data act like that so it can't be copied, only moved?
Isn't a lot of the stuff on a SIM card encrypted?
[…]
A SIM is a single physical object, how do you have a packet of data act like that so it can't be copied, only moved?
What point is there in encrypted data on a card that billions of phones around the world are designed to read? You pop it in and it associates data on that card with that cellular device.
Because of that, the data can be copied to other SIMs. You can even change your phone’s IEMI, something that some countries require to active a device and, I think, is illegal to spoof.
There is simply no reason that you have to have a physical card to gain access to a cellular network, and with the so ways to transfer data with modern devices the need is dramatically reduced.
edit: The only encryption I see is when talking to the carrier. It looks like the total size might be 20 digits. You could input that by hand or NFC or BT could do it from a secure setting option within the phone, while being able to store dozens and dozens of virtual-SIM entries. That doesn’t sound easier and better to you than carrying a bunch of cheap plastic chips with you as you travel. Chips that can affect how your phone works?
The GSM CCTV device I mentioned would be a case in point. It has a USB socket but no way will it work with a Mac. Same with USB 3G modems, sure you could load the settings from a PC but only one in ten vendors would provide a way of doing so from a Mac.
It sounds like you’re talking about drivers for that accessory to a Mac, not about access to the carrier’s network.
... That doesn?t sound easier and better to you than carrying a bunch of cheap plastic chips with you as you travel. ...
Well, but the issue is, with an embedded SIM, would you be able to change it? Maybe, maybe not. No one knows right now how it would be implemented, and even if you were allowed to change it, how that might work. The advantage of the plastic chips is that at least you have control over changing them now.
Try and get an unlocked Nokia phone in Australia, you'll find they don't exist, all loaded up with network crapware as they are, good luck with finding a "vanilla" unlocked one.
http://www.expansys.com.au/
They sell unlocked phones in Australia, doesn't seem that hard to find.
Just because your employer doesn't want to sell them doesn't mean they aren't available.
My iPhone 4 on the other hand IS unlocked, I can put any microSIM in it I want from any carrier who wants my money.
My Nokia phone is unlocked, I can put any SIM in it, what is your point? I can go to Telecom NZ, Vodafone NZ, 2 Degrees in NZ and purchase an unlocked Nokia phone from any of them. They are not loaded down with "crap" anymore, they have a operator splash screen and the APNs preloaded. But hey, if you don't like that, just flash the phone.
btw isn't Ireland, you know, sort of in Europe?
Well actually it isn't, it is part of the EU, but it isn't part of continental Europe, there is some water and another island) between it and Europe
Well, but the issue is, with an embedded SIM, would you be able to change it? Maybe, maybe not. No one knows right now how it would be implemented, and even if you were allowed to change it, how that might work. The advantage of the plastic chips is that at least you have control over changing them now.
But the future is 500% wireless penetration, with 400% of those in things like smart meters.
http://gigaom.com/2010/11/18/carrier...the-apple-sim/
Physical SIM card is holding back the development of M2M wireless devices. This is why even the GSMA is leaning towards killing the physical SIM card.
Well, but the issue is, with an embedded SIM, would you be able to change it? Maybe, maybe not. No one knows right now how it would be implemented, and even if you were allowed to change it, how that might work. The advantage of the plastic chips is that at least you have control over changing them now.
No,you don?t have control. If a phone is locked you still have to use that carrier. You can?t put in different SIM cards from different carriers in various countries and have them automatically work. You have to use and unlocked phone.
This sounds a lot like people want the feeling of control with a physical object.
No,you don’t have control. If a phone is locked you still have to use that carrier. You can’t put in different SIM cards from different carriers in various countries and have them automatically work. You have to use and unlocked phone.
This sounds a lot like people want the feeling of control with a physical object.
Right, the way it currently works, if you buy an unlocked phone, or get it unlocked, you can then swap SIM cards. The point is, we have no idea at this point in time if embedded SIM cards would work the same way, or if it would effectively mean the end of unlocked phones, or, assuming that doesn't happen, how easy or onerous the process of swapping SIM info might be. Until there are hard details on how it would work, and how it would be implemented, there's no way to know that embedded SIMS will be a positive thing for the consumer.
So, yes, people would prefer the devil they know to the devil they don't.
Right, the way it currently works, if you buy an unlocked phone, or get it unlocked, you can then swap SIM cards. The point is, we have no idea at this point in time if embedded SIM cards would work the same way, or if would effectively mean the end of unlocked phones, or, assuming that doesn't happen, how easy or onerous the process of swapping SIM info might be. Until there are hard details on how it would work, and how it would be implemented, there's no way to know that embedded SIMS will be a positive thing for the consumer.
So, yes, people would prefer the devil they know to the devil they don't.
It is positive for the consumer --- simply by advancing the other 400% wireless penetration.
Physical SIM card has zero place in the 500% wireless penetration world.
... the 500% wireless penetration world.
That's some new TSA program you're referring to, right?