Feb

SIM cards expand with the times

Posted by Jill

Orange and Oberthur card Systems joined together with M-Systems at the 3GSMWorld Congress 2006 to reveal a new faster processing, higher capacity SIM card. With this new development people will be able to transfer whole applications as well as contacts, ringtones and more when they upgrade handsets (providing it is compatible of course).

Here’s a wee comparison of just how much better this new device is:
Current SIM cards = 64KB (with 16 or 32KB user accessible)
New SIM card = 512MB
Current SIM cards = process at 9.6 to 128KBPS
New SIM card = runs at 20 Megabits per second!

So a decent upgrade then…and apparently they can do more. M-Systems VP of Marketing said that the highest capacity they will provide will be whatever technology allows for, up to a few Gigabites. The device works basically on the same technology as most MMC cards, but with the extra functionality that a SIM card requires.