Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Apple Offers Royalty-Free Patent Licenses to Push Proposed Nano-SIM Standard
Last week, we noted that Apple was still pushing to have its "nano-SIM" design adopted as the official next-generation standard to further reduce the size of the removable cards that include subscriber information and activation capabilities for mobile phones and other devices connecting to cellular networks. While the company has received the backing of a number of European carriers in its effort to roll out the new standard, other hardware companies are putting out their own proposals.
FOSS Patents now reports that it has seen a letter sent by Apple to the European Telecommunications Standards Institutes (ETSI) committing to offer royalty-free license to its nano-SIM design patents should it be adopted as the next-generation standard and holders of other patents related to the standard offer similar terms to ease adoption.
Apple has also reportedly been developing a micro dock connector for future iOS devices, a move which would similarly free up space for other uses given the substantial size of the 30-pin dock connector used in all iOS devices released to date.
FOSS Patents now reports that it has seen a letter sent by Apple to the European Telecommunications Standards Institutes (ETSI) committing to offer royalty-free license to its nano-SIM design patents should it be adopted as the next-generation standard and holders of other patents related to the standard offer similar terms to ease adoption.
A perfectly reliable source that I can't disclose has shown me a letter dated March 19, 2012 that a senior Apple lawyer sent to ETSI. The letter addresses the primary concern of critics of the proposal. The FT said that "the Apple-led proposal has caused some concern among its rivals that the US group might eventually own the patents". But Apple's letter has removed this roadblock, if it ever was any, through an unequivocal commitment to grant royalty-free licenses to any Apple patents essential to nano-SIM, provided that Apple's proposal is adopted as a standard and that all other patent holders accept the same terms in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.A move to a smaller SIM card standard would enable Apple to design smaller and thinner devices or to utilize some of the space within existing device volumes for other components. With the tightly-packed configurations of today's mobile devices, even minor size reductions for a given component can open the door to smaller or better-peforming devices.
Apple has also reportedly been developing a micro dock connector for future iOS devices, a move which would similarly free up space for other uses given the substantial size of the 30-pin dock connector used in all iOS devices released to date.
[ 121 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
97 months ago
Why don't they use a device to load the data stored in the SIM directly on the iPhone?
97 months ago
I hope Apple gets screwed on this, for shafting the rest of the planet on LTE connectivity in the "new iPad".
It's not Apple's fault that LTE is pretty much non-existent in Europe.
97 months ago
The SIM "CARD" is one of the greatest inventions in mobile technology? Are you kidding me? Perhaps a great invention for the purpose of locking consumers into contracts?
You have the option of buying a full price unlocked phone from a retailer and a pay as you go SIM from any GSM (by GSM, I mean GSM/UMTS/HSPA/LTE - technologies of the same family that use SIMs) carrier and you won't be locked in any contract. If you don't like your carrier, buy a SIM from another one and put it in your phone.
That's harder to do on SIM-less CDMA carriers where you have to buy a phone from them. They might let you pay full price and sign up without a contract. I'm not sure. But you have to buy the phone from them, you don't get to choose from the vast selection of unlocked GSM phones out there and your phone can't usually be used on another CDMA carrier.
It's even harder to pull off in the US where 2 of the 4 major carriers are CDMA and the other two GSM carriers don't even use the same frequencies for 3G. But in Europe, it's more practical. Plus people in the US like getting phones for dirt cheap in exchange for a two year contract.
For being a tangible external eyesore and pain in the a**?
For holding back new phone designs for the last 15 years?
Recent phone with a SIM card:
Yup, looks like design has been held back thanks to the SIM card.
No, the SIM Card * (in it's current form) is not an innovation in my eyes. It's whole purpose could be easily generated through software to provide a more sophisticated, but user friendly application.
Hmm, what's more user friendly. Swapping a card between two phones which doesn't even take a minute. Or, installing software/drivers on your computer, then plugging your phone into a computer, then opening said software, then doing whatever's required in said software to update your phone.
Even my parents who are computer illiterate can swap a SIM card between two phones.
20 years from now people will be laughing at the notion of us sticking little pieces of cardboard into the side of our phones to make them work. Frankly, it's ridiculous, archaic and not fit for the 21st century.
97 months ago
However, good luck explaining that to an American, where their chained into 2-year contracts and a single carrier from birth to death.
I've had 3 of the 4 major US carriers thank you very much. Totally switching to #4 (Verizon) when the LTE iPhone comes out, too.
97 months ago
For those asking what and why, etc.: The reason you would want this is twofold.
1. The vast majority of people don't juggle or ever eject their SIMs, but when it's necessary (emergency device replacement, for example), it's nice to have a reasonable way to access it. If the entire device is destroyed and the SIM is part of the logic board, it's definitely lost.
2. It allows people who never would need to eject their SIM, and even people who WOULD need to eject it, to have a smaller footprint, which leaves that tiny bit of room for things like better chips or a little more battery. This benefits everyone.
For the SIM-juggling people who complain about it being incredibly small and hard not to lose, that's a sad story. HOWEVER, it's such a marginal situation that it's really not fair to the 99.9% of people on the planet who, frankly, shouldn't do without the benefits because you feel a need to constantly change your SIM while lacking manual dexterity and/or good memory to deal with it.
1. The vast majority of people don't juggle or ever eject their SIMs, but when it's necessary (emergency device replacement, for example), it's nice to have a reasonable way to access it. If the entire device is destroyed and the SIM is part of the logic board, it's definitely lost.
2. It allows people who never would need to eject their SIM, and even people who WOULD need to eject it, to have a smaller footprint, which leaves that tiny bit of room for things like better chips or a little more battery. This benefits everyone.
For the SIM-juggling people who complain about it being incredibly small and hard not to lose, that's a sad story. HOWEVER, it's such a marginal situation that it's really not fair to the 99.9% of people on the planet who, frankly, shouldn't do without the benefits because you feel a need to constantly change your SIM while lacking manual dexterity and/or good memory to deal with it.
97 months ago
You have the option of buying a full price unlocked phone from a retailer and a pay as you go SIM from any GSM (by GSM, I mean GSM/UMTS/HSPA/LTE - technologies of the same family that use SIMs) carrier and you won't be locked in any contract. If you don't like your carrier, buy a SIM from another one and put it in your phone.
That's harder to do on SIM-less CDMA carriers where you have to buy a phone from them. They might let you pay full price and sign up without a contract. I'm not sure. But you have to buy the phone from them, you don't get to choose from the vast selection of unlocked GSM phones out there and your phone can't usually be used on another CDMA carrier.
It's even harder to pull off in the US where 2 of the 4 major carriers are CDMA and the other two GSM carriers don't even use the same frequencies for 3G. But in Europe, it's more practical. Plus people in the US like getting phones for dirt cheap in exchange for a two year contract.
The SIM in most phones is underneath the battery cover. In the Phone, it's hidden away inside a tray. Put a bumper or case on your phone and you won't even see the tray. What phone are you using where the SIM is an external eyesore?
15 year old phone with a SIM card:
Recent phone with a SIM card:
Yup, looks like design has been held back thanks to the SIM card.
Hmm, what's more user friendly. Swapping a card between two phones which doesn't even take a minute. Or, installing software/drivers on your computer, then plugging your phone into a computer, then opening said software, then doing whatever's required in said software to update your phone.
Even my parents who are computer illiterate can swap a SIM card between two phones.
I think in 20 years, we'll still be using SIM cards and laughing at your post.
If we are using SIM cards in 20 years it will be because they are implanted into our brains.
97 months ago
No, the SIM Card * (in it's current form) is not an innovation in my eyes. It's whole purpose could be easily generated through software to provide a more sophisticated, but user friendly application.
20 years from now people will be laughing at the notion of us sticking little pieces of cardboard into the side of our phones to make them work. Frankly, it's ridiculous, archaic and not fit for the 21st century.
Not to mention that the entire one useful function is has (moving phone book, etc. over to a new phone) won't mean squat if your old card don't fit in your new phone. WTF cares from a user standpoint at THAT point? You might as well just use your computer to transfer the information. All I'm seeing here with this proposal (and with Apple considering a smaller dock port) is to make ALL prior equipment and cards INVALID and thus you have start over from scratch with all prior stuff incompatible with the newer stuff (especially irritating on the dock equipment connector stuff where at the VERY least you'd need to buy an adapter...Apple LOVES adapters. Users hate them (if you lose them, you're screwed; pony up another $20-90).
[ Read All Comments ]
Netflix is testing a human curated discovery feature on iOS called "Collections" that surfaces TV shows and movies the user might be interested to watch (via TechCrunch).
Collections in...
Following a couple of weeks of trickling out early invitations, Apple this week launched Apple Card for all U.S. customers, offering broad access to the new digital and physical credit card issued in...
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Vessel to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Signature 2.0 Backpack.
Vessel makes all kinds of backpacks, briefcases, and bags, but...
Discounts on the latest iMacs remain ongoing this month, with Amazon and B&H Photo now offering a new all-time-low price on the 27-inch Retina iMac with 8GB RAM and a 1TB Fusion Drive. This model...
Google and Apple calendars are not playing friendly right now.
As alerted to us by multiple MacRumors readers, there appears to be a syncing issue with Google Calendar and Apple's...
Apple Music today launched a new curated playlist called "New Music Daily," which as the name suggests, is updated every day with fresh songs.
Made up of "new music you simply...
Taylor Swift revealed today on Instagram that she will be the next partner in Apple's "Music Lab" sessions, which are available in Apple retail stores.
The Music Lab session will...
Satechi today announced the Type-C Dual Multimedia Adapter, which plugs into two of the MacBook Pro's USB-C ports to offer a handful of add-on ports.
In total, this includes: one 4K HDMI...
