Nokia claims Apple royalty-free nano-SIM promise is hollow
updated 03:25 pm EDT, Mon March 26, 2012
Nokia says Apple has no patents to wield
Nokia in a mid-Monday response dismissed Apple's royalty-free offer should it define the upcoming nano-SIM card format. The Finnish company told IDG that it was "not aware" of any Apple patents essential to its nano-SIM card. The seemingly benign gesture was just Apple trying to "devalue the intellectual property of others," a Nokia representative claimed.
The firm had earlier tried to explain in public why it thought its nano-SIM idea was superior, including genuine difference and overall smaller size.
Nokia's sincerity in either situation isn't clear, as there hasn't been a similar dissection of its own suggested format. It also hasn't said whether or not it would promise to offer its own SIM format royalty free or if it would try to profit from others' phones, as it does with its 3G patents.
Apple's proposal may win through support from carriers. Nokia is currently depending on support from Motorola and RIM to try to clinch the standard, as well as its position as the largest voting body in the ETSI group deciding on what to approve. As a foil, Apple has pressing to get its national affiliates made ETSI voting members and tip the balance more in its favor.
A vote is due on the standards on Thursday. Devices using the new SIM might not show until 2013 at the earliest, as its benefits would still require ground-up design to make the most of the newly-saved space.
Grizzled Veteran
Joined: Jul 2004
Clue stick for Nokia
Nobody actually wants to have to take the battery off their phone just to swap out a sim card. Most non-Apple products have their SIM cards buried underneath the battery making a hotswap impossible.