Nano-SIM cards are coming up next!

Giesecke & Devrient, a German technology company,yesterday announced a sim card, that's just two-thirds the size of the Micro-SIM. The company says the new Nano-SIM enables manufacturers to produce devices that are even thinner while offering an equivalent, if not better, level of wireless performance.

G&D's nano-SIM is 30 percent smaller than the micro-SIM cards that have only just started to be adopted by carriers and manufacturers. G&D says that the new nano-SIM is 60 percent smaller than conventional, full-sized SIM cards, as well as 15 percent thinner.

The new nano-SIM card measures a mere 12mm x 9mm in size, which means that the card and its receptacle in a phone take up less space than regular SIM cards or even micro-SIM cars, allowing manufacturers to build smaller, thinner devices or to make use of the extra room for larger displays, batteries, or other components.

The new Nano-SIM could find its way into mobile devices as early as next year.Technically, this is first time in 20 years the SIM's circuitry itself has been significantly changed. This is because the Micro-SIM shares the same circuit size and thickness as the regular SIM, making it possible for anybody to reduce the regular SIM into a Micro-SIM by using a sim cutter. You won't be able to transform a regular SIM into a Nano-SIM this way.

G&D says the Nano-SIM has been in testing with various mobile network operators and its standardization is expected to be implemented through the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) by the end of the year. Back in May, Apple put forth plans for a smaller version of the Micro-SIM to ETSI. So maybe the Nano-SIM is exactly what Apple has been waiting for.

The new Nano-SIM is backward-compatible with older devices via adapter solutions to ensure the Nano-SIM can be integrated into all existing GSM-based mobile devices, G&D says.

G&D says that an adapter is available that allows the nano-SIM to be used in micro-SIM and regular SIM compatible devices. The company expects the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to make the nano-SIM card an officially supported standard by the end of the year.