Carrier options for US iPhone customers have dramatically multiplied over the past two years. The handset, which was once only available from AT&T, is now offered on nine wireless providers across the country.
Actually, 10 carriers if you count Straight Talk. You may or may not know this, but the nationwide prepaid provider is compatible with the GSM iPhone. You don't even need to unlock your handset to switch to it...
As Apple fights rivals Nokia, Motorola and Research In Motion for the upcoming Nano SIM card standard, a new patent filing indicates the company is thinking beyond smartphones. The iPhone maker already holds an important Nano SIM patent and now we've learned they're researching a universal SIM card connector solution.
Yes, it would require a "drawer" and devices would need to be engineered with this in mind, but the benefits offset engineering hassles. Apple's SIM card connector solution could let you transfer a SIM card from one device to another. Plus, it is reliable and resistant to damage by an improper insertion of a SIM card.
It even works with Integrated Circuit Card found in credit cards, broadening potential uses to e-commerce applications. And if this patent filing is an indication, Apple's universal SIM connector could be coming to a MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple television near you...
Apple's push for a new SIM card standard dubbed Nano SIM is in troubled waters as BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has sent a letter out suggesting that foul play may be afoot. Meanwhile, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has postponed vote on Nano SIM due to a dispute between Apple and Nokia over Nano SIM patents.
RIM's letter claims Apple's own personnel register themselves as working for the competition in order to try and rig a vote that will decide the outcome of a bid to make the Nano SIM a new standard.
The Canadian firm believes that members of Apple's team have registered to vote claiming to work for Bell Mobility, SK Telekom and KT Corp. If true, Apple may have some answering to do...
Handset maker Nokia is increasing pressure on Apple ahead of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s (ETSI) ruling on the emerging SIM card standard, due later this week. The latest in the ongoing power struggle includes Nokia issuing another statement accusing Apple for bending unwritten rules and misusing the standardization process "to rubber stamp its proposal".
All that jazz for a smaller SIM card standard? Color me skeptical, but I'm questioning Nokia's motive here. Is the other Nano SIM variant backed by Nokia, Motorola and RIM really so much better than Apple's, which requires a tray (seen in the above shot)?
Once again, the Finnish cell phone giant Nokia is opposing Apple's proposal for a new requirement related to the emerging Nano SIM card standard, dated back to 2011. According to a rumor yesterday, Apple wants to license its version of the Nano SIM to others royalty-free in exchange for any Nano SIM-related patents held by other companies.
Today, Nokia said in a statement it does not know of any Apple patent related to the iPhone maker's Nano SIM variant. Essentially, Nokia just slammed Apple's recent strides aimed at promoting its Nano SIM variant ahead of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute's (ETSI) ruling later this week...
Last week, we told you about two opposing proposals concerning the emerging Nano SIM standard. An Apple-backed solution requires a tray so phones would need to be re-engineered with this in mind. It is largely believed to benefit the ultra-thin design of a sixth-generation iPhone.
The other proposal is led by Nokia and backed by Motorola and RIM. It calls for a Nano SIM variant that doesn't require a tray and is even smaller than Apple’s. The two camps had tabled their proposals to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and now a report has emerged claiming that Apple's solution, if approved, will be offered on a royalty-free basis to any industry player...
Espoo, Finland-headquartered Nokia is officially opposing Apple's requirement for an emerging mobile industry standard basically calling for a miniaturized SIM module roughly a third smaller than the Micro SIM used with the iPhone 4/4S. A proposal put forth by Motorola, RIM and Nokia has some technical advantages over the Apple-backed nano SIM that requires a “drawer” to protect it.
As a result, cell phones would need to be re-engineered with this in mind. Nokia says its variant of the Nano SIM doesn't require a tray and is even smaller than Apple's. Both camps have tabled proposals to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). With 92 votes, Nokia is the largest ETSI voting body, so no wonder Apple has filed multiple membership applications in order to increase its voting power.
Nokia has explained its stance in a lengthy statement issued to The Verge just this morning...
When Apple was designing the iPhone 4, the company had adopted the smaller Micro SIM format for space constraints. Smaller in size compared to the standard Mini SIMs, Micro SIMs do the exact same job while using less space. But with mobile devices getting even slimmer these days, even Micro SIMs waste too much valuable space inside thin mobile gadgets.
Apple thinks smaller is better so last summer the company submitted a new requirement to the European Telecoms Standards Body for the use of even smaller SIM cards in mobile phones (AT&T followed suit). But the battle over the upcoming Nano SIM standard has put Apple once again on a collision course with its rivals in the smartphone space, namely the opposing group led by Android maker Google and joined by the ailing BlackBerry maker Research In Motion and Nokia of Finland, reports the Financial Times (subscription required)...
Even though we are still waiting on an iPhone 4S software unlock from the Dev Team, there are a couple of hardware unlock solutions available. Just last week we told you about the TPSIM SIM interposer, and now another one has surfaced.
The R-SIM is a turbo SIM card for your iPhone 4S that will unlock your handset, allowing you to use it on any compatible GSM network in the world...
Unlocking is not nearly as important to iPhone users as it once was. Over the last couple of years, Apple has opened up its popular handset to hundreds of new carriers, and has even started selling its own factory unlocked models.
But if you don't want to spend $650 buying the unlocked version of Apple's new iPhone 4S, you have a few other options. One, you could wait for the iPhone Dev team to release its unlock for the new handset. Or you can pre-order one of these...
Apple's iMessage may be a fine SMS/MMS tool, but as we recently reported, it isn't without its problems.
If you are unlucky enough to find your iPhone stolen or lost, then under some circumstances it is possible that the iPhone can continue receiving iMessages. Even moving your phone number to another handset, changing your Apple ID password, and remote wiping the handset may not stop the problem.
There are two possible fixes, and they are as simple as turning on your iPhone's SIM card PIN and calling your phone carrier...
Apple released a number of updates for its iOS products this week. It seeded the second beta for iOS 5.1 to developers, Apple TV 4.4.4, and a small iPhone 4S update.
The latter release was strange because it wasn't available to everyone (just those on iOS 5.0 or lower), and the version number didn't change. So, what was it for?