SimTray
Latest
Nokia will refuse to license 'essential' patents if Apple's nano-SIM standard is selected
The discussion over a new standard for SIMs is turning into an all-out war. Earlier this week, Apple agreed to offer its SIM patents royalty-free to competitors if two things happen. Specifically, if Apple's nano-SIM idea is adopted by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and other companies agree to reciprocate on licensing. Nokia was not pleased with this statement and has told the ETSI that it will refuse to license essential nano-SIM patents if the standards body chooses Apple's design over a competing design proposed by Nokia, RIM and Motorola, says a report by The Verge. Nokia asserts that Apple's proposal "does not meet ETSI's technical requirements and would be inferior for consumers and the mobile industry, unnecessarily increasing the cost of mobile devices." Henry Tirri, Nokia's executive vice president and chief technology officer, adds, "We believe that Apple is mis-using the standardization process, seeking to impose its own proprietary solution on the industry and using ETSI merely to rubber stamp its proposal, rather than following established principles and practices."
Apple patents SIM tray amid nano-SIM battle
TUAW's been all over the nano-SIM battle being waged in the hallowed halls of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), pitching Apple against the evil triumvirate of Nokia, Motorola, and RIM. Now, just coincidentally, Apple has received U.S. Patent 8,145,261 for "Ejectable component assemblies in electronic devices," which just happens to be a patent for a SIM card tray. Since the patent was originally filed in December of 2010, chances are pretty good that this has absolutely nothing to do with the nano-SIM melee. However, the design that was patented looks very similar to the design that has been used in the iPhone all along, and the nano-SIM tray design could be based on this. If you're up for reading the minutiae contained in the patent document, it is available (complete with drawings) from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office online. [via Engadget]
Apple patents ejectable SIM card tray as nano-SIM battle rages on
We're guessing it's just coincidental timing here, but it looks as if Apple has been granted a patent surrounding "ejectable component assemblies" that are designed to be "flush with the external surfaces of the housings of the devices, despite variations in their manufacture." In other words, a SIM card tray. Granted, there's no specific verbiage in the independent claims of this one letting us know what exact size we're talking about, so it's highly unlikely that a patent application filed in December of 2010 (but granted today) would be directly referencing the nano-SIM war that's currently ongoing. That said, the description most certainly sounds like the tray that we've seen throughout the iPhone's life cycle, and if Apple's trying to go small in future handsets, there's a better than average chance that the ejection mechanism will be all too familiar. Legalese lovers can find the usual load down in the source link.
