Apple has won a battle over the standard for a smaller SIM card, use of which would leave more room for other components in future phone designs.
The Smart Card Platform Technical Committee of the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) agreed a standard for so-called nano-SIMs on Friday. Apple's specification beat a competing proposal from Nokia, Research In Motion and Google-owned Motorola Mobility.
The SIM standard -- which is officially known as the fourth form factor (4FF) -- will be 40 percent smaller than the current smallest SIM card design, at 12.3 millimeters by 8.8 mm by 0.67 mm, according to ETSI. It can be packaged and distributed in a way that is backwards compatible with existing SIM card designs. The new design will offer the same functionality as all current SIM cards, ETSI said.
ETSI isn't releasing any further details of the vote or the winning specification, only saying that the decision had been made, according to a spokesman at the standards organization. The proposer of the winning specification was identified by card maker Giesecke & Devrient, which had a representative on the committee.
Ahead of Friday's meeting in Osaka, ETSI members had failed to agree on the standard at another meeting at the end of March. The failure to reach a conclusion then wasn't a surprise, as the lead-up to the vote had been contentious.
Both RIM and Nokia have tried their best to cast doubt on Apple's efforts. Nokia, for its part, accused Apple of misusing the standardization process and said that it wouldn't license essential patents related to Apple's proposal if that proposal won.
What the company intends to do now remains to be seen. Nokia didn't immediately respond to questions about the vote.
When nano-SIM cards enter production, their smaller size will free up room inside phones for additional memory and larger batteries, helping phone vendors create thinner devices, according to Giesecke & Devrient.
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