The cards are the same thickness which is why a nano-SIM, micro-SIM, or mini-SIM can all be punched out of the original standard SIM card.No, or at least, not necessarily.
Look at this image (actually from a macrumors story)
Image
The contacts are different. Also, the mechanics are different. You have to make sure the trays operate properly, the cards don't get damaged, aren't prone to losing electrical contact because this one is thinner and getting errant "no SIM" messages (some customers have experienced this before on previous iPhones), etc.
So, touching the contacts does not matter?
That gold looking plating may actually be gold, which should be impervious to body oils and acids, being a "noble" metal.
The cards are the same thickness which is why a nano-SIM, micro-SIM, or mini-SIM can all be punched out of the original standard SIM card.
It's thinner too. .67 mm, while all before were .76 mm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subscriber_identity_module#Formats
The contact placement is always the same, it's just that different manufacturers vary the way they cover the contact area. There's a precise target area, plus a radius of variance that the contact needs to support, because individual cards and slots will vary a bit once they are inserted.
Trust me, I have about six SIM cards (one from T-Mobile, maybe three from AT&T, two from Truphone, and my Straight Talk SIM) and all of them look a little different.
If you get a "no SIM" error, pull out the tray and card, reseat, then re-insert.
That's interesting, I was erroneously under the assumption that the nano SIM was the same thickness as the three previous SIM formats.It's thinner too. .67 mm, while all before were .76 mm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subscriber_identity_module#Formats
Why does it need to be tested? Isn't it exactly the same as a microsim with less plastic?
This.
Why does it need to be tested? Isn't it exactly the same as a microsim with less plastic?
No, or at least, not necessarily.
Look at this image (actually from a macrumors story)
Image
The contacts are different. Also, the mechanics are different. You have to make sure the trays operate properly, the cards don't get damaged, aren't prone to losing electrical contact because this one is thinner and getting errant "no SIM" messages (some customers have experienced this before on previous iPhones), etc.
From those parts it would appear they are going back to a full size sim, so i unbelieve these are accurate.
The contacts on the micro- and nano-SIM cards in that picture are electrically identical. There are many stylistic changes which can be made to the contact which have absolutely no impact on it's functionality. If you find SIMs from several different manufacturers, you'll already find differences like these on the contacts, even on the same size SIM card.
Do they really need to keep delivering the original, full-sized Smart Card form factor? How many phones based on that card layout are still in the wild at this point?
Couldn't they save a whole lot of waste plastic if they only mass-produced punch-outs for the form factors that are still widely used?