The new iPhone 5 could be in shops sooner than we thought -- it seems the phone networks already have unique new SIM cards stockpiled.
The new iPhone 5 is set to ditch micro-SIM cards for the even smaller nano-SIM. And Vodafone has given us a glimpse of the nano-SIM card in a blog post -- which it then hastily pulled from sight. But this is the Internet, where no matter how hard you try to stuff the cat back in the bag, the rabbit will never quite fit back in the hat.
Vodafone says it has a whopping 500,000 nano-SIMs stockpiled ready for the new iPhone, which is set to be announced this very evening. Having such a large number of SIM cards put by suggests that, as usual, Apple will waste no time after the announcement in getting the new phone into shops.
A nano-SIM card measures 12.3mm by 8.8mm and is "So slim and tiny you might only be able to handle them with tweezers," as Vodafone puts it. It's 40 per cent smaller than the micro-SIM card used in the current iPhone 4S and other phones including the Nokia Lumia range and Samsung Galaxy S3.
The smaller SIM card is just one of the components that's been shrunk inside the new iPhone, if leaked photos are to be believed. The dock connector is widely reported to be much smaller, and the headphone jack is expected to be moved to the bottom. Even the smallest saving of space inside a phone makes a difference, allowing more room for a battery or other components like a 4G chip, all squeezed into a thinner case.
Other rumoured space-saving measures in the new iPhone include a slimmer screen design. Leaked photos reveal that the iPhone 5 will sport a 16:9 widescreen display when turned sideways for watching movies without black bars.
We'll be reporting from the iPhone 5 launch this very evening, so keep it CNET from 6pm UK time for all the first news, first impressions and more. Are you planning to bag a new iPhone? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
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Comments 16
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anonymous 12 September, 2012 10:19
"stockpiled ready for the new iPhone, which is set to be announced tomorrow" - its announced later on today?
anonymous 12 September, 2012 10:21
will certainly be baggin the new iphone though, can't wait for its release.
2 weeks from now it should definitely be in my hands..with the release apparently for next friday, or could it be sooner?
Rich Trenholm 12 September, 2012 10:59
You're right anonymous, it is tonight, we've corrected that slip of the keyboard. I guess we've been waiting so long I couldn't believe the day has actually dawned
anonymous 12 September, 2012 11:40
So what are everybody's thoughts on the fun HTC and Samsung will be having when the iPhone 5 is announced on 4G?
anonymous 12 September, 2012 11:55
who cares? the iPhone 5 will beat all the andriod phones out there at the moment, hands down. especially with the functionality of iOS 6 and 4G.
Apple still bosses it all, whether people like it or not.
Paul Riley 12 September, 2012 12:16
@ anonymous 11:55 - the iphone has never and probably will never be the best phone, technology wise. It may be your preference and a fashion phone which is fine. But its certainly nothing revolutionary.
Some Android phones are faster, have better processors, are simply technically more advanced, you cant argue with that, its a fact. The OS is subjective though. I prefer android in that respect.
anonymous 12 September, 2012 13:03
@Paul Riley where does it say its not the best phone then? how can you say technology wise it isn't? surely what apple have done has revolutionised technology..many things they have done have changed how we do things and other phones have 'copied' or used exactly what apple has done. so technology wise i think your point is quite irrelevant.
Some andriod phones may be faster or have better processers at the moment, but the iPhone 5 hasnt been announced yet, so you cant really say that either. it may be a fact but one that could change come 6 o'clock tonight.
The OS maybe subjective but that can simply be mere preference..iOS is much more clean and quicker to use and generally looks nicer, wheres android OS are more for the people who like to mess about with things and programmers.
Paul Riley 12 September, 2012 14:36
@anonymous again the OS is your opinion, I find iOS dull, boring, ugly and Android has more features. I take your point about processors, I took the comments as meaning spec wise. The whole thing about Android being for people who want to mess around with stuff and programmers, I'm not a programmer, I don't think having widgets on the home screen is really "messing about"
The iphone has shown no innovation since the original, they are basically the same but with a faster processor, big deal.
anonymous 12 September, 2012 14:53
@Paul Riley okay, maybe OS are down to individuals prefences but how spec wise are there any phones better than the iPhone 5 if it is still yet to be released? i can see your point if it was actually confirmed but that's not until 6pm tonight..so again its not really a fact.
Some people just have andriod because they don't like apple, there's not many more places you can go apart from iOS and Andriod beacuse BlackBerry and Windows Phone really are losing it. widgets on the home screen can become annoying though, but i do see the need for them sometime, such as news etc. but again that is an individuals preferance rather than this phone is much better beacuse it has widgets or this phone is better because it looks tidier.
There has been innovations from the original in terms of size, shape and soon to be screen size. they may not have been hugely massive ones. but why fix something if it isn't broken? apple know that their products are top of the range, and exceptionally hard to beat so why would they completely change the iPhone range if there really is no need. that's like changing a whole football squad that has won every game of the season, pointless?
new iOS and hardware are types of innovation so it sort of is a big deal. iPhones are one of the best if not the best phones on the market and the iPhone 5 is going to completely underline that point.
anonymous 12 September, 2012 15:41
Very clever of apple having a smaller sim card in it's phones is a dis-incentive for those people who might want to move to a new phone at a later date, only to find that they will have to get a new sim. What's the betting that you won't be able to copy the data on their sim card onto a competitors phone.
anonymous 12 September, 2012 15:48
'android OS are more for the people who like to mess about with things and programmers.'
Well my girlfriend doesn't mess about with things and she certainly isn't a programmer. She just wanted a phone that's better than the iphone.
anonymous 12 September, 2012 15:51
@anonymous 15:48 maybe not but she obviously didn't succeed cos the iphone 5 isnt even out yet so there cant be a phone that's better than it.
unlucky mate.
anonymous 12 September, 2012 19:52
Well, it's out now and it certainly isn't anything special.
Chris Noakes 12 September, 2012 22:21
Is this the best you've got to offer apple. You obviously don't listen to the public!
Where's the external memory support. Still not prepared to get in line with the rest of the world regarding the micro usb connection. Shame on you! No doubt a long list of apple docks are to follow this release.
I hope that people realise this nothing special
Galaxy S3 here I come!
anonymous 13 September, 2012 21:50
I like my iPhone 3GS but saw little in the 4 to tempt me to upgrade. This seems like an even smaller difference over the 4 than previous 'upgrades' and more of the 'Apple will lock you in to non standard formats' rubbish (nano sim - I mean really is that necessary?).
Yes, Apple changed the face of mobile phones with the original iPhone, but other than improvements in processor speed they have completely failed to innovate further. I think Steve Jobs really was irreplaceable.
I like the look of the Galaxy IIIs and it is far more tempting as an upgrade option than this paltry offering.
anonymous 14 September, 2012 19:43
I like the fact where Apple gets tied with "high end"; that certainly did make me chuckle.
People shouldn't confuse "high end" and "high price tag" because that is a stupid mistake to make!