Mobile Phone Carriers Stock-up on Nano-SIMs Ahead of iPhone 5 Launch

The iPhone 4 ushered in the Micro-SIM and now the Financial Times is reporting that mobile carriers are stocking up on the new 4FF nano-SIM card in anticipation of the new iPhone’s launch.

With the iPhone 5 rumoured to arrive as early as August it looks as though European phone vendors are getting ready by buying in a heap of the new, smaller SIM.

The Nano-SIM card is a piece of plastic that’s around 40% smaller than the existing 3FF micro-SIM used in the iPhone 4 / 4S and recent models from Nokia, Samsung, Sony, amongst others.

The boldest move for Apple was not opting for the 4FF chip – it’s the fact that Apple had designed the latest iPhone around the new SIM before it was actually approved by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) — just imagine if the new chip format had been knocked back? That surely would’ve meant a redesign of the device or, perhaps, for Apple to produce its own!

With yesterday’s leaked iPhone pictures it does feel as though the new Apple mobile is just around the corner. What do you think?