SIM cards to reach 1 gigabyte by year end

Multimedia content and the need for high density memory are getting huge in the mobile phone business these days, but I never would have thought that the solution may come from the tiny card that maintains your phone’s identity. Microelectronica, along with its parent company M-Systems, are the on cusp of releasing a range of new 2G and 3G SIM cards.

The 512 megabyte M-SIM MegaSIM series will be available to “pilots with mobile network operators” in the second quarter, and in the third quarter to commercial outlets. But why stop at 512 megabytes, when you can roll out one with one gig? That’s right, by the end of this year, the company plans on releasing 1 gigabyte versions of its M-SIM MegaSIM series SIM cards.

This MegaSIM platform combines the M.MAR SIM software and operating system from Microelectronica, with the flash management technology of M-Systems, which purchased the former just last November. This unique combination is said to provide “advanced capabilities, enabling smarter mobile services.”