Vodafone stockpiles nano-SIMs for iPhone 5 launch

With the launch of the next iPhone just around the corner, the wireless carriers who will be officially on board are naturally gearing up for it. Vodafone UK, for instance, has been found to be stockpiling nano-SIMs which will fit neatly into the new iPhone.

In a blog post, the company divulged that it had stockpiled 500,000 nano-SIMs so as to meet the expected demand from iPhone 5 users once the device comes out. The post was eventually pulled off from the blog but not before Pocket-lint was able to grab the images as well as the text.

Referring to the minimal size of the nano-SIMs, Vodafone states, “They’re so slim and tiny you might only be able to handle them with tweezers – but imagine the extra space the new nano-SIM card frees up inside your handset.”

The post further states that, “The first devices have now been announced – and Vodafone has now got 500,000 of the new 12.3 mm x 8.8 mm nano-SIMs in stock.” Currently, no smartphones in UK support nano-SIMs. So we believe that the mention of the ‘first devices’ which will support nano-SIMs essentially refers to iPhone 5. It also hints that the post was originally intended to go up after the iPhone 5 launch and that’s precisely why it had been pulled off briefly.

Nano-SIM cards are 40 percent smaller than the micro-SIM cards that are used in most of the smartphones today.