The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has announced a new nano-SIM format, reports "The Verge" (http://macte.ch/034l5).

Approved this week at a meeting held in Japan, the new form factor will be 40% smaller than the current micro-SIM format -- measuring 12.3mm wide by 8.8mm high, and 0.67mm thick. Nano-SIMs will also be packaged in a way that allows them to be backwards compatible with existing SIM card designs, reports "The Verge."

Apple was competing with Motorola Mobility, Research in Motion and Nokia on a smaller SIM card standard. Apple wants a "nano-SIM" that would let it design even smaller products.The MicroSIM card, with a design smaller than traditional SIM cards, was pushed by Apple in 2010 with the launch of the iPhone 4.

"AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com) says that the press release issued by ETSI on Friday did not name Apple as the backer of the chosen standard, "but the dimensions listed by the institute match those of Apple's proposal."

However, "The Verge" notes: "Unfortunately, both Apple's design and the more recent Motorola / RIM compromise design are exactly the same exterior dimensions — the only difference is that the update submitted by Apple's competitors includes an extra notch to enable so-called "push-push" mechanisms in SIM slots that wouldn't necessitate a tray. Until ETSI publishes the specs, we won't know which of the two was chosen."

The ETSI says that the new form factor was adopted by industry with the involvement of major mobile network operators, smart card suppliers and mobile device manufacturers. The new design will be published in due course in ETSI's TS 102 221 specification, freely available like all ETSI standards from the ETSI website.