Pirate that shiat now. Electronic download for all. Free yourselves from the tyranny of physical limitations!

Sex, Allah, ganja, kalashnikov, revolution.

While it's insane they have these large plastic cards for a tiny SIM card, I would conjecture that if you are looking at the environmental impact of the manufacturing of smartphones this is probably one of the lesser concerns.

A lot fo rare earth metals going into making components which is I I am annoyed at the barrage of videos that are released of people destroying new devices when they come out. Yes they can be blended, shot, microwaved, and smashed on pavement. Please stop wasting time, money, and resources on doing it for the upteenthed time.

I'll never understand people who feel the need to buy a new damn phone every 6-9 months just because it's screen is .010 of an inch bigger or it can download an extra 25k of data per minute. Screw the damn plastic card, what about the millions of cell phones that get thrown away every damn year.

You get what you pay for I guess

Be able to load the webpage in 10 seconds, or die!

Subby, the discarded Android phones are going to weigh much more than that.

Three! Three iPhone 5 threads today! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

All SIM cards come on credit card sized pieces of plastic. This happens every day.

WHO CAREZZZZ

NEW

SHINEYYYYYYY

MightyPez: A lot fo rare earth metals going into making components which is I I am annoyed at the barrage of videos that are released of people destroying new devices when they come out. Yes they can be blended, shot, microwaved, and smashed on pavement. Please stop wasting time, money, and resources on doing it for the upteenthed time.

You sound poor.

ReapTheChaos: I'll never understand people who feel the need to buy a new damn phone every 6-9 months just because it's screen is .010 of an inch bigger or it can download an extra 25k of data per minute. Screw the damn plastic card, what about the millions of cell phones that get thrown away every damn year.

While I agree that buying a new phone during the middle of a k (unless you have a tremendous amount of disposable income) is pretty silly, 3G to LTE is a bit more than "an extra 25K of data per minute".

Despite the nano-SIM being much smaller than previous cards, the plastic tray that every user is given is the exact same size. This credit card sized piece of plastic has a small rectangle notched out where you punch through and pop out your nano-SIM. The previous SIM and the plastic holder for the new SIM are then tossed in the garbage.

If you look at the five million users that managed to secure an iPhone 5 already, that is roughly 62,000 pounds of plastic waste generated just by forcing every user to replace their SIM card. Nearly 62,000 pounds of plastic waste generated in a single weekend, and the knowledge that if any of those users move away from the iPhone 5 to another device any time soon, that user will need to change SIM cards all over again.

Why, that's horrible! Apple is awful for wasting all that plastic...

... and also awful for impersonating Vodaphone! Clearly, this is all Apple's fault!

Oh, subby meant "SIM". I was trying to figure what kind of simulation, nano or otherwise, could generate 62,000 Lbs of waste.

fluffy2097: You sound poor.

If you want to just destroy something material to make a statement, the K Foundation's got you pretty well beat.

What's the point of a smaller SIM card though? It's not like they took up that much space. This doesn't seem to do anything besides bust backwards compatibility.

you have pee hands: What's the point of a smaller SIM card though? It's not like they took up that much space. This doesn't seem to do anything besides bust backwards compatibility.

It has to do with new smart phones getting much thinner/smaller and cramming more stuff in them. More radios, bigger batteries, larger screens, etc. Space it at a premium in these devices now and they are fighting for every millimeter. It's also why we are seeing a smaller iphone connector micro HDMI ports .

Surool: Subby, the discarded Android phones are going to weigh much more than that.

Just like they did with the last three iPhones, right?

bingethinker: Thank God people who don't own iPhones never have to get a new SIM card.

/I think I just sprained something rolling my eyes

//I wondered what fabricated crisis would hit us this week.

Serious question. Unless you lost the phone or somehow managed to fry the SIM why else would you bother getting a new one as long as you are on the same phone provider?

And even better question is why are we still using SIMs instead of an encrypted file the phone user can just dump on the mincroSD card every phone NOT made by Apple uses.

iPhone iphone iphone. iPhone. iPhone iphone iphone iphone; iphone iphone iphone. iPhone, iphone iphone.

iPhone? iPhone??

iPhone.

//iPhone

you have pee hands: fluffy2097: You sound poor.

If you want to just destroy something material to make a statement, the K Foundation's got you pretty well beat.

What's the point of a smaller SIM card though? It's not like they took up that much space. This doesn't seem to do anything besides bust backwards compatibility.

You know, I honestly didn't get that myself. I mean, what, Micro-SIM wasn't small enough? Was there some reason we just had to change everything to shave 4mm off of each side?

Majick Thise: I have had an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 3G and about 4 other brands before I switched to iPhone. I have never had need to remove a SIM card. Ever. Didn't even know iPhones had SIM cards. Not 100% sure what a SIM card even does. Don't know why I should care one way of the other

The SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card is how the cellular network identifies the phones connecting to it. (Not entirely sure on which specific generations were compatible, but) Before the iPhone 4, you could upgrade from iPhone 1 to 2 to 3 and all you had to do was move the SIM card from one phone to the other.

Since the card size decreased from 3G to 4 and now to 5, you need an entirely new SIM card, all together.

ReapTheChaos: I'll never understand people who feel the need to buy a new damn phone every 6-9 months just because it's screen is .010 of an inch bigger or it can download an extra 25k of data per minute. Screw the damn plastic card, what about the millions of cell phones that get thrown away every damn year.

The people who are buying these types of phones are those that have two year agreements that are now ending. Not people who buy phones every 6 to 9 months. And most seem to sell or giveaway their old phones.

That's 31 tons of waste. Some manufacturers in our area bring that much to the landfill every few days. It's a large amount of waste, but it's not going to destroy the environment singlehandedly or anything.

Even I think this is a stupid complaint.

you need an entirely new SIM card,

BullBearMS: you need an entirely new SIM card,

Thanks for following up on that; I was hoping somebody would.

JRoo: bingethinker: Thank God people who don't own iPhones never have to get a new SIM card.

/I think I just sprained something rolling my eyes

//I wondered what fabricated crisis would hit us this week.

Well I'm on my second android phone only because I accidentally broke my first one and I just moved the micro SD card it uses to the new model.

So nyah.

Since Apple has employed the "new standard" SIM card, your next phone will require you to change. Manufacturers love every cubic millimeter they can save in real estate in their phone designs. Expect them to keep getting smaller as time goes by.

ReapTheChaos: I'll never understand people who feel the need to buy a new damn phone every 6-9 months just because it's screen is .010 of an inch bigger or it can download an extra 25k of data per minute. Screw the damn plastic card, what about the millions of cell phones that get thrown away every damn year.

This

machoprogrammer: ReapTheChaos: I'll never understand people who feel the need to buy a new damn phone every 6-9 months just because it's screen is .010 of an inch bigger or it can download an extra 25k of data per minute. Screw the damn plastic card, what about the millions of cell phones that get thrown away every damn year.

This

My phone is 3 years old, runs great, still holds battery charge, and I don't plan on upgrading until it dies.

Jonathan Strange: BullBearMS: you need an entirely new SIM card,

Thanks for following up on that; I was hoping somebody would.

I can't believe nobody did it before me. Fark is usually pretty quick to get Airplane references

The increased fuel usage from faulty iPhone maps is more of a concern.

Was there a legitimate reason for changing the usb cable for iPhone 5? Do they charge faster, etc?

Because that seems like a waste as well.

Micro usb works splendidly.

bingethinker: Thank God people who don't own iPhones never have to get a new SIM card.

/I think I just sprained something rolling my eyes

//I wondered what fabricated crisis would hit us this week.

NOW was it a sim card or SD card.

My SD card from my last 3 phones have transferred from each phone.

By this rationale, no changes should ever be made and our smartphones should have transistors in them. Things change. And generally for the better. I happened to walk into our local Apple Store Friday at 9:30. There was no line. I was in and out in 12 minutes with the new phone. I'd been eligible for an upgrade for more than 3 months (so was at 21 months) and had already found a buyer for my iPhone 4, so I went ahead and bought a 5. For the same price I paid for my 8G iPhone 4, i got a 16G iPhone 5. Not a bad deal at all. It's 4x faster, it's larger, and the new features and transfer speeds are especially attractive.

And back to the original premise of the article....It's not like any consumer actually received the card that the SIM came on. That's extremely rare apparently. The reps plug it in for you at the store when you buy it in person and the card is already installed when you order online. All of that plastic can and likely is being recycled anyway. Even if I had received it, it would certainly go into my recycle bin. If you want to shame anybody, shame the municipalities that still opt to not have curbside recycling or recycle facilities. Recycling is easy.

Apple tried to get rid of SIM cards in their devices. This is the fault of phone companies that refused to budge.

When the galaxy S IV comes out will fark waste this many articles on it?

Did the article account for all the Verizon phones? No SIM cards.

Wouldn't there by much more waste in all the discarded cables and accessories from the people upgrading iPhones?

CSB: While fixing a computer in a Verizon store today I heard these exact words from a lady:

"Do you have the iPhone 5? No? Backordered? You don't understand, I am the outcast from all of my friends right now. I have to have an iPhone. Do you have any other iPhones? An iPhone 4? Ok, I'll take that. Thank god I won't be a pariah anymore!"

/weapons grade derp

dustman81: Coffee Snob: Did the article account for all the Verizon phones? No SIM cards.

Sprint and Verizon iPhone 5s have SIMs. LTE requires it.

I did not know that. I still have the 4 and won't be getting another iPhone.

ReapTheChaos: I'll never understand people who feel the need to buy a new damn phone every 6-9 months just because it's screen is .010 of an inch bigger or it can download an extra 25k of data per minute. Screw the damn plastic card, what about the millions of cell phones that get thrown away every damn year.

Or you could donate your old phone to a battered women's shelter, or something.

fang06554: Wouldn't there by much more waste in all the discarded cables and accessories from the people upgrading iPhones?

CSB: While fixing a computer in a Verizon store today I heard these exact words from a lady:

"Do you have the iPhone 5? No? Backordered? You don't understand, I am the outcast from all of my friends right now. I have to have an iPhone. Do you have any other iPhones? An iPhone 4? Ok, I'll take that. Thank god I won't be a pariah anymore!"

/weapons grade derp

Quit making shiat up to get attention.