The buzziest feature of the new iPads may have nothing to do with how thin it is or the resolution of the screen.
With minimal trumpeting, Apple revealed in its promotional material that it will ship the devices with a built-in cellular SIM card that will allow users to buy wireless service a la carte, on the spot. AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile have signed up to take part. Verizon is sitting it out for now.
Most mobile devices won’t work without a SIM card — subscriber identity module — which contains a customer’s profile and, in the U.S. anyway, tends to be usable only on the carrier that issued it. The Apple SIM is universal, allowing the new iPads to work on multiple carriers without physically switching out the chip.
“It is a real innovation,” said Jan Dawson, analyst at Jackdaw Research. “It hasn’t been possible in the U.S. to buy a device with a SIM in it and have it be used with any carrier.” Dow Jones Newswires
