As mobile handsets increase their multimedia capabilities, and service providers begin implementing broadband mobile service, the need for secured, scalable and configurable high-capacity storage becomes more acute.

With that in mind, M-Systems unveiled the MegaSIM card module—a fully compatible (U)SIM (universal subscriber identity module) card—today. SIM cards identify a user's mobile handset on a wireless network. They often contain a little bit of memory to store address book and other types of data.

With MegaSIM card module, M-Systems greatly increases the amount of flash storage available in a SIM card to up to 256MB with improved security to boot. According to the company, the MegaSIM card module will enable SIM card vendors to provide their mobile operator customers with a (U)SIM card that enables a variety of advanced mobile services, such as MMS, MP3 and video clips downloading, full PIM functionality, and high-resolution picture storage.

2G and 3G GSM service providers can use the MegaSIM card module, like any standard SIM card, for user identification and authentication and to store phone settings and numbers. Unlike other SIM cards in the market, the MegaSIM card—with its enhanced, secure storage capacity—will free mobile network operators and handset vendors from the need to bundle additional memory cards, such as miniSD and Secure Digital cards. This would save them, and maybe even the consumer, money.

With the SIM card market expected to top 800 million units sold this year, M-Systems views the MegaSIM card as a way to get a leg up on the competition. M-Systems General Manager of its Data Trust division, Mishael Agami, said "We believe that the integration of SIM card functionality with secured, high-capacity data storage offers a better, more secure data solution as well as cost advantages over the pairing of memory cards and SIM cards. The introduction of the MegaSIM card will be an important catalyst in the migration to enhanced SIM cards, which we anticipate will lead to increased data usage, enable new revenue streams for mobile operators, enhance service differentiation and enrich the operator-user relationship."

The MegaSIM card module should ship sometime during the second half of next year.