OT: SIM contact limitations

[Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller]

Am 26.09.2009 um 01:46 schrieb Brolin Empey:

> Hello list,
>
> I am marking this message as OT because it is not specific to  
> Openmoko, but I thought someone here may know because I think most  
> members of this list are relatively technical.
>
> Anyway, why are SIM contacts (contacts stored on a SIM) so limited?
>
> Cannot have multiple phone numbers per contact.
> Cannot change the type (home, work, mobile, etc.) of the phone number.
> Names are truncated to 18 chars.
Mainly, because SIM card entries have been standardized approx. 1992  
so that you can use them in *any* phone. Back then, SIM flash memory  
and computing power of a phone was *very* limited. Less than a C64 :)  
It is similar to why plain old FAT memory card format is still in use  
with all its limitations.

> Why do I have to store contacts in the phone instead of on the SIM  
> to do anything useful?

Because you have much more memory and more flexible data formats. But  
you can't simply remove the SIM and place it in a historical phone  
like let's say a SIEMENS S4.

>
> Thanks,
> Brolin
>
> -- 
> Sometimes I forget how to do small talk: <http://xkcd.com/222/>
>
> “If you have to ask why, you’re not a member of the intended  
> audience.” — Bob Zimbinski, <http://webpages.mr.net/bobz/ttyquake/>
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