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What is the difference between a smart card and a sim card?

J

Jeep

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello,

I'm looking for the difference between a smart card and a sim card.
Indeed I've found a component to be interfaced with a smart card and I
want to know if it also works for SIM card.

Thanks

Jeep
 
Q

Quack

Jan 1, 1970
0
A SIM card is a smartcard.

There are lots of different kinds of smartcards, some that are just
'memory', some that are actually 'microcontrollers' embedded into the
smartcard, like the mobile SIM cards.

You'll have to be a whole lot more specific about what your trying to
do.

Some 'smartcard readers' only operate on curtain memory cards, but most
readers that work with the embedded mcu's can read the memory ones too.
You should get a compatibility list with your 'device'.

Alex.
 
J

Jim Yanik

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello,

I'm looking for the difference between a smart card and a sim card.
Indeed I've found a component to be interfaced with a smart card and I
want to know if it also works for SIM card.

Thanks

Jeep

SIM= Secure Information Module.
Probably just a specific type and format of "smart card" for cell phones.
 
K

Kryten

Jan 1, 1970
0
Electronically the same thing.

It is just a smart card with most of the plastic removed so it can fit into
a mobile phone.

Of course, the software has to act as per the protocol for a SIM.

Note that both items can work on a variety of voltages, and are obliged to
work only at the proper voltage. Thus if meant to run at 3V0 it must survive
but not respond at 5V. The smart card reader gradually decreases voltage
until it get the right one.
Jim Yanik wrote:
SIM= Secure Information Module.
Probably just a specific type and format of "smart card" for cell phones.

Exactly so.
 
J

Jeep

Jan 1, 1970
0
In fact I want to use the TDA8029 chip from Philips which is specified
as being a smart card reader to read SIM card with a GSM application
system. Do you think that it will works ?
 
K

Kryten

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jeep said:
In fact I want to use the TDA8029 chip from Philips which is specified
as being a smart card reader to read SIM card with a GSM application
system. Do you think that it will work?

I'd check what voltage SIM cards use, I am guessing this will be lower than
5V because mobile phone batteries are less than this.

Then check that the TDA8029 can talk to the SIM card at this voltage.
 
N

Nathan Hunsperger

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jeep said:
Hello,

I'm looking for the difference between a smart card and a sim card.
Indeed I've found a component to be interfaced with a smart card and I
want to know if it also works for SIM card.

As Kryten mentioned, a SIM card is electrically the same as a smart card.

You didn't mention what you wanted to do with the SIM card, but there
are a few things to be aware of. Not all the information on a SIM card
is accessible, and others are not changeable. For instance, the unique
key identifying the card cannot be changed, and the network crypto keys
cannot be read. And perhaps the most important thing is that you can
permanently lock yourself out of your SIM card. I forget the exact
details (its been several months since I did GSM SIM card development),
but when attempting to gain higher access to the card (like to install
applets) you have to enter in a PIN code. If you get this wrong (I
think you have about 10 tries), then the card locks down to a point
where you have to enter in a master key (I believe it is called the
PUC). If you get that wrong 3 times, the card will refuse to function
from then on. This is a security measure to prevent brute-force attacks.

For the work I was doing, we were using re-branded USB smartcard
readers, so you shouldn't have any problem with the reader.

- Nathan
 
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