USBfever Reimagines the SIM Removal Tool

by Eric March on September 7, 2008 at 3:07 pm

I still wonder if Apple’s inclusion of a paperclip referred to as a “SIM removal tool” wasn’t just some sort of inside joke between Jonathan Ive and the marketing execs.

Jonathan: “Look, we’re going to need to design something to eject the SIM.”
Marketer: “Just stick in a paperclip.”
Jonathan: “Haha!”
Marketer: “Call it a ‘SIM removal tool.’”
Jonathan: “Oh, you were serious.”
Marketer: “Make up a small instruction sheet. I’ll call Staples. Come on, it’ll be funny.”

Whatever the reason for Apple cheaping out, USBfever decided they were a bit tired of the joke, so they went and designed a real SIM removal tool for the iPhone 3G. It’s a tiny little thing that looks like the reset pin you often find in the unscrewable ends of PDA styli. (In fact, I’ve kept one of my own styli around for just that purpose. And yes, that’s the correct plural of stylus.) The cool thing is that it’s designed with a molded rubber plug designed to be stored in the iPhone’s headphone jack. Of course, this is only of any real use to people who A) frequently change SIMs, and B) don’t use headphones. Still, if this is the sort of thing you’d be interested in, it’ll only set you back three bucks plus shipping.