The launch of Apple's super-famous Internet tablet, the iPad, has already taken the whole world by storm, its impact on the IT segment only starting to take shape as we speak. Apple's device brought about a whole lot of surprises, one of the biggest being the company's decision to go for a brand-new SIM card format for the 3G-capable model, a format called micro-SIM.

This decision was pretty startling since almost no one (very few telecom companies or carriers) is using such a card nowadays. However, they plan to do so in the future, and this sort of explains the reasons why Apple has made this decision.

In any case, since we've gotten an Apple iPad Wi-Fi+3G heading our way and no MicroSIM cards available, we've decided to manufacture a couple of cards ourselves, starting from a normal-size SIM card and applying a bit of DIY talent in order to shrink it down to size.

The first thing you'll have to get in order to make this process work is a microSIM adapter, which you'll be able to easily purchase online (that's exactly what we did, and the order was delivered in just a couple of days' time). Then, you'll have to get yourselves a good cutter, and start “chopping away” to the larger SIM.

You'll have to remember, though, that the MicroSIM cards used by the iPad have exactly the same active area as normal SIMs, just the plastic part being a bit different.

Next, you'll have to get a SIM template printed out at 100% (available here). Setting the printer at 100 percent is extremely important, since it will affect the overall size of the future card. And you'll also need some scotch tape available at hand, plus a mechanical pencil (or even a normal one, but with a very sharp tip), a very sharp knife or cutter, and a pair of scissors (not a very small one, but being able to provide a very clean cut).

If you've gotten all the pre-requisites, let's move on to the actual process.

Step 1:

Print the template at 100 percent size (very important step, that's why we'll be reminding you about it);

Step 2:

Place the SIM card over the template and fix it in position with the scotch tape;

Step 3

Turn the sheet of paper on the other side and you'll be able to see the sides of the MicroSIM, which we'll properly mark with the help of the sharp tipped pencil. Be careful to mark it on the inside, where there's the cut out space;

Step 4

Using the sharp knife or cutter, trace (forcefully) the template of the future MicroSIM over the marked area. It's for the better to trace just once, because several attempts might have some undesired results.

Step 5

Using the scissors, cut out along the lines traces with the knife or cutter. Remove the surplus material and voila! We've gotten a MicroSIM card inserted in the adapter. Perfect match.