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Comment by mike-cardwell | Hacker News Reader

In the hardware spec list it says:

"Smart Card Reader: Yes (OpenPGP-compatible)"

The same list says it doesn't have NFC, so I'm just wondering what sort of interface this is going to be, so what sort of cards can be used... Anyone have any idea?

[edit] They have the Librem Key - https://puri.sm/products/librem-key/ - but that requires a full sized USB port, which I assume this phone wont have.

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It would likely be a literal smartcard reader. E.g. you put something in there that looks the chip in your debit card.

That seems incredibly unlikely on a smartphone, no?

I don't see why it would be unlikely. The standard identity smartcard (DoD PIV card, openPGP card, etc), like the standard credit/debit card, uses the same physical and electrical interface as a SIM (because a SIM is also a standard smartcard): the ISO7816 pattern. Dual-SIM phones are pretty common — even Apple has one! — and there's no technical reason you couldn't make one of the SIM sockets hotpluggable and present it to the applications on the phone instead of to the cellular module.

If it's the size of a SIM or MicroSD card sure, but if we're talking about credit card sized cards it strikes me as unlikely for packaging reasons. The phone already requires tools for battery replacement, and now it's going to accomodate a durable credit card slot?

Apparently this phone is going to be much bulkier than I imagined.

Apologies, my description was poor. I meant something that looks like a SIM card.

What do you mean when you say "a literal smartcard reader"? Do you have a link? All the smartcard readers that I have seen are way too large to be placed in a smartphone e.g. http://www.dualboost.com/index.php?pos=photos

All you need is a little slit on the bottom of the phone that you can insert the smartcard into. It doesn't even have to go in all the way, just enough to get the contacts touching.

I was interested in this line as well.

It's probably one of these - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenPGP_card

If you look between the battery and the microsd card slot you'll see the the slot - https://puri.sm/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/figure18b.png

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