It's been a good year for Apple, with sales increasing in nearly every sector and profits at record-highs. In addition, the release of the company's new iPad has been quite successful, particularly due to the quality of its new Retina technology, which makes the viewing experience comparable to watching a high-definition television.

But, Apple may have its sights on a new market: the European cell phone market. According to technology news source, CNET, Apple has offered to give the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) patents to its nano-SIM technology, free of charge. A nano-SIM is an even smaller version of a micro-SIM card, which stores a user's phone number, contacts, images and other personal information that makes up their mobile identity. For many European mobile phone users, whose plans differ from American carriers, a SIM card is very important for retaining one's mobile information.

While the company plans to offer the patent for free, it does come with a stipulation: the ETSI must adopt all of Apple's technology as the industry standard.

Although no conclusions have been drawn and other carriers such as Nokia are hoping to see their SIM technology used instead, if Apple's technology is accepted as a standard for Europe, owning Apple products such as the iPad 3, iPhone and Apple Macbook Air will be even easier, should your business become involved with international clients. Businesses that strictly use the Microsoft operating system for company computers, for example, may have to look into ways to ensure that their files and documents are accessible to each of their clients.

For more information about purchasing Apple technology, or PC to Mac migration, contact your local computer and laptop repair company today.