July 4 - 3:05pm EDT   Apple Expo '08 – Europe's major Apple conference, akin to Macworld in the US – is set to occur from September 17th to the 20th in Paris, France, and the organization has detailed several of the planned events. The Unofficial Apple Weblog details that the conference will see two iPhone events among the 30 other currently planned occasions. Access to the event is currently free, but will cost €12 without a pre-registered access badge. [full story]

June 26 - 9:40am EDT   New details for the release of the iPhone 3G have been published in several European countries. French carrier Orange has announced that the 8GB model will cost €149 in tandem with an iPhone-specific contract and high-end options such as Origami, First and Jet. Under the same arrangement, a 16GB phone will cost €199. Owners of present 2.5G iPhones will be able to upgrade for €99 and €149, though only people who bought before June 12th will eligible, and the discount is through a €100 rebate and a renewed, two-year iPhone contract. [full story]

June 11 - 3:20pm EDT   Despite the wording of Monday's keynote speech by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the iPhone 3G will not ship in France on July 11th, new information indicates. While Apple has touted France as one of 22 countries to receive the new iPhone on the 11th, local carrier Orange has issued a press release in which the 3G is identified as launching six days later in France, on July 17th. This date is duplicated by a splash page on Apple's own French website. [full story]

June 5 - 12:45pm EDT   France Telecom has entered negotiations to buy Sweden's TeliaSonera, writes the Wall Street Journal. Although no formal offer has been made, France Telecom says it has begun discussing the idea with TeliaSonera's board of directors, as well as its two biggest shareholders. A combination cash and share offer has been proposed, valued at 39 percent over TeliaSonera's share price on April 15th; when considered with its present stock value, this makes the deal worth approximately 252 billion kronor, or $42 billion. [full story]

June 3 - 11:10am EDT   Apple is confirming rumors that it will not attempt September's Apple Expo in Paris, a French publication reports. Anonymous sources noted yesterday that Apple's normal floor space at the event, generally reserved months in advance, has remained nowhere to be seen in plans for 2008. An Apple representative now says that the company has officially withdrawn from the Expo, as part of a deliberate, long-term strategy. [full story]

June 3 - 9:45am EDT   Apple has announced that its third store in Houston, Texas will open this Saturday, June 7th. The shop (not pictured) is located within the Willowbrook Mall, near Dillards and JC Penney, and on opening day will be open from 10AM to 9PM. Sunday hours are 11AM to 7PM, and weekday hours are a consistent 10AM to 9PM. As with other Apple Stores, people will have access to services like the Genius Bar, personal training, and personal shopping appointments; no workshops, however, are scheduled within the first three days of the store's opening. [full story]

June 2 - 10:35am EDT   Despite having its name attached, Apple itself will not be participating in the 2008 Apple Expo in Paris, France, people organizing the event are said to have learned. Apple would normally have clearly designated spaces at the Expo, say the sources, identified as "Apple" and "Apple Store;" in plans for the 2008 event, these names are nowhere to be found. Organizing company Reed Expositions is expected to make some form of announcement one way or another later this week, with the event itself being scheduled for September 17th to the 20th. [full story]

May 29 - 10:05am EDT   After some delay relative to its neighbors in Europe, France is the latest country to officially gain access to TV shows through the iTunes Store (link). Content consists of a mix of foreign and local programming, with local networks including ARTE, Dargaud TV, Dupuis TV, France 2 and TF1 Vision. The two foreign broadcasters are American ones, ABC and MTV. [full story]

April 25 - 4:00pm EDT   On Thursday, the French government announced its plans to pass a law that would require all new apartment buildings to be pre-wired with fiber-optic cable for Internet access. A proposal that would include such a requirement is reported to go in front of the Parliament this spring, and will involve all buildings of at least 25 units. The government is trying to speed along adoption of fast broadband access with this law, as the country's three biggest Internet providers have committed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on fiber-optic networks in the near future. [full story]

April 25 - 11:05am EDT   Apple's general manager of operations in Europe, Pascal Cagni, has vowed that the company will improve sales of the iPhone on the continent. "We can incontestably do better in Europe," Cagni tells French newspaper Les Echos. While not completely disastrous, sales of the iPhone have been lower than expected in Europe, with France having only recently passed the 100,000 unit mark. Both Germany and the UK have slashed prices in order to boost sales, although this is likely to clear stock in advance of a 3G iPhone. [full story]

April 18 - 10:45am EDT   Apple is in discussions with Orange about lowering the cost of the French iPhone, Les Echos reports. The newspaper cites an inside source, who claims that Apple is putting pressure on Orange to change to a subsidized pricing model, under which the public would have to pay less for the device. At present Orange is charging at least €399 ($635), making not only for an expensive product, but one of the most costly versions of the iPhone in Europe. [full story]

April 17 - 3:20pm EDT   French telecom company Orange has announced a new e-book reader, entitled the Read&Go. While most such readers -- like the Kindle -- are meant to be universal devices, Orange's machine concentrates almost exclusively on newspapers, namely Le Monde, Le Parisien, Les Echos, L'Equipe and Télérama. These are updated hourly throughout the day, through the unusual offering of both 3G and Wi-Fi reception. By contrast the Kindle is only equipped with 3G, and strictly through Sprint's EVDO service. [full story]

February 6 - 10:55pm EST   France's Orange wireless service provider will reach its goal of 100,000 iPhones a little late, past its earlier anticipated target of the end of last year. January saw the total count reach 90,000 units, as compared to 70,000 in the month prior. CNN Money reports that half of the purchased units were going to new Orange customers. For the rest of 2008, Orange hopes to sell between 400,000 and 500,000 units. [full story]

December 20 - 3:15pm EST   Air France has become the world's first airline to equip an international flight with a form of regular cellular technology, says the Associated Press. One of the company's Airbus A318s now lets users send e-mail and text messages through an onboard GSM antenna, which connects to a satellite that in turn transmits to the ground. The main obstacle for the service, at the moment, is infrequency; aside from only being a part of a six-month test, not all flights on the A318 will have access. To this end a "No Mobile" light has been installed in the plane. [full story]

December 14 - 9:50am EST   Foreign shoppers hoping to buy an unlocked iPhone from France will be disappointed, accounts suggest. Other than Germany's T-Mobile, France's Orange is the only carrier to sell unlocked iPhones; and at €749 apiece, they are a full €250 cheaper than the next legal option. Despite being marketed as carrier-free, however, the phones in fact turn out to be country-locked, meaning they can only be used with SIM cards for French carriers. Should an owner want to call outside of France, they will still need a plan with a French carrier and the money to pay roaming fees. [full story]