05/13, 12:20pm
May heighten tensions over tax avoidance in EU countries
French President Francoise Hollande is considering a new tax on tech products, the money from which would fund cultural projects. The move, which would be decided this summer and has been described as "minimal and widely distributed," may increase tensions between tech companies and the government of France -- along with other EU countries, many of which have complained that firms such as Apple and Google are gaming the system in order to avoid paying taxes that would normally be due.
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05/09, 11:15am
Other regions might also have new 3D terrain
Apple has extended Flyover coverage in iOS 6 Maps to Paris and several surrounding areas, reports say. Aside from Paris, other new detail regions include Versailles, Aulnay-sous-Bois, Disneyland Paris, and L'Haÿ-les-Roses. Flyover renders scenery in a rough 3D state, clarifying maps and giving a better sense for what an environment will look like in person.
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04/11, 5:55pm
French developer admitted to breaking Apple's guidelines
Calling Apple's decision to pull AppGratis out of the App Store for its violation of the rules "extremely brutal and unilateral," a junior minister for the digital economy in France has said she plans to ask the European Commission to investigate "Internet companies" for "repeated abusive behavior" and called for tighter regulation of digital platforms, search engines and social media. The thinly-veiled attack on Apple, Google and social services like Twitter and Facebook comes on the heels of Apple's pulling of the France-based iMediapp's program.
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03/13, 9:24am
Practice violates French law
Apple France must pay labor unions €10,000 ($13,000) in fines for regularly forcing retail employees to work after 9PM, a Parisian court has ruled. Agence France-Presse adds that for every subsequent violation, Apple will have to pay 50,000 euros ($65,000). Under French law, demanding work between 9PM and 6AM is reserved for exceptional cases, and requires special justification.
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02/27, 10:00am
Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands seeing access
(Updated with complete list of countries) Access to movies and TV shows via iTunes in the Cloud is rolling out across several more European countries, reports say. The one confirmed country is France, where the feature has been tested with both iTunes and the Apple TV. Various people on Twitter, however, are claiming that the option is now also available in Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
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02/19, 3:01pm
UK store still stuck at 1-3 business days
The iPad mini is now officially "in stock" at Apple's online store in many countries. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and the US have all made the change. Some notable exceptions include places like the UK, Germany, and France, where the tablet is listed as shipping in one to three business days.
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02/19, 6:06am
Stylistic S01 includes simplified menus, call assists
Fujitsu and Orange have agreed to offer Fujitsu smartphones to customers in France, with initial handsets being targeted at senior users. The first offering will be the Stylistic S01, a mid-ranged 4-inch Android 4.0 smartphone based heavily on the Fujitsu Raku Raku, one that is focused on helping elderly users communicate.
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02/01, 3:13pm
$82 million payment into fund mirrors Belgian settlement
Google has come to terms with the French government regarding the search engine's indexing of media in the country. Google has agreed today to pay 60 million euros ($82 million) into a fund to help French media expand and develop exposure on the Internet. Despite publishers in the country lobbying to the contrary, Google will not pay for posting links to French publishers' content.
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01/20, 8:57pm
Orange France claims half data traffic from Google properties
French telecommunications provider Orange has imposed a deal on Google, forcing the search giant to pay for traffic sent through its data networks. The agreement, terms of which remain undisclosed, sees Google compensate the carrier for its sites taking up roughly 50 percent of all traffic on Orange's networks.
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01/02, 4:24pm
Thieves assault store workers
Robbers stole an estimated $1.32 million in Apple products from the Paris Opera Apple Store on New Year's Eve, Dow Jones reports. A group of armed men in masks came in through the service entrance three hours after the store closed, at about 1700 GMT. At the time, only a cleaner and a single security guard were present. The robbers nevertheless assaulted them, inflicting slight injuries in one case.
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12/18, 11:46am
Lawsuits still being pursued, Samsung says
Samsung has dropped patent injunction applications against Apple in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, a senior executive tells the Wall Street Journal. All of the injunctions were related to wireless communications. Samsung notes that despite the withdrawal of the applications -- which is said to have been voluntary -- lawsuits accusing Apple of patent infringement remain ongoing.
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11/01, 10:19am
Sync works despite delayed software
The iPad mini requires iTunes 11 to sync, some French boxes for the tablet are claiming. The oddity was spotted by iGen.fr, which yesterday noted that some people are getting their Minis delivered ahead of the official November 2nd launch. Significantly, though, accounts elsewhere suggest that boxes being delivered early in Germany list the current version of iTunes.
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10/19, 10:05am
Claims proposed law 'threatens its very existence'
Google has threatened to remove members of the French media from its news and search results if a proposed law goes ahead. Newspaper publishers in the country are pressing for search engines to pay for links to their content, which if adopted in France, is claimed to "threaten (Google's) very existence." Google has complained via a letter to various French ministerial offices against the move.
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09/20, 4:12pm
Protest coincides with iPhone 5 launch
A sizable number of French Apple Store workers have voted to go on strike Friday to support the demands of their union, the SUD, Reuters reports. The SUD represents about a quarter of Apple Store employees in the country, and is asking that they get water fountains, meal vouchers, and a thirteenth month of salary standard amongst French businesses. The head of the union, Thomas Bordage, has called on workers to demonstrate in front of the Opera Apple Store at 8AM tomorrow.
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09/18, 11:54am
California, Spain, Germany, France, and Italy getting new shops
Apple is preparing to open five new Apple Stores this week. The first is the Rio Shopping outlet, based in Valladolid, Spain. That shop will launch at 10AM local time on Thursday, likely in anticipation of the iPhone 5's debut on Friday. Three stores elsewhere will in fact launch at 8AM on Friday, an unusually early hour reserved for iPhone rollouts.
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09/14, 10:38am
Fine over Rihanna track piracy despite possible innocence
A court in France has made its first conviction under the country's three-strikes anti-piracy law. Alain Prevost of Belfort, eastern France, was fined 150 euros ($200) for pirating two tracks by Rihanna over his Internet connection. The conviction took place, despite testimony claiming his estranged wife was responsible for the downloads.
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07/18, 8:06pm
Deal follows resolution of publisher litigation
French customers of Google's Play Store will now be able to purchase books through the entertainment hub. The news was announced in a post on Google's European Public Policy Blog. French access to Google's book store comes following the resolution of a six-year legal saga involving suits from both French author and publisher guilds.
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07/06, 11:08am
Goods, van riders ultimately abandoned
Earlier today three men attempted to rob a van carrying Apple products in Aulnay-sous-Bois, just outside of Paris, according to reports. The suspects were allegedly carrying assault rifles, either M16s or Kalashnikovs. Despite this, the driver and the passenger in the van are said to have been released without injuries in the woods of Val d'Oise.
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05/30, 1:58pm
French channel to pay Google legal costs but may appeal
Courts in France have sided with YouTube in its copyright fight with French TV channel TF1. The Tribunal de Grande Instance heard from TF1 that users of YouTube uploaded clips of films and sports that the channel had rights to, with an expectation of €141 million ($176 million) in damages, but instead chose to rule in favor of the Google-owned video site. TF1 has been ordered to pay $99,000 in legal fees to Google, but is considering appealing, writes The New York Times.
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05/29, 3:33pm
Facebook ad credits offered despite polled click-rate
Facebook is offering free advertising to small businesses in an effort to encourage more advertisement sales in Europe. Qualifying companies operating in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain can receive a free advertising credit on the social network through its Small Business Boost promotion. This comes at a time when the effectiveness of advertizing on Facebook is questioned, with General Motors dropping paid Facebook ads altogether.
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05/23, 2:50pm
Stanford shop to use 'glass box' design
New details have emerged about two upcoming Apple Stores. The first of these is another Parisian outlet, which Apple has announced will launch Friday morning at 9 AM in the city's Quatre Temps mall. The shopping center sits along the north extension of the Champs Élysées. Apple already has several Apple Stores in the Paris area, but just a handful scattered throughout the rest of France.
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05/18, 11:44am
Jack White, Norah Jones among free concerts
Apple has announced details of the 2012 iTunes Festival, to be held at the Roundhouse in London, England. The event will consist of 30 nights of free concerts by over 60 artists, including the likes of Jack White, Norah Jones, and Usher; only a handful of artists have been announced so far. For 2012, the festival has been moved from July to September.
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03/07, 1:50pm
Upgraded with Retina Display, quad-core A5X chip
Apple today announced the third-generation iPad at an event in San Francisco. The device's main feature is a 2048x1536 Retina Display, twice the resolution of the iPad 2, rated at 264 pixels per inch; existing apps will be upscaled automatically. Color saturation is said to be 44 percent higher. The tablet also makes the switch to a new dual-core but quad graphics processor, the A5X, which Apple says is built with the Retina Display in mind. Interface-wise the tablet has been improved with features like voice dictation.
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03/02, 12:10pm
No definite plans stated
Apple is a candidate for replacing the Virgin Megastore at the Champs-Élysées in Paris, according to Le Figaro. The French newspaper claims that Apple "will be in the running" for the location, which Virgin is reportedly trying to sell. The latter company is in the process of closing down some outlets; president Jean-Louis Reynard has said that the chain is switching to a "new model of store, smaller, with a more segmented offer."
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02/14, 12:40pm
Could be linked to hard drive shortages
Apple's Time Capsule routers are seeing delays or shortages in different parts of the world, notes 9to5Mac. The company's online stores in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, and France are sometimes seeing delivery times of one to three weeks for 3TB models, or one- to two-week delays for 2TB routers. Third-party vendors Amazon and Best Buy are out of 3TB models, and some Australian Apple Stores may be completely out of stock.
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01/30, 10:00pm
Company collects, but disputes need for, tax
A French copyright association has sued Apple in that country, charging that the tech giant has been collecting a French "copyright tax" on iPads but not paying the money to Copie France, which distributes the finds to authors, artists and other performers as a form of compensation for personal copying, a French newspaper reports. Apple, along with other tech firms, has gotten the tax abolished for 2012, but is still disputing $6.3 million in back taxes.
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01/23, 10:45am
Parisian store cluster grows
Apple is taking steps toward building two more French retail stores, says MacGénération. The first is in the commercial center of Quatre Temps à la Défense, in the Parisian district of Puteaux. Apple has reportedly filed an application to run a business there, although an exact location in the center is unknown.
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01/13, 3:35pm
New countries offer cash instead of gift cards
Apple has expanded an iPhone and iPad recycling program to the UK, France, and Germany, accounts say. In the US, people can trade in old iPhones and iPads for Apple gift cards. The program is operating differently in the new countries, where people are instead getting cash deposited directly into their bank accounts.
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12/15, 5:10pm
More expansions may be imminent
Following a botched rollout on Wednesday, Apple has today officially expanded iTunes Match to Canada and the UK. In Canada the service costs $28 a year, while in the UK annual pricing is set at £22. Unlike regular iCloud options, iTunes Match allows a person to mirror and remotely access their entire music library, regardless of whether the content is on iTunes.
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10/12, 12:30pm
Part of Apple's iCloud rollout
The iTunes in the Cloud service is now available in several more regions around the world, users say. Canada, France, Australia and the UK are among the main territories, but other countries are said to be getting the option as well. When available the option lets people re-download music, apps and books from iTunes, or else have the content automatically pushed to multiple devices.
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09/27, 10:55am
Consistent with repotss, Apple's track record
Apple will release the iPhone 5 in five countries on Friday, October 14th, claims Japanese site Macotakara. Specifically the device is expected to launch in the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan. The timing is consistent with accounts that Apple is blacking out the 14th and 15th for Apple Store workers looking to go on vacation, and past reports pointing to a launch sometime between the 7th and the 15th.
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09/20, 1:30pm
Group spans Canada, France, Italy, Australia, US
Apple has revealed five additional store openings taking place this weekend. Outlets in Shanghai and Hong Kong were announced earlier this week, but the company has only just, for instance, confirmed that it will indeed launch the Metrotown location this week. The shop is based in Burnaby, British Columbia within the greater Vancouver area, and will start taking in the public at 10AM Saturday morning.
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09/14, 2:45pm
Timing likely imprecise
The iPhone 5 will launch on October 15th, claims Stéphane Richard, the CEO of French carrier Orange. The executive reportedly made the comment during an interview on a TV business program. Hardmac notes that Richard has let slip similarly secret Apple information in the past, namely about the first-generation iPad; he wrongly stated, though, that the tablet would have a camera. Investigation of the hardware would eventually show space for a camera, suggesting that Apple removed it late into development.
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08/23, 12:05pm
Retail rush continues
Apple will once again open a round of new retail stores this weekend, says ifoAppleStore. Of the three opening this Saturday, the most important may be the Promenade at Chenal location in Little Rock, Arkansas. The state has never before had an Apple Store, even though Apple was listed as a forthcoming tenant at the Promenade as far back as 2007, before the mall's 2008 opening. Apple has at least a token presence in 44 US states; gaps are still present in Montana, Wyoming, Vermont, West Virginia and both Dakotas.
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06/03, 2:55pm
References can only be informational
France has reportedly enacted new legislation that aims to ban broadcasters from uttering terms related to popular social networking websites that originated in the US. Television and radio hosts are no longer allowed to say the words "Twitter" or "Facebook" during broadcasts, unless the references are necessary to convey information directly related to a news story.
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05/31, 8:35pm
Move likely follows lackluster sales
Nokia has reportedly shuttered two of its online stores in international markets, as visitors to the company's web-based portals in France and Spain are greeted with notices pointing to the closures. The cellphone maker blamed the decision on lackluster sales performance, mostly driven by subsidies offered from carriers in both regions.
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05/30, 10:10am
French expansion accelerates
Apple will open a new French store on Saturday, according to an announcement. The outlet will be the company's first in the city of Lyon, and find a home in the La Part-Dieu shopping mall, strategically located next to a major train station. Opening is set for 9:30AM; regular hours will run from then until 8PM, Monday through Saturday.
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05/17, 9:10pm
Future of legislation remains unclear
France appears to have temporarily suspended its "three strikes" laws for illegal downloading, after an associated contractor, Trident Media Guard, was accused of using unprotected servers to store IP addresses of alleged copyright violators. The French blog Reflets.info allegedly spotted the problem last week, when a writer discovered a TMG server that included the company's executables, scripts, and lists of IP addresses presumably connected to peer-to-peer file sharers.
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05/16, 11:35am
Sale will open up 3rd largest European market
The French government is finalizing the terms for its upcoming auction of 4G bandwidth, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro. France represents the third-largest telecom market in Europe after Germany and the UK. It will be auctioning off four lots of the premium 800MHz range and an unspecified number of lots for the 2.6GHz band. France hopes to generate at least $3.5 billion from the auction.
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05/12, 12:10pm
France, University of Delaware stores also pegged
Apple is planning to move its Bellevue Square store in Washington to another space within the same mall, says ifoAppleStore. The current location is on the ground floor, and launched in 2003 with about 4,600 square feet. The new shop will reportedly take up twice the area of the old one, a feat accomplished by moving to a space on the second floor previously occupied by three different businesses.
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04/29, 9:35am
US, Canadian times continue to hold at 3-5 days
Online shipping times for the white iPhone 4 are stretching out in a number European countries. Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland and the UK are some of the major countries now listing a delay of a flat five days. Black iPhones are more readily available, shipping in the space of a day or two.
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04/22, 10:50am
Rep. Markey adds to US scrutiny
The French and Italian governments have become involved in examining the location history file found in iOS 4, reports say. The Italian Data Protection Authority has opened a formal investigation into the matter, although Reuters notes that the probe is an expansion of one into how mobile apps deal with personal data. France's CNIL is reportedly verifying the security issue, and says it will send Apple France a letter asking for an explanation next week.
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03/28, 11:15pm
HTC points to launch in France
HTC's Evo 3D handset appears to be set for distribution outside of the US market. The company's official Twitter account in France boasts of a local launch. While device renaming for different carriers and regions is a common practice among smartphone makers, the post points out that the device will keep the same name.
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03/21, 11:55am
Commission satisfied with strategy change
The Federal Trade Commission has reportedly completed its investigation surrounding data collections from Google's Street View fleet. In a letter sent to the search giant, the agency announced an official end to the inquiry and notified the company that it would not be penalized. Across the Atlantic, however, France's privacy protection authority, the CNIL, decided to hit the company with a €100,000 (~$142,000 USD) fine.
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02/08, 12:25pm
Apple looking at Grand Central location
Apple is working towards building yet more retail stores in New York City and around the French town of Versailles, reports say. In New York City Apple is said to be scouting a space in Manhattan, particularly within Grand Central Terminal at Park and East 42nd. An outlet there would be less than a mile from Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store, allegedly by design, in order to reduce the intense amount of foot traffic the latter generates.
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02/04, 1:10pm
Should open doors by November
Apple is already planning to build a fourth retail store in the greater Paris area, a report says. The company is said to have set its sights on the Carré Sénart shopping complex, actually located about 30 miles south of Paris in the city's suburbs. The Apple Store will reportedly open by November; the date is almost guaranteed, given that Apple has historically preferred to have outlets ready before Black Friday shopping.
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01/27, 3:40pm
Orange France lists €20 premium
The white iPhone 4 could potentially cost buyers extra, listings at Orange France suggest. Pages on the carrier's website already depict 16 and 32GB white models, even though Apple has yet to announce the color as a shipping option. Orange is notably applying a €20 premium, for instance raising the cost of a 32GB phone from €299 to €319 on a two-year contract.
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01/12, 12:15pm
Includes more German, Italian, American shops
A bevy of new Apple Stores are in the works for 2011, a report says. At least several of these are forecast to open in Italy by the middle of the year, including one in Bologna, a previously unexpected outlet in Florence, and a second Milan location. Possible addresses for the Milan and Florence stores remain unknown.
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12/01, 1:15pm
Apple uses 10,000 song price as incentive
Apple has posted People's Choice shortlists for iTunes Best Album & Song 2010, a voting competition being run by Apple. Some of the eligible albums include Lungs by Florence + The Machine, Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons, and Immersion by Pendulum. A few of the songs on offer include "Pack Up" by Eliza Doolittle, "Telephone" by Lady GaGa, and "Ridin' Solo" by Jason Derülo.
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11/18, 9:20am
Emphasis still litmited to high-end advertisers
Confirming recent media claims, Apple has announced plans for a European iAd expansion. The network will officially expand to the UK and France and December, with Germany following in January. As in the US, the initial roster of advertisers consists of high-profile corporations. The list so far includes: L’Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, Unilever, Citi, Evian, LG Display, AB InBev, Turkish Airlines and Absolute Radio.
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