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June 25 - 11:55am EDT
Germany will be the next country to break away from having a single iPhone carrier, Der Spiegel reports. Since 2007, the device has only been carried in the country by T-Mobile, a division of Deutsche Telekom. The company has benefited from a regional exclusivity deal with Apple, similar to that signed by all carriers involved in selling the original hardware. Debut countries also included the US, UK and France. [full story]
June 16 - 6:45pm EDT
Several European carriers, including Orange in France and T-Mobile in Germany, have announced pricing for the iPhone 3G S. The new handset will be available from Orange on June 19th, with the 16GB model carrying a price of €149 (~$205 USD). Customers choosing the 32GB variant will have to pay €229 (~$315 USD) for the device. [full story]
April 16 - 10:30am EDT
Germans can at last access movies from their local iTunes Store, Apple has announced. The company has agreed to distribution deals with a variety of major and independent studios, foreign and local, and posted an initial collection of 500 titles for renting or purchase. Some American titles include The Dark Knight and Pineapple Express, while German ones include Die Fälscher and Keinohrhasen. [full story]
April 10 - 1:05pm EDT
The European Commission is considering a measure to force acceptance of VoIP by cellphone carriers, reports say. The EU's telecoms commissioner, Viviane Reding, has called for the EU to undo arbitrary obstacles to "innovative services" on cellphones; a draft of the VoIP measure is thought to already be completed, but still unfinished due to a lack of precise wording. Current rules permit each country to decide what is blocked on the Internet. [full story]
April 2 - 12:25pm EDT
German iPhone owners have been banned from fully exploiting the recently-released Skype app, writes the Associated Press. In spite of the title being legally available to download from the country's App Store, T-Mobile warns that it considers use of the app on its network a violation of contract. All VoIP services on the iPhone have been blocked since 2007, notes a representative for T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom. [full story]
February 18 - 10:55am EST
Some new and previously-revealed Apple Stores have appeared on an official company map, reports observe. Among these is a site in Paris, France, which is generally expected to appear in the Carrousel du Louvre, but could be beaten by a shop situated near the Garnier operahouse. Also mentioned is a store in Milan, Italy, the potential location of which remains ambiguous. [full story]
February 4 - 4:50pm EST
Another Mac clone builder has appeared in spite of questionable legality, a publication reports. Based in Germany, a company known as HyperMegaNet UG has begun selling the PearC line, on which shoppers can have Mac OS X Leopard installed, or alternately Windows Vista or XP. The line is divided into Starter, Advanced and Professional models, with base prices ranging from €499 to €1,499. [full story]
December 1 - 3:15pm EST
Apple's first German retail store is due to open this week, the company has announced. The shop is situated at 1 Rosenstraße in Munich, and will throw open its doors at 10AM local time this Saturday, December 6th. Visitors will of course be able to test Macs, iPods and iPhones; as an incentive to arrive early, the first 2,500 people to come will be given a free Apple t-shirt. Although the store should be closed on Sundays, regular hours are slated to be a consistent 9AM to 8PM Monday through Saturday. [full story]
November 6 - 12:55pm EST
The German division of T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom, received a substantial boost from the iPhone in its third financial quarter, according to a results report. T-Mobile Deutschland is said to have gained 271,000 net subscribers in Q3, a full 82 percent better than in the same period of 2007. The company describes the iPhone 3G as a "significant driver" of new subscriptions, and notes that it was "in extremely high demand" during the July launch phase. 401,000 German subscribers were recorded in all, and Deutsche Telekom's total net income for the quarter was $1.52 billion versus last year's $1.37 billion. [full story]
October 3 - 4:40pm EDT
In brief: Playwatch, an iTunes controller, has been reduced to nearly half-price, dropping from $13 to $7 for the month of October. Meanwhile, Big Nerd Ranch Europe is offering an iPhone Bootcamp for developers who want to learn iPhone app development. It will run December 8-12 near Frankfort, Germany. MacNN has reviewed the Griffin iTrip Auto SmartScan FM Transmitter, commenting favorably on its performance, but questioning the high price. [full story]
August 26 - 1:05pm EDT
French cellphone carrier Orange has admitted to imposing artificial limits on its 3G broadband network, reports say. The confession comes after complaints from a number of iPhone 3G owners, who in testing their download capacity discovered that they were limited to a maximum of 400Kbps, as compared to the 1.8Mbps possible on T-Mobile's German network. Most 3G networks are limited to a peak speed of 3.2Mbps, although some may support 7.2Mbps. [full story]
August 25 - 9:35am EDT
Deutsche Telekom's wireless division, T-Mobile, has sold over 120,000 iPhone 3Gs since the device's launch on July 11th, according to the division's CEO. Hamid Akhavan claims that "expectations were surpassed," and that at least 75,000 of the phones were sold in Germany. Many people wanting one have not yet been able to obtain it though, as Akhavan notes that a backlog exists due to delivery problems. [full story]
July 3 - 10:55am EDT
German owners of current 2.5G iPhones are angry with T-Mobile, a local publication claims. Wiwo.de notes that even though Germans paid €399 for first-generation iPhones, at least $30 more than American phones before even September price cuts, T-Mobile now expects people to pay €15 for each month remaining in their contracts if they intend to upgrade to an iPhone 3G. For some customers, this could be as much as €240. [full story]
June 23 - 11:00am EDT
Germany's T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, has signed a deal to sell the iPhone 3G through a local reseller, an industry publication reports. People in DT's "business circles" are said to have acknowledged a deal with Gravis, a computer vendor which already sells a number of Apple products including Macs and iPod and iPhone accessories. There is no mention of Apple involvement in any negotiations, despite the company's usual insistence on control of all sales. [full story]
June 16 - 9:25am EDT
T-Mobile will sell the iPhone 3G for as little as €1, the company has announced. When the device launches in Germany on July 11th, shoppers will have the option of pairing an 8GB model with a high-end €69 per month contract, resulting in the sharp discount to the phone itself. People wanting cheaper tariffs will have to pay greater initial costs, with the 8GB capacity costing as much as €170, Reuters notes. [full story]