German online Apple Store now accepts PayPal

By Christian Zibreg on May 22, 2013

Although Apple has long offered PayPal as a payment option in the United States for both digital consumer sales on iTunes and volume software purchases by education customers, the firm never instituted paying for online store purchases using PayPal.

That’s ostensibly changing now as users in Germany now report being able to complete purchases on their localized online Apple Store using their PayPal account.

It remains unclear why exactly Apple enabled the feature in Germany (could be part of the broader Apple Store changes), but the move could signal a staggered worldwide roll-out… Read More

 

German court says Apple’s customer data-sharing policies violate privacy laws

By Cody Lee on May 7, 2013

While Apple has been praised for its security efforts in iOS, it does not get the same applause for its privacy policies. The company is currently involved in a US-based lawsuit over its information-sharing practices, and today, a German court ruled against it.

This morning, the Berlin Regional Court in Germany ruled that Apple’s sharing of customer data violates its privacy laws. It said that Apple cannot request “global consent” for use of a customer’s data without telling them where and how the data will be used… Read More

 

German court invalidates Apple’s slide-to-unlock patent, but it’s not big deal

By Ed Sutherland on Apr 5, 2013

A German court ruled invalid Apple’s patent for a sliding touchscreen unlocking image, marking another win for allies of Google’s Android mobile operating. In its ruling in favor of the Google-owned Motorola, the country’s Federal Patent Court slammed the iPhone maker’s slide-to-unlock patent as devoid of “technological innovation.” Still, a long-running patent dispute which began in 2011 may still live on as Apple’s legal team prepares for a round of appeals, according to Friday reports… Read More

 

German court finds Apple to infringe Samsung’s 3G patent

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 25, 2013

A court in Germany has ruled that Apple’s iPhone infringes upon Samsung’s patents related to 3G wireless technology and has issued an order to stay a German Samsung v. Apple lawsuit. Patent blogger Florian Müeller who follows tech litigation explains that the case will be adjudicated only after the validity of this patent. Apple, of course, is challenging the validity of Samsung’s patent, but that will likely take years to resolve… Read More

 

Netflix-like Watchever streaming video service launches on Apple TVs in Germany

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 11, 2013

Apple today added a brand new streaming option for Apple TV owners in Germany, the new Watchever video service. No firmware update is needed: the service appears as a new app on the user’s home screen. Watchever just launched in the country yesterday as the first premium, monthly fee-based video-on-demand provider. The Vivendi-owned streaming service requires a monthly subscription of €8.99, or about ten bucks.

And just like Netflix over in the United States, it provides access to television shows and movies on a number of compatible devices. It is only available on Apple TVs in Germany, indicating Eddy Cue & Co. are now pushing deals with local content owners outside the United States… Read More

 

Streaming video service Watchever now available on Apple TV in Germany

By Cody Lee on Jan 11, 2013

Apple TV owners in Germany are in for a little surprise the next time they boot up their set top boxes. It appears that Apple has added a new app to the home screen for Watchever, a new video subscription service.

Similar to Netflix, Watchever gives users unlimited access to local, European and international movies and TV shows for €8.99 a month (or about $12 USD). And now, German users can access it on their ATVs… Read More

 

Samsung delays Galaxy tablet suits with iPad invalidation claims in Spain

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 8, 2013

In an effort to minimize the impact of last year’s ruling by a Dusseldorf court which issued an EU-wide ban on Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet over Apple’s design patents pertaining to the iPad, Samsung thinks it’s found a nice way to weasel its way out of this mess. And

Samsung’s answer to this is simple, really: instead of fighting Apple’s re-asserted claim that its Galaxy tablets “slavishly” copy the iPad, Samsung figured it could delay the lawsuits in Germany by filing an invalidity bid in in another country, Spain. As a result, the German suits over the design of the products are scheduled to be put on hold until the process in Spain is completed. If all venues are used, the process can take as long as four years… Read More

 

Apple retains European smartphone lead over rapidly-growing Samsung

By Ed Sutherland on Dec 17, 2012

The UK continues to be Apple’s European fortress against the invading hordes of Android smartphones. That’s the word from Internet firm comScore, which announced Monday most European cell phone owners have adopted smartphones. In the United Kingdom, Apple is holding onto a slim 4 point-lead.

Meanwhile, South Korea-based Samsung experiences double-digit growth. Germany is the only European nation where smartphone penetration has not reached at least 50 percent. In the UK and Spain, two countries where consumers have largely abandoned landlines, smartphone adoption is at 62.3 percent and 63.2 percent, respectively.

But the real story could be the tight race between Apple and Samsung, fueled by Android’s growing presence in Europe… Read More

 

Google Maps app could violate European data protection law

By Cody Lee on Dec 16, 2012

I read an interesting article the other day by Evan Wiener on why Apple dropped Google from Maps in iOS 6. Wiener suggested that Google was withholding features, like voice-guided navigation, as a negotiation tactic to get Apple to agree with deeper Google integration, and Apple finally said enough’s enough.

The well-connected John Gruber confirms that he’s heard a similar story from numerous sources — more specifically, that Google was wanting to collect user data for serving up targeted ads, and Apple said no. And wouldn’t you know it, it seems Google’s trying to do the same thing in its new Maps app… Read More

 

Microsoft targets Android’s Google Maps app in German patent lawsuit

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 11, 2012

Google’s pricey $12.5 acquisition of handset maker Motorola Mobility didn’t change the dynamics of patent wars as Google hoped it would. Recently, Microsoft and Apple scored a major win in a patent dispute in Germany, forcing Google’s Motorola subsidiary to pull all of its Android-based smartphones and tablets from store shelves in the country.

Luck continues to be in short supply at Mountain View, California. Today, the Windows maker has expanded the Motorola patent case to include Google Maps for Android, specifically naming Google as a defendant.

As the public fight between Google and Microsoft gets uglier, Google faces a real possibility of Google Maps becoming unavailable in Germany as early as next spring. Ouch! Read More

 

Apple rolls out TV shows in the Cloud to Germany and Switzerland

By Cody Lee on Oct 4, 2012

Good news today for folks in Germany and Switzerland. Reports are coming in this afternoon that Apple has recently started rolling out ‘TV shows in the Cloud’ in the two countries.

For those unfamiliar with the feature, it allows users to replay previously purchased TV shows through the Purchased tab in iTunes and on iOS devices, including the Apple TV… Read More

 

Vodafone too has Nano SIMs in stock ahead of tomorrow’s iPhone 5 launch

By Christian Zibreg on Sep 11, 2012

Right on time, Vodafone in Germany appears to be stockpiling the new 40 percent smaller Nano SIM cards, a German publication reveals. The carrier is one of Apple’s major iPhone distributors throughout Europe and in the United States, where UK’s multinational mobile network operator has a joint venture with the US telco Verizon Communications, called Verizon Wireless (Vodafone has a 45 percent ownership of the joint venture). Apple’s next iPhone is expected to file as the first phone to feature the recently ratified Nano SIM standard which allows for the creation of thinner and smaller mobile devices… Read More

 

Conveniently, T-Mobile begins distributing Nano SIMs to retailers

By Christian Zibreg on Sep 4, 2012

With just eight days left until next Wednesday’s iPhone 5 unveiling, Deutsche Telekom-owned T-Mobile telco has begun distributing Nano SIMs to retailers. As you know, the forty percent smaller SIM card standard proposed by Apple has been ratified by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute back in June.

A month later, news reports indicated that European carriers had begun stockpiling supplies and testing Nano SIMs in partnership with Apple, ahead of the iPhone 5 launch.

Since then, a Nano SIM tray said to belong to the next iPhone has been leaked in both images and on video. Apple’s phone should become the first mobile device to utilize the new standard, helping mainstream the technology much in the same way the iPhone 4 popularized the Micro SIM standard… Read More

 

German carrier announces new iPhone coming in September

By Cody Lee on Aug 21, 2012

While the September unveil and launch date for the new iPhone has been all-but-confirmed by a number of news outlets, Apple has still yet to officially make the call. And it may not for another two weeks.

But that didn’t stop German wireless carrier Mobilecom Debitel from sending out an announcement to its subscribers today, claiming that Apple’s latest smartphone will indeed go on sale next month… Read More

 

No sales ban on Samsung and Motorola tablets in US and Germany

By Christian Zibreg on Jun 5, 2012

A judge in California this morning decided to hold off on a ruling related to Apple’s case against Samsung, meaning Cupertino won’t be able to impose a sales ban on Galaxy Tab tablet sales in the United States. Apple’s also been dealt another blow in Germany as a court said it’s unlikely to grant them the same victory against Motorola’s tablet as it’d done with last year’s sales ban of the Galaxy 10.1 tablet… Read More

 

Court upholds ban on iCloud push email in Germany

By Cody Lee on Apr 13, 2012

Earlier this year, a German court slapped Apple with an injunction, forcing the company to disable iCloud’s push email service in the country. The move was the direct result of a Motorola lawsuit, who claimed Apple was using its patented technology in the feature.

Well things got worse today for the iPad-makers. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a German regional court has upheld the previous decision of the ban on Apple’s iCloud service, essentially granting Motorola a victory in the ongoing patent war… Read More

 

German court dismisses Motorola 3G-related lawsuit against Apple

By Oliver Haslam on Feb 10, 2012

A German court has today ruled that Apple does not infringe upon patents held by Motorola which pertain to 3G/UMTS technology.

Motorola had claimed that Apple’s iPad and iPhone infringed upon patents held by the company. Judge Andreas Voss of the Mannheim Regional Court today ruled that Motorola did not present conclusive evidence of any infringement taking place and as such decided not to award an injunction.

The ruling relates to claim 9 of European Patent 1053613, entitled “Code and System for Generating a Complex Pseudonoise Sequence for Processing a Code Division Multiple Access [CDMA] Signal.” Snappy title indeed… Read More

 

Apple Asks European Organization to Standardize Patent Licensing

By Cody Lee on Feb 8, 2012

Apple and Motorola have really been going at it over the last few weeks. Motorola seems to have the upper hand in the ongoing patent lawsuit, as it recently won a court decision forcing Apple to remove some of its products from its online store.

But Apple’s [obviously] not going down without a fight. It claims that the patents that Motorola is holding against it are standards-essential patents (required to function), and, if nothing else, should be licensable under FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non Discriminatory) terms… Read More

 

Motorola Wants 2.25% of Apple’s Sales in Exchange for Patent License

By Cody Lee on Feb 4, 2012

The legal battle going on between Apple and Motorola in Germany’s Mannheim court is starting to get pretty intense. Just yesterday, Apple was forced to pull some of its 3G products from its German online store as the result of a temporary injunction.

Although Apple quickly won a suspension on the ruling and the products are on sale again, the damage is done. The court has ruled that it believes that Apple is using one of Motorola’s wireless patents. And for that, Motorola wants to get paid… Read More

 

Apple 3G Devices Briefly Banned From German Online Store

By Sebastien Page on Feb 3, 2012

I woke up this morning finding out that the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and 3G iPads had been banned from sales on Apple’s online store in Germany, due to an injunction won by Motorola Mobility, following the company’s first big legal victory against Apple in the country a couple months ago.

By the time I took a shower and got to my computer though, the ban had already been lifted. That was quick… Read More