Germany

Apple retains European smartphone lead over rapidly-growing Samsung

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 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...

Google Maps app could violate European data protection law

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

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...

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

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 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!

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

Cody Lee ∙ October 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...

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

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 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...

Conveniently, T-Mobile begins distributing Nano SIMs to retailers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 19, 2022

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...

German carrier announces new iPhone coming in September

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

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...

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

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 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...

Court upholds ban on iCloud push email in Germany

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

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...

German court dismisses Motorola 3G-related lawsuit against Apple

Oliver Haslam ∙ February 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...

Apple Asks European Organization to Standardize Patent Licensing

Cody Lee ∙ February 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...

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

Cody Lee ∙ February 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...