Skip to Content

Gadling's resident pilot explains what life in the cockpit is like
AOL Tech

Posts with tag Deutsche Telekom

More iPhone 3G details: future Apple-made chips, varying visual voicemail, and new video features

There's still plenty of emerging details and news on the iPhone 3G kicking around, but here's what you need to know from the minor bits floating around over the past few days:
  • Jobs also told NYT that Apple's acquisition of PA Semi was, in fact, intended to reduce Apple's reliance on third-party chip makers. Specifically, he said, "PA Semi is going to do system-on-chips for iPhones and iPods." So, guess that's that.
  • Per the feature showing up missing on a number of Apple's international iPhone 3G product pages, iLounge compiled a list of carriers which may or may not planning on implementing visual voicemail. Vodafone in Europe, for example, will not have it at launch, and will delay its rollout until later this year.
  • A video of a new iPhone beta build running on live hardware shows videos now in portrait or landscape modes, and includes video playlists. We'll take it.
  • Although DT's iPhone page reads differently, German paper Welt has it that T-Mobile Germany will be selling it for €1 -- so basically free, not unlike O2's iPhone 3G launch in the UK.
Update: T-Mobile just made the German pricing official.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Read - Jobs mentions PA Semi plans
Read - Visual voicemail support varies from carrier to carrier
Read - Beta build with portrait-mode video
Read - DT releasing it for €1 (see also their iPhone page)

Supreme Court rejects T-Mobile appeal over contracts

Just a day after hearing that T-Mobile lost its magenta suit against Telia, more bad news on the legal front has been handed down to the carrier. Just this week, the Supreme Court decided to reject T-Mob's appeal in a trifecta of cases "involving the legal remedies available in millions of cellphone contracts." Each case centered around the same issue: "whether state laws that limit the ability of companies to prohibit consumers from banding together to pursue class action lawsuits are preempted by federal law." In layman's terms, T-Mobile had attempted to ban class actions and require its customers to resolve any gripes via arbitration, which clearly didn't pan out so well. Hit the read link to read the rest, Mr. 1L.

[Via PhoneScoop]

T-Mobile loses magenta suit against Telia, we try not to laugh

Well, would you look at that -- our good friend Deutsche Telekom seems to have lost a lawsuit it filed against rival European wireless carrier Telia over its use of the color magenta in its logo. The Danish Eastern Regional High Court today ruled that Telia and DT don't compete directly in the Danish market and that Telia isn't using the same magenta shade, leading the court to overturn an injunction DT sought against Telia's use of the color. On top of that, the court further ruled that Deutsche Telekom has to fork over 1.5M kroner ($316,188) in court costs and attorneys' fees to Telia, which probably stings a little more than having to share a color. Of course, now that magenta is the People's Color, maybe DT should look into playing a little nicer, don't you think?

[Thanks, Andreas]

Deutsche Telekom under investigation for peeping employee phone records

Germany's Deutsche Telekom apparently discovered over the weekend -- or "discovered," as the case may be -- that there seem to have been some cases of "illegal use" of landline and wireless usage data back in 2005 and 2006, and it has turned the case over to state prosecutors for investigation. That's the official line anyway, but the inside track says that the data had been collected by DT to track calls between its employees and journalists at tumultuous time for the company; plans had been announced to cut over 30,000 jobs from the roster back in '05, and efforts were seemingly in full swing to prevent leaks to the press. See, all this time we'd thought those pink-clad T-Mobile agents following us everywhere, jumping in bushes or ducking around corners whenever we glanced their way were just watching out for our best interests and trying to be friendly. Who knew?

Deutsche Telekom "satisfied" with iPhone sales so far

Echoing statements made by other carriers offering the iPhone, Deutsche Telekom has gone on record at its recent annual meeting saying that iPhone customers on its T-Mobile network in Germany are shattering mobile internet usage stats, outpacing users of other handsets by a factor of 30 (yes, thirty). Without going into too much detail -- wouldn't want to irritate the Cupertino mothership, after all -- DT said that it has sold in excess of 100,000 units since its November launch, a number that meets its expectations. The smart money says that data usage is going nowhere but up once the darned thing launches with a serious radio, too, so let's just hope the satisfaction doesn't turn into sorrow when the airwaves get saturated with overzealous Safari sessions.

Sprint "seriously considering" spinning off Nextel


We'd take this with half a tablespoon of salt for now, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint-Nextel Corp. is "seriously considering spinning off or selling its ailing Nextel unit." That's according to undisclosed people "familiar with the situation," though Sprint did decline to comment on whether it actually was considering a sale of Nextel. Also of note, Cyren Call is reportedly attempting to "assemble a consortium of investors to acquire Nextel as part of its plans to create a nationwide wireless network for public safety communications," and while it can't be confirmed, we are hearing that Sprint is "contemplating other possible buyers such as private equity firms." Still, these same sources made clear that "no deal was imminent and that Sprint was preoccupied for the moment with other matters." It's no secret that the firm would be way more attractive to suitors (read: Deutsche Telekom) if the flagging Nextel division was detached from the deal, but we guess we'll have to wait and see how it all plays out. [Warning: read link requires subscription]

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in, image courtesy of Flickr]

Deutsche Telekom looking to pick up Sprint?


Over the years our pals at Deutsche Telekom haven't exactly played the most aggressive game in the States, but finally we have word about the first possible suitor for the ailing Sprint. Although the rumor originates from German paper Der Spiegel and doesn't cite sources, word has it Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile USA are making the possibility of snagging Sprint (and all its heavy baggage, read: Nextel) a "top priority" in a bid to take a competitor out of the game and pick up the number three spot. Supposedly formal negotiations haven't even begun yet, but if you thought the integration between Sprint and Nextel was messy, just watch what happens when you bring a third carrier into the mix -- and did we mention the infrastructure would be GSM with AWS, PCS CDMA, and iDEN, all competing for spectrum and handset allocation? Good luck guys.

[Thanks, Khattab]

Painting the town magenta


After yesterday's very real and not-at-all-fake story about Deutsche Telekom demanding Engadget discontinue using the color magenta, and today being what it is, we're putting up some new wallpaper on all the Engadget sites and ever so slightly tweaking Engadget Mobile's logo. We hope you approve!

P.S. -In a related side note, our old pals at Phone Scoop pinged us earlier this morning to let us know they've gone magenta for the day in an act of solidarity. Much love, Phone Scoop! Oh, and now so did Phone Arena, Fitch, and GearBits! Also, myself and some other eds are in on the action.

Deutsche Telekom scores Germany's DVB-H spectrum -- all of it

Germany wasted no time doling out licenses -- or license, in this case -- for its DVB-H airwaves following the EU's decision to standardize on the technology for mobile TV. Deutsche Telekom's T-Systems unit is the lucky recipient, a logical move considering that the company has apparently had a DVB-H trial running in Berlin since 2005. The build-out is expected to start in early '08, with all of Germany's state capitals getting the hookup by year end; the remainder of the country's going to take a good long while, though, with 90 percent of the populace getting covered by 2015 (geez, how do we know DVB-H is even going to be relevant by then?). It apparently hasn't been decided yet who's going to be building the network, but... well, something tells us T-Systems is going to play a role in there somewhere.

[Via mocoNews]

Deutsche Telekom confirms iPhone talks, TIM a possibility for Italy

In case it wasn't plainly obvious yet, Deutsche Telekom has finally confirmed that it's been in official talks with Apple to bring the iPhone to its German T-Mobile subsidiary -- though it has nothing specific to report about the outcome of those talks. T-Mobile Germany's CEO did say, however, that he fully expects Apple to make official European partner announcements "well ahead" of the holidays in an effort to cash in on the Festivus cheer. Concurrently, word is spreading that Italy's TIM may be involved in talks, too, making Apple reps a very busy group east of the pond these past few weeks. Whether there'll be any 3G involved remains to be seen, but either way, it looks like there will be plenty of some kind of iPhone going around Europe by year's end.

[Thanks, Mattia]

Read - Deutsche Telekom
Read - TIM

T-Mobile announcing German iPhone deal tomorrow?

Perhaps demonstrating how wide the rift between T-Mobile Europe and T-Mobile USA really is, Germany's Rheinische Post is reporting that Deutsche Telekom will announce tomorrow that its carrier unit will exclusively offer the iPhone in Germany. Details on the partnership are slim at best, but the two most important nuggets of information seem to be known: November 1 for €450 (about $612), which we assume is for the 8GB unit. Of course, the next biggest question is whether this'll be an EDGE or 3G unit -- and if it's 3G, can we please get an HSDPA Enabler for $1.99? No?

European carriers to control adult content

If you're a adolescent living in the EU, consider your access to adult content coming to a rather abrupt end shortly. Thanks to some of the major carriers in Europe -- including Orange, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom -- efforts to control objective material on children's phones are underway. With an amazing 70 percent penetration rate among 12 - 13 year olds and almost 25 percent among 8 - 9 year olds, there are strong efforts to remove access to such services. Unless you're an 8, 9, 12, or 13 year old, that is, in which case this is all hogwash to you.




    AOL News

    Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: