Tag: germany

Google Fined In Germany Over Street View Data Collection

A German privacy regulator fined Google €145,000 on Monday for its systematic, illegal collection of personal data while it was creating its Street View mapping service, and it called on European lawmakers to significantly raise fines for violations of data protection laws.

It found that while specially equipped Google vehicles took city snapshots between 2008 and 2010 for its Street View function, which supplements its standard map service, they had also picked up data from unsecured wireless networks.

“Among the information gathered in the drive-bys were significant amounts of personal data of varying quality. For example emails, passwords, photos and chat protocols were collected,” the Hamburg authorities said in a statement.

Hamburg data regulator Johannes Caspar explained: “In my view, this is one of the biggest data protection rules violations known,” said Caspar. Google’s “internal control mechanisms must have severely failed.”

It not the first time Google as been fined for such a breach of data protection, with the French privacy regulator levying a €100,000 penalty on Google in 2011. However Google has now tightened up its policy with using the Google Street View car systems to address issues raised in the latest data protection violation, Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel, said in a statement.

The commissioner also ordered Google to delete all the data it had gathered. A third party verified that Google indeed deleted the data.

Google said it would not appeal the fine.

[The Guardian]

April 22, 2013
“World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria” trailer released at Gamescom 2012

The release of the new World of Warcraft expansion Mists of Pandaria is fast approaching, and this week Blizzard displayed the opening cinematic to the game at the Gamescom conference in Cologne, Germany. As always, Blizzard’s cinematic team has some cutting-edge CGI to show off and we thought it was worth your time to take a look at

The trailer reveals the opening cinematic sequence to “Mists of Pandaria.” Described as a lost continent shrouded in fog, Pandaria is inhabited by a race called the Pandaren. The upcoming release is the fourth expansion pack of the uber-popular game.

“World of Warcraft” is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) which was released in November 2004. Expansion packs include “The Burning Crusade,” “Wrath of the Lich King” and “Cataclysm.”

In August, Blizzard Entertainment reported 9.1 million subscribers. “World of Warcraft” holds the Guinness World Record for the Most Popular Subscription-based Massively Multiplayer Online Role Player Game.”

“World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria” is expected to be released on Sept. 25, 2012.

August 18, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S III Details leaked by Amazon Germany

A couple of days ago Samsung Galaxy S3 popped up on Amazon Germany’s site and showed off the specs that could possibly be the most accurate pre launch information of a device. A 4.7 inch Super AMOLED touchscreen and a 12 megapixel camera are two things that were mentioned clearly in the listing title. The listing also shows 16 GB of internal memory, expandable up to 32GB. Unfortunately no images of the device are available on the posting.

[Amazon.de]

April 23, 2012
Apple wins Injunction against Motorola in Germany

The Munich I Regional Court handed down a decision awarding Apple an injunction against all Motorola devices for Apple’s patent on “portable electronic device[s] for photo management.” According to FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller, there is a chance that Apple could choose to enforce the ban, which could require Motorola to destroy all existing products that violate the claim.

“Today’s ruling in Munich, Germany on the patent litigation brought by Apple concerns a software feature associated with performing certain functions when viewing photos in a ‘zoomed in’ mode on mobile devices. We note that the Court ruled that performing the functions in a ‘zoomed out’ mode does not infringe on this patent. We expect no impact to supply or future sales as we have already implemented a new way to view photos on our products that does not interfere with the user experience.”

-Motorola

[FOSS Patents]

March 2, 2012
Apple granted injunction in German patent suit against Motorola

Apple has been granted an injunction in the patent suit against Motorola at the German court. The case originally focused on three separate applications of this gesture tech two for phones and one for Tablets, but for now, the one used on the Xoom has been deemed outside of Apple’s purview. This win could cause a further blow to Moto’s already dying numbers. Apple has been in the front race this past year for their Patent wars on a number of handset manufacturers.

February 17, 2012
German court permanently bans Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Apple vs Samsung, Indian courts approached

German judge Johanna Brueckner-Hoffman has ruled in Apple’s favor on Friday by banning Samsung from selling its GALAXY Tab 1o.1 tablets in Germany.

The court is of the opinion that Apple’s minimalistic design isn’t the only technical solution to make a tablet computer, other designs are possible

– Said the Judge

Apple has also blocked Samsung from selling its GALAXY Tab 10.1 in Australia until a court there rules whether or not the tablet infringes on 10 of Apple’s patents. Apple has also approached the Indian courts to seek ban on sales of the Galaxy 750 in India. The benefit for Samsung here is that Apple will not be able to use the german courts ruling, because the name of the two devices is different. i.e. the Galaxy 750 in India and Galaxy Tab 10.1 rest of the world. Whether Samsung India was already expecting the legal battle is unknown.

Samsung, meanwhile, plans to appeal the ruling in a higher court and a spokesman said

We are disappointed with this ruling and believe it severely limits consumer choice in Germany.”

September 10, 2011
Apple Wins German injunction against Samsung, Galaxy Tab 7.7 removed from IFA

Apple has won the injunction filed in German Courts for the immediate halt in sales and display of the Samsung Galaxy Tablet. Several vendors in and across Europe have stopped selling the Galaxy Tablets launched this year. Samsung pulled its new Android tablet from both the IFA show floor and its German website on Saturday, in compliance with a Friday decision handed down by the same Düsseldorf Regional Court court that banned sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 last month. The 7.7-inch slate had previously been on display with a sticker that read “Not for sale in Germany,”.

Samsung said that it “respects the court’s decision,” and vowed to do everything it could to defend its intellectual property.

September 5, 2011
German Court Removes Ban on Galaxy Tab 10.1 Sales in EU

The courts have gone in favor of Samsung and the Düsseldorf regional court in Germany announced on Tuesday that it is partially lifting its original injunction that banned Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in all of the European Union excluding the Netherlands.

According to sources , an Official from the court said:

It is unclear if The Court has the ability or the power to ban the sales outside of Germany in the first place

Apple also recently banned the sale of the Galaxy Tab in Australia recently, yet Samsung is all set to appeal the ban on the 25th of Aug. The sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will go undeterred in India. The bans could also be a possible reason for the name change of the tablets in India : the Galaxy 750 is the rebranded Galaxy tab 10.1 ( to avoid Apple’s radar?).

It also looks fruitless for Apple to file an injunction in India, since the Legal proceedings itself will take months and by then Samsung will be all sold out.

August 17, 2011
Samsung Launches the Rugged Galaxy XCover, Water and Mud Resistant (PR)
Samsung has just launched the new Galaxy XCover, the device features a rugged build, good for those daily, clumsy phone drops. the device also is water and dust resistant.

Specs include
- 3.6-inch scratch-resistant display
- 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash
- 7.2Mbps HSDPA.
- Android 2.3
Samsung plans to get the device out in October, but seriously we can’t wait to see this phone.

[toggle title_open=”Collapse Press Release” title_closed=”Expand Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]

Water-resistant case meets social networking and Android ™ 2.3: The Samsung Galaxy Xcover

The combination of protective housing with IP67 certification, scratch-resistant touch screen display, Android and Samsung Social Hub ™ 2.3 makes the Samsung Galaxy Xcover the ideal device for users with an active lifestyle

Schwalbach / Ts., 9 August 2011 – With the Galaxy Xcover Samsung expands its range of rugged mobile phones for outdoor use. The device combines outdoor skills with the ability of a powerful smartphone.

Whether water, dust or hard surfaces: the Samsung Galaxy Xcover is well prepared against harmful environmental influences. This IP67 certified enclosure protects the unit against dust and dirt there. In addition, the Samsung Galaxy Xcover to a depth of one meter for a period is waterproof up to half an hour. The touch-screen display with a diagonal measurement of 9.27 cm is made of scratch-resistant tempered glass. The 3.2-megapixel camera of the Samsung Galaxy Xcover is supported by an LED photo light, which can be used when needed as a flashlight or signal light.

Smart through social networking apps and running the Samsung Galaxy Xcover with the Android ™ 2.3 platform and is using apps ideally suit her personal needs. Provide wireless connectivity for fast n-standard, and an HSDPA connection with a transfer rate of up to 7.2 Mbit / s.

The Samsung Galaxy Xcover is available from October in the trade.

[/toggle]

[Samsung]
August 11, 2011
Apple blocks sale of the Galaxy Tab in EU : Case in Germany

Apple has won a preliminary injunction to stop the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the whole of the European Union except for the Netherlands. A new ruling by a regional court in Dusseldorf, Germany has granted Cupertino a preliminary injunction, blocking the sale and advertising of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Apple has a similar ongoing lawsuit in the Netherlands. Should Samsung continue to sell the tablet, the company could face fines of up to $350,000 for each violation. Apple also won the injection in Australia blocking the sale of the said tablet.

Samsung plans to appeal the injunctions, but the likely appeal will take about a month to be heard by the judge who granted the injunction.

August 10, 2011
800Mbps WLAN using Light Bulb Network

German scientists have discovered a way to transmit WiFi networks in a Building infrastructure using Light Bulbs. Earlier this year researchers hit 500Mbps with white LEDs now, using a combination of white, green, blue, and red, the team was able to bring that up to 800Mbps.

The only drawback of this technology is the fact that there always needs to be a line of sight between the device and the bulb, so we don’t see it eliminating true WiFi just as yet.

[Slashgear]

August 2, 2011
Germany to Get Hydrogen Fuel Station Network

The development of a German network of hydrogen filling stations is gaining pace. The automotive manufacturer Daimler AG and the Linde technology group announced in Stuttgart that they intended to open 20 new filling stations in Germany over the next three years. This will more than triple the number of public hydrogen filling stations in the country. The new stations are to be set up in the regions of Stuttgart, Berlin and Hamburg, which are already supplied with hydrogen, and along the most contiguous possible North-South and East-West axis. For the first time, this would enable every location in Germany to be reached by a fuel-cell vehicle by the year 2015.

The setup of the 20 new filling stations will begin in 2012, at existing convenient locations already operated by various oil companies. The joint initiative by Daimler and Linde, which involves an investment in the tens of millions, has also been opened up to other potential partners in the fuel, energy and automotive industry.

The infrastructure initiative of Daimler and Linde forms a bridge with already existing hydrogen projects such as the H2-Mobility or Clean Energy Partnership, which are being subsidised by the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP). Germany will therefore assume the leading position in terms of an international hydrogen infrastructure.

“The development of electrical mobility will be largely characterised by the hydrogen fuel-cell”, explained Wolfgang Reitzle, Chairman of the Board of Linde AG. “We are delighted to be able to shape this development in cooperation with Daimler. We see ourselves as a forerunner in the field, and aim to promote the market maturity of hydrogen-powered vehicles.” The aim now is to ensure the gradually increasing number of fuel-cell powered vehicles running on generatively produced hydrogen.

“Circling the globe with our three green B-class vehicles has shown that the time is ripe for electric vehicles powered by fuel cells. We must now address the subject of the relevant infrastructure”, said Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Daimler AG, and Director of Mercedes-Benz Cars, looking forward to the immediate future. “Car-drivers can only benefit from the advantages of technology if there are enough hydrogen filling stations available: long rangers, short refuelling times and no local emissions.” A focal point of the infrastructure development in Baden-Württemberg will be where such a re-intervention should start, 125 years after the original invention of the automobile.

The establishment of a comprehensive network of filling stations is an essential requirement for the successful introduction of hydrogen-powered vehicles, as planned by Daimler for the year 2015. Of the 30 hydrogen filling stations in Germany, only seven currently formed part of public filling station operations. In comparison: five to 10 filling stations would be required to supply a major city. The connection of individual major conurbations now undertaken, such as Berlin and Hamburg, Stuttgart and Munich, with hydrogen filling stations along main traffic routes is the logical next step towards a comprehensive network of filling stations.

June 3, 2011