Judge Marina Tavassi of the Tribunale di Milano has rejected Samsung’s request for a preliminary injunction against the sale of the iPhone 4S in Italy, reports ANSA. The decision on Thursday follows a similar ruling in France that Samsung lost as it attempted to block iPhone 4S sales there as well. Over the past year, Apple and Samsung have been caught up in a number of heated patent battles throughout the world, and Samsung’s requests to have the iPhone 4S banned has now been rejected three times in three locales. The South Korea-based company claims Apple is infringing two of Samsung’s wireless communications patents, one of which involves the use of the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) standard in 3G phones.

[Via FOSS Patents]

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Italy’s Antitrust Authority has fined Apple Sales International, Apple Italia Srl and Apple Retail Italia a total of $1.2 million for “unfair commercial practices.” According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple’s Italy-based retail stores were fined €500,000 ($653,000) for not providing customers with adequate information about its AppleCare Protection Plan warranties, and an additional €400,000 ($523,00) for not being completely transparent about the length of product guarantees. The fines are a bit surprising, considering that Apple is typically praised for customer satisfaction in the United States. Apple has not commented publicly on the matter.

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Yankee Group is set to release its European Mobile User Study next month and the research firm has just provided a quick glimpse into its early findings. Reportedly, 40% of European smartphone buyers plan to purchase an iPhone as their next device. 19% plan to purchase an Android powered device, 17% have their eye on a BlackBerry, and 15% plan to buy a Nokia smartphone. “These findings highlight the continued strength of Apple in the European smartphone market and, in particular, its phenomenal brand appeal,” Yankee Group research vice president, Declan Lonergan, said. “The data also highlights the enormous challenges faced by Nokia and RIM to retain mind share and market share in this increasingly dynamic and competitive marketplace.” In addition, the firm found that employees argued they are 58% more productive while on long-distance travel trips when they have a tablet in tow. Yankee Group also argues that consumerization is taking over the workplace and that four times more employees are now using tools designed for the consumer market for work purposes — with IT’s approval, of course. The survey involved 5,000 consumers, 2,250 employees and “IT decision makers” in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Read on for the full press release.

Yankee Group Unveils New European Mobile User Study

New survey offering finds 40 percent of smartphone buyers plan to choose an iPhone.

London, U.K. Jun 22, 2011 – Yankee Group today announced the 2011 European Mobile User Study, which is designed to help both European and global firms make better product, pricing and segmentation decisions. The new study polls 5,000 consumers and 2,250 employees and IT decision-makers across five European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

Available in July, this new survey offering provides key insights into European mobile user behavior, attitudes and purchase plans. For example, it finds 40 percent of consumers who intend to buy a smartphone as their next mobile device will choose an iPhone. Android-based devices come in second (19 percent), followed by BlackBerry (17 percent) and Nokia (15 percent).

“These findings highlight the continued strength of Apple in the European smartphone market and, in particular, its phenomenal brand appeal,” said Declan Lonergan, research VP at Yankee Group. “The data also highlights the enormous challenges faced by Nokia and RIM to retain mind share and market share in this increasingly dynamic and competitive marketplace.”

Other study findings include:

• Consumerization is taking over the enterprise. Four times more employees use consumer tools for work purposes with IT’s explicit approval.
• New devices spur productivity. Employees say they are 58 percent more productive during long-distance travel when they have a tablet.
• Mobile users are multi-device-savvy. Most users have more than one device and they access the same services and content via the screen best suited for the time and place.

In addition to the new study, Yankee Group also announced that Simon Rodd is joining the firm as portfolio manager within the company’s European sales team (see accompanying release). To learn about additional open Yankee Group positions in Boston, London and other locations, visit http://www.yankeegroup.com/careers.do

Nokia has announced that it will hold its annual Nokia World conference from October 26th through the 27th in London. Given Nokia’s recent announcement that it’s still on-track to launch a Windows Phone this year, it’s entirely plausible that Stephen Elop will take the stage during Nokia World and do just that. An October announcement could mean that the new phone will land on store shelves right in time for the holiday season, too. Nokia has listed France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, England, and Spain as the first six countries that will receive the first Windows Phone, so it may not land in the United States as quickly. The Finnish firm also said it will launch 10 new Symbian devices over the next 12 months, and we’ll likely hear more about those devices soon, too.

[Via PCMag]

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According to AllAboutPhones, Nokia will launch its first Windows Phone handsets in six European countries this year. Oddly, Finland will not be one of them. The Finnish phone maker has said that it plans to launch the new devices by Q4 2011, and the first six countries named include France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands. If your country isn’t on that list, fear not. Nokia has said that it plans to launch as many as a dozen Windows Phones throughout 2012, some of which will pack dual-core processors. We’re looking forward to Nokia bringing its drop-dead gorgeous hardware to U.S. store shelves, too.

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We’ll be honest, we didn’t quite expect Ralph Lauren to be the company to introduce a useful solar-powered backpack to power our gadgets while on the move. The Ralph Lauren RLX backpack offers a pretty large solar panel built in to the back of the backpack, one that the company says can charge a phone in around two hours. The backpack itself is water-resistant, with a decent amount of pockets and storage space, and generates a 3.45 watt current which is enough for most any mobile device or handset. It’s available in two colors, black and orange, is made in Italy, and will run you a steep $795.

[Via Uncrate]

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If you’re a serious watch lover and collector, there’s a good chance you’ll want to keep your timepieces fully wound, especially if you own complicated movements, and the Orbita Bergamo looks to be a high-end built-to-order piece of furniture to show off and hide your watches. It’s capable of holding and winding 40 watches (each watch winder is able to be programmed independently), and the rear part of the cabinet that holds your timepieces can automatically lower into the cabinet to conceal your collection. Hand-made in Italy, the Orbita Bergamo 40 starts at $60,000.

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Fresh off the wire, Apple is reminding everyone that their flagship product, the iPhone 4, will go on sale in 17 additional countries beginning July 30th. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland to be exact. Hit the bounce for the full release.

CUPERTINO, Calif., July 26, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ – Apple’s iPhone(R) 4 will be available in 17 more countries this Friday, July 30. iPhone 4 features FaceTime(R), which makes video calling as easy as one tap, Apple’s new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, resulting in stunning text, images and video, and a beautiful all-new design of glass and stainless steel that is the thinnest smartphone in the world.

Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase iPhone 4 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. iPhone 4 will be available for purchase through Apple’s retail and online stores and Apple(R) Authorized Resellers.

iPhone 4 also features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD 720p video recording, Apple’s A4 processor, a 3-axis gyro and up to 40 percent longer talk time.* iPhone 4 comes with iOS 4, the newest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which features Multitasking, Folders, enhanced Mail, deeper Enterprise support and Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform.

Pricing & Availability

iPhone 4 will be available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland this Friday, July 30.

iPhone 4 is currently available in France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model. iPhone 4 will roll out to many more countries later this year and Apple will announce availability and local pricing for these additional countries at a later date.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Good news for Android users situated in Canada and and 11 Western European nations, as today Google announced the immediate availability of its free Google Maps Navigation application in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. To get Google Maps Navigation 4.2 you’ll need to live in the aforementioned countries and have an Android phone running 1.6 and up. Also announced by Google was the addition of support for French, German, Italian and Spanish for Google Voice Search. This update applies not only to Android, but BlackBerry and iPhone as well. No update to the application is needed to gain support for the additional languages, but if you’re the paranoid type you can grab the app at m.google.com or the iTunes App Store.

Read [Maps] Read [Voice Search]

We imagine that there will have been an inordinate number of sick days claimed yesterday in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, as the iPad went available for sale in the aforementioned nations. The price of the device, as well as data plans for the 3G model, vary greatly from country to country, so if you’ve not already done so, hit up your respective online Apple webstore to check out how much you’ll need to shell out to become the laughingstock envy of your neighbors. Also let us know if you’re outside the U.S. and finally got an iPad!

After a disappointing Q4 2009 performance, Blockbuster’s woes continue with the US video giant looking to pawn off its European operations as a means of generating some much needed cash. According to a report from the Sunday Times, Blockbuster has hired Winchester Capital to sell off its European division which includes 650 stores in the UK and an unknown number of stores in Denmark, Italy, and Ireland. Combined, these assets could net Blockbuster a respectable £50m ($76M USD) at a time when the movie rental king is hemorrhaging cash and straining under the weight of increasing debt which now totals $964 million. This shot in the arm may not be the Hail Mary that saves Blockbuster from its downward spiral, but it is at least a step in the right direction for the ailing company.

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This is backwards. In 2006, several students from Turin, Italy filmed themselves bullying a classmate with Down’s Syndrome. The bullying students, clearly impressed with themselves, uploaded the video to Google Video for the world to see. Google explains: “The video was totally reprehensible and we took it down within hours of being notified by the Italian police. We also worked with the local police to help identify the person responsible for uploading it and she was subsequently sentenced to 10 months community service by a court in Turin, as were several other classmates who were also involved.” But, of course, this isn’t where this story ends. “A public prosecutor in Milan decided to indict four Google employees… who left the company in 2008. The charges brought against them were criminal defamation and a failure to comply with the Italian privacy code.” Google goes onto clarify that the employees charged were not responsible for the screening of these movies — no Google employee is responsible for that — and furthermore the employees had no knowledge of this video until after it was removed by Google. “Nevertheless, a judge in Milan today convicted 3 of the 4 defendants…for failure to comply with the Italian privacy code… In essence this ruling means that employees of hosting platforms like Google Video are criminally responsible for content that users upload.” Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel, David Drummond, senior vice president of corporate development, and former chief financial officer, George Reyes, were sentenced to six-month terms, which were suspended. Google plans to appeal the judge’s decision.

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Good news for Android 2.0 hungry Europeans this early afternoon as Motorola has officially announced the European (read: GSM/UMTS) version of the DROID. Dubbed the Motorola MILESTONE, the two handsets appear to be identical spec wise save for the obvious differences in cellular radios. Oddly enough, the MILESTONE will feature one thing on every DROID lovers wish list — multitouch. The reason why the MILESTONE has multitouch while its American cousin does not isn’t clear, but the general feeling is this is directly related to some intellectual property that Apple might or might not own. If any American’s are feeling a bit snookered by this, they can take comfort knowing that they still have the market cornered on Google Maps Navigation as the MILESTONE will instead come pre-loaded with MOTONAV in its place. Italy and Germany will be the first European nations to get the Motorola MILESTONE, with the handset being available from The Phone House, O2 and Vodafone in the latter country starting November 9th.Read

Vodafone and HTC came together today to announce the HTC Magic, the latest Android handset we named and outed yesterday. As the world’s first touchscreen-only Android phone, the Magic isn’t that much of an improvement over the G1 though it does have a nicer look to it and some spec improvements behind it. Details as to when the Magic will launch are hazy at best but the Vodafone UK website states it will be “Arriving in April.” Being a Vodafone exclusive, customers in the UK, Spain, France and Germany will be the first in line to get the Magic while Italian mobile aficionados will be able to purchase the Magic as a non-exclusive. After that it’s anyone’s guess as to where else thing thing will show up, be it under the Vodafone name or otherwise. Here’s to hoping it makes its way to this side of the world as soon as possible. Now to the specs:

• Android OS
• Quad-band EDGE / dual-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA (900/2100 MHz)
• 512MHz Qualcomm® MSM7201a
• 512MB ROM / 192MB RAM
• 3.2″ HVGA touchscreen display (though the presser and Voda say QVGA, Android does not play nice with QVGA displays)
• Virtual QWERTY keypad, trackball
• 3.2 megapixel camear w/ AF (no flash)
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• GPS
• Bluetooth 2.0
• microSD
• 1340 mAh battery
• Talktime: 400 min 3G / 450 min GSM
• Standby: 660 hours 3G / 420 hours GSM
• 113mm x 55mm x 13.65mm, 118.5g
• Available in black and/or white depending on market

Not bad and not great, but we’re happy the Magic is a bit more refined compared to the banana-faced G1. Some of the basics however, such as a 3.5mm audio jack and an LED flash are unfortunately still MIA. Why HTC, why?

Jeté the jump for the full press release.

Vodafone and HTC unveil Android-powered HTC Magic

BARCELONA — Feb 17, 2009 — Vodafone and HTC Corporation today announced the HTC Magic smartphone, Vodafone’s first Android-powered mobile, which will be available in the spring.

The stylish new handset is exclusive to Vodafone in the UK, Spain, Germany and France (SFR) and available on a non-exclusive basis in Italy. Customers can ensure that they are the first to receive information about the HTC Magic’s availability, pricing and pre-ordering by registering their interest via their local Vodafone website from today.

The introduction of the HTC Magic is the result of a successful relationship between Vodafone and HTC, and Vodafone’s joining, late last year, of the Open Handset Alliance.

A tablet-style device, with a sleek design and unprecedented compactness for a smartphone featuring the Android platform, the HTC Magic enables a superior mobile internet experience, providing broad flexibility for personalisation via the application-rich Android Market. Available in white in the UK, Spain and France, black in Germany and in both colours in Italy, the HTC Magic will be for sale in several other Vodafone markets over the next few months.

“Delivering an unbeatable mobile internet experience for our customers is a priority for Vodafone, so we are very excited to be introducing our first Android-powered smartphone in the spring,” says Patrick Chomet, Global Director of Terminals, Vodafone Group. “Following our joining of the Open Handset Alliance, we have worked very closely with HTC to bring this cool new phone to the market. Our customers want to access a wide range of the most attractive mobile devices to help them make the most of their time – the HTC Magic helps meet that need.”

“The HTC Magic embodies the compact style and sophistication for which HTC has come to be known, with the powerful and intuitive internet experience for which the Android platform was designed,” says Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corporation. “We are proud of our partnership with Vodafone and excited about making the Android-powered HTC Magic available to Vodafone customers in Europe.”

“The announcement of the HTC Magic is an important step for Android and the Open Handset Alliance,” says Andy Rubin, Senior Director of Mobile Platforms at Google. “With it, Vodafone is opening up the mobile web for consumers across Europe and giving more third-party developers a platform on which they can build the next wave of killer applications.”

Available from free on various price plans, the HTC Magic has a 3.2” QVGA touch screen display and features a trackball and navigational buttons for quick, easy access. The HTC Magic includes a variety of email options such as Google Mail™, POP3 and IMAP as well as Google Talk™ for instant messaging.

The HTC Magic has a variety of powerful mobile internet capabilities beginning with an Android-optimised Webkit browser. It also features the popular Google™ applications, Google Maps™ and Google Search™ as well as favourites like YouTube™. In addition, Android Market allows for quick and easy downloading of games and applications utilising Vodafone’s fast and reliable network.

Full details of availability and pricing will be available in the future in local Vodafone markets.

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Hot off the wires, we’ve got a hold of the unsubsidized price for the iPhone 3G. Well, for Italy anyway. Vodafone Italy is setting an out-of-contract price at €499 and €569 for the 8GB and 16GB models respectively. We don’t know what the monthly nut is going to be yet but word on the streets is that this pricing is actually reasonable and dare we say competitive in Italy’s smartphone market. 

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