Frank Bitterlich

According to a press statement by T-Mobile, the rumors for once had it right: T-Mobile has been chosen by Apple as the exclusive iPhone service provider in Germany.

They will start punting the device in Germany starting on November 9th. As is the case in the UK, there will be not special UMTS-enabled version of the iPhone for Germany, so you have to put up with roughly 220 kbps on the EDGE network (“Almost four times the speed of ISDN”, according to T-Mobile. Wow.) But unlike O2 in the UK, at least T-Mobile has almost full EDGE coverage in Germany. I wouldn’t want to fall back on GPRS.

There are no announcements yet on the tariff plans, as far as I know. Please let me know if I’m wrong on that.

Oh my… looks like you will be able to BYOB onto aircraft again, and not have to buy the same thing you were forced to discard at the security check at the duty-free store and then take it onto the plane. From the European Parliament website:

The House adopted a resolution with 464 votes in favour, 158 against and 70 abstentions on the restrictions imposed by the EU on liquids that passengers can take on board aeroplanes. MEPs call upon the Commission to review urgently and — if no further conclusive facts are brought forward — to repeal Regulation (EC) No 1546/2006 (introduction of liquids onto aircraft). The particular amendment on the possible repeal was adopted with 382 votes in favour, 298 against and 15 abstentions.

Looks like the European Parliament is still able to make useful decisions after all. Or maybe the MEPs finally noticed that this ban - unlike most other EU regulations - annoyed these frequent-flyer types just as much as the normal citizens. Ahhh… no, that couldn’t be the reason.