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Portugal considers banning Huawei from national 5G networks
Portugal could become the latest country to effectively ban Huawei and other Chinese firms from participating in its 5G buildouts.
Google Stadia is now available in eight more European countries
Players in Portugal, Switzerland and Slovakia among others have access starting today.
Disney+ will launch in eight more European countries on September 15th
Disney+ will arrive in a further eight European countries in September.
Google's next undersea internet cable will link Africa and Europe
Google has announced its third private undersea internet cable will run between Europe and Africa. One end will make landfall in Portgual. While you might expect the cable would connect to Morocco, it'll run all the way down the African coast to South Africa, with pit stops in other nations.
PlayStation Now game streaming expands throughout Europe
PlayStation Now still isn't widely available around the world, but Sony aims to fix that. It's expanding the game streaming service to Italy, Portugal and Spain in Europe in the near future, as well as Nordic countries like Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. There's no mention of a firm release date just yet. However, would-be players can register for a PS4 beta test due to start in early February.
Netflix is coming to Spain, Italy and Portugal in October
Netflix wants to grow from servicing its current list of 50 countries to 200 in the next couple of years and now we know three of the new ones coming soon. Earlier this week it added Spain to the list, followed up by Italy, and today it announced Portugal too. Already available in 13 European countries, Netflix will come to all three of those in October. Four years ago Netflix was just staffing up for its rollout in Canada, and now a plan to cover much of the world is within reach, it's funny how time flies.
Mind-controlled drones promise a future of hands-free flying
There have been tentative steps into thought-controlled drones in the past, but Tekever and a team of European researchers just kicked things up a notch. They've successfully tested Brainflight, a project that uses your mental activity (detected through a cap) to pilot an unmanned aircraft. You have to learn how to fly on your own, but it doesn't take long before you're merely thinking about where you want to go. And don't worry about crashing because of distractions or mental trauma, like seizures -- there are "algorithms" to prevent the worst from happening.
Mac mini prices climb in several countries
The iMac refresh earlier this week apparently wasn't the only change to the Apple lineup. 9to5Mac is reporting that all Mac mini configurations are now more expensive in a number of countries, including Australia, Brazil, Portugal and Malaysia. As an example of the price bumps, the prices of the Intel Core i5 2.5 GHz, Intel Core i7 2.3 GHz and Mac mini with OS X Server models are currently A$749, A$999 and A$1,249, respectively. Previously, the same three models sold for A$699, A$899 and A$1,099. Some accessories are also a bit more expensive in certain countries, with MacRumors reporting that UK customers are now paying £2 more for an Apple Wireless Keyboard, £8 more for replacement MacBook and MacBook Pro batteries and £15 more for a Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter. The Mac mini hasn't been updated recently, and still uses the last-generation Intel Ivy Bridge processors instead of the newer Haswell processors. Whether the mini will receive a refresh during next month's expected Apple event is unknown, or it could just suddenly end up with new specifications like the iMac did this week.
Google Play Music spreads to Australia, New Zealand and five European nations
Google has been on something of a tear spreading its Google Play media services around the world; don't look now, but it's picking up the pace. The search giant is expanding Google Play Music today to cover Australia, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Portugal. That small deluge of new countries can now shop for their favorite tunes as well as store up to 20,000 of them online for streaming, either on the web or on Android devices. Large swaths of the world remain uncovered by the service -- ahem, Canada -- but we'll still welcome a big step toward cloud music for everyone. [Thanks, Chris]
Rara.com expands to iOS, Windows 8 and more countries
Rara.com has been mighty busy since its luddite-friendly music streaming service launched at the end of last year, and now it's reporting the outcome of those 10 months of toil. In addition to an improved web experience and new Android widget, an AirPlay-compatible app for iOS is now available, with software for Windows 8 arriving alongside its launch. Rara's 18 million tracks haven't only invaded other platforms, but other countries, too -- residents of Brazil, Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Africa and Portugal have joined the party, bringing the total number of compatible countries to 27. Lenovo is also getting a piece of the action, as a worldwide agreement means Rara software will now come pre-installed on the manufacturer's Android tablets and Windows 8 gear. Want to hear more about Rara's recent accomplishments? Then head for the PR after the break.
PSA: iPhone 5 available in 22 more countries, on Cricket and US regional carriers galore
Disappointed that your country or favorite carrier missed the initial cut for the iPhone 5 launch? Odds are that you're all good now. Worldwide, 22 more countries have joined the mix as of today, including wide swaths of Europe as well as New Zealand; you'll find the full list in the release here. Americans also don't have to turn to the big carriers, as they can now opt for prepaid carrier Cricket in addition to a slew of extra providers that include C Spire as well as regionals like GCI and nTelos. In some cases, you'll even snag a discount by going with one of the smaller networks. If you bagged an iPhone in Barcelona, or caught one on Cellcom, let others know how it's going in the comments. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Kobo Touch, localized e-bookstore reach Portugal through FNAC
It's all too easy to forget in English-speaking countries that the e-reading selection often isn't as diverse in other parts of the world, where local authors are often kept out of the equation. The Portuguese may know that all too well, which makes Kobo's arrival in their country a potential breakthrough. A deal with European retailer FNAC has both the Kobo Touch and a localized Kobo e-bookstore reaching physical and online stores in Portugal as of today. The price strategy won't be a shock versus what we've seen through an earlier deal in France: the Touch itself costs €99.90 ($129), while books vary and typically hover around €15 ($19). Whether or not Kobo's offering is a good deal, its arrival could be a relief for lisboetas who'd rather not resort to paper and ink to catch up on their own culture.
Microsoft and Nokia bring enhanced traffic data to Windows Phone, announce international plans
Cross-pollination is a beautiful thing. In the natural world, it brings bountiful harvests and pretty flowers. In the mobile world, we benefit from the sharing of ideas and technologies. Case in point is Windows Phone, as Microsoft has just announced that it's adopted traffic information from Nokia into the Maps app of its mobile OS. In addition to providing Windows Phone users in the US with more detailed overviews of traffic flows and congestion, the functionality will soon become available for many cities across the globe. Perhaps the move shouldn't come as a total surprise, as just last month, Microsoft revealed the inclusion of Nokia's "Where" platform within Bing Maps. As for future availability, citizens of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom will benefit from the sharing of technologies within the next few weeks. For the moment, however, just hop the break, where you can see the before / after traffic data that's now available to Los Angeles residents.
CloudOn launching its iOS, Android tablet apps in 16 more countries, Office hounds rejoice
Surprise, surprise, CloudOn has just opened a fresh can of tablet-friendly Office and is getting ready to deliver it outside of the US, UK and Canada for the first time in its relatively short history. The cloud-based service announced it's now launching its iOS and Android applications in 16 more countries, making it a total of 19 with the addition of the aforementioned trio. Some of the lucky nations include: Spain, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Israel as well as the Netherlands -- and, in case you had any concerns, the app is keeping its free-of-charge status, so no need to worry. In addition to the beefy global expansion, CloudOn also released a few productivity-focused tidbits, giving users the ability to open links straight from the browser, copy and paste between the different built-in apps, plus a drag-and-drop feature to move around files and folders within the application -- unfortunately, this last one's only available to those with a Cupertino device (at least for the time being). All that's left to do now is grab yourself a copy from one of the links below, and be sure to check the presser after the break to see if your country made the cut.
LG Optimus True HD LTE's European assault begins in Portugal, Germany and Sweden
While the latest LTE and HD equipped addition to LG's Optimus line has already landed across Asia (Korea, Japan) and North America (US - AT&T, US - Verizon, Canada) under a few different names, the newly rebranded Optimus True HD LTE is finally prepared for a European debut. As seen by the flags flying above, this week LG will begin rolling out to Portugal, Germany and Sweden, with Britain and France on deck for the second half of the year when LTE service is available. The other flags present represent further Asian rollouts in Hong Kong and Singapore. The plan, described in the Korean press release linked below (Update: English PR after the break), is apparently to make LG synonymous with LTE, although we can't see how renaming its current dual-core standard bearer every other week is helping.
Game Iberia's 291 stores sold to UK buyer's 'sister company'
Game has effectively checked itself before it wrecked itself, first selling its UK operations and now selling its stores in Spain and Portugal, MCV reports. OpCaptia, the same investment company behind the UK deal, established Cherrilux Investments for the Iberian transaction and bought all 290 stores across Spain and Portugal.Cherrilux is a "sister company" to Baker Acquisitions, which bought the UK branch, and both businesses will most likely run independently but share revenue, MCV says. The sale saves 1,000 jobs, and Cherrilux "has no plans to close stores at Game Iberia and will continue to run the business as a going concern while evaluating the possible sale of the business."
Portuguese opposition party wants 'terabyte tax,' voters want a new opposition party
Portugal's opposition party, Partido Socialista, is pondering a tax on storage media under the flag of copyright protection. Under the proposal, consumers would pay €0.02 for every gigabyte of storage purchased, so a 1TB HDD would cost around €21 ($28) extra, plus an additional levy on devices over that size means a 2TB drive could cost an additional €103.2 ($135). It doesn't just stop at desktop platters: USB sticks, memory cards and even smartphones would also be charged, with any device packing 64GB of storage facing a surcharge of €32 ($42). A party member defended the idea, saying that the tax is aimed at professionals who use larger capacity drives -- but since most consumer HDDs come with a minimum size of 160GB and the legislation is also supposedly meant to tackle piracy, we're not entirely sure it adds up -- except maybe in government coffers.Update: We're hearing that the bill titled PL118 has been withdrawn in the face of overwhelming common sense.[Thanks, Ricardo]
PSA: Get your new iPad today in Austria, Ireland, Mexico and many other places
If your homeland wasn't part of the initial iPad roll out we've got good news -- today is the day for iOS tabletry. Maybe. The latest slab of Retina display-equipped machinery out of Cupertino is landing in 25 additional countries today, including Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. So, if you haven't been waiting on line since the 16th in anticipation of this day, then go to your local Apple store to score one. Or don't. For the full list of countries check the PR after the break.
iPhone 4S arriving in Hong Kong, South Korea and a number of other locales on November 11th
Apple is getting ready to add a whole slew of new locations to its iPhone 4S world domination plan. Starting November 11th, the company's latest smartphone will be available in Hong Kong, South Korea and 13 additional countries, including Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Portugal, and Romania. Pre-orders for those locations (save for Albania, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malta, Montenegro and Panama) will begin on the 4th. The handset is currently available in 29 countries -- that number will increase to more than 70 by year's end. Press info can be found after the break.
Nokia X7 and E6 hop an early flight to Germany for pre-order delights
If Nokia's X7 entertainment handset overwhelms you with a fluttery sensation, then you may consider grabbing one on pre-order, where it retails in Germany and Portugal for €459 and €489 respectively. Meanwhile, if the X7's 4-inch, 640 x 360 display has you begging for greater pixel density, then also up for reservation in Deutschland is Nokia's E6 QWERTY phone, featuring a 2.46-inch, 326ppi screen that goes toe-to-toe with Apple's Retina Display. While the display size isn't stellar, it's one way to measure the cost of a physical keyboard -- the other method is €429. Either way, if you're hoping to ride Symbian's wave to the very end, these two handsets will go kilometers toward actualizing that dream. Update: Looks like pre-orders are also available in Italy. [Thanks, Simone] [Thanks, Jack]
