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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 / T-Mobile demands Engadget Mobile discontinue using the color magenta
So last week Deutsche Telekom, owners of the global T-Mobile brand, sent Engadget a late birthday present: a hand-delivered letter direct from their German legal department requesting the prompt discontinuation of the use of the color magenta on Engadget Mobile. Yep, seriously.Granted, we get nastygrams from angry tech companies practically every day, but rarely regarding anything that's not some piece of news we published that they're livid about having out in the open. And irony of ironies, this whole use-of-magenta thing is precisely the topic we took up last year on behalf of DT.We spoke with David Beigie, vice president of corporate communications for T-Mobile US, who offered: "As a trademark owner, from time to time Deutsche Telekom looks at usage that could lead to confusion in the marketplace. The letter sent by DT merely outlines these perspectives and is meant to simply open a dialogue. Engadget continues to pioneer forums for discussion of wireless industry developments and innovation. T-Mobile respects the role Engadget and its readers play in advancing dialog on these important topics."So in the interest of that open dialog we've posted Deutsche Telekom's letter below, as well as a handy guide to allay any confusion should you suddenly find yourself disoriented and trying to buy your next SideKick or MDA from Engadget Mobile.P.S. -Not an early April Fool's joke.Update: We went magenta! More here. #comparechart { border: 2px solid #333; border-collapse: collapse; } #comparechart td { padding: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; margin: 0; line-height: 1.3em; } #comparechart th { font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 4px; background: #eee; } #comparechart th.mainth { border-bottom: 1px solid #333; font-size: 1.2em; } #comparechart td.red { background-color: #f08c85; } #comparechart td.green { background-color: #b3e2c4; Deutsche TelekomEngadget Mobile Cellphone carrier Yep No Distributor of telecom equipment Yep No Likely to be mistaken for T-Mobile / Deutsch Telekom We certainly hope so No Former state-owned monopoly Yep No Has something against US 3G Apparently No Has more than five friends Might not anymore Yep %Gallery-19436%
Vodafone Germany obtains restraining order against T-Mobile iPhone sales
You'll have to bear with us on this one folks as the news is a bit muffled crossing the Atlantic, language, and cultural divides, but UK-based Vodafone has reportedly received a restraining order against T-Mobile's iPhone sales in Germany. Vodafone's issue is the exclusivity contract with Apple and fee structure within T-Mobile's subscription offering. What's odd here is the language of the Dow Jones piece which claims that the Hamburg order, issued Monday is, "prohibiting the German telecommunications giant from selling Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone in Germany." That sounds like a full stop (pending appeal) of all iPhone sales in Germany. The Financial Times, however, says that the order "will not disrupt sales" as the Christmas purchases accelerate. Vodafone is framing their argument around customer choice while admitting that it's the revenue sharing model, and possibility that Nokia or Ericsson follow suit, which has prompted the legal action. At least they're not sticking their heads in the sand this time. Update: Dow Jones has now clarified the situation. A Vodafone spokesman says, "The preliminary injunction filed in Hamburg doesn't mean Telekom will have to cease marketing the product immediately." Deutsche Telekom is the parent of T-Mobile Germany. He goes on to say, "We're not taking any plans to replicate these actions anywhere else, or in the U.K."[Via Appleinsider] Read -- Dow Jones Read -- Deutsche Telekom (translated) Read -- FT
Know Your Rights: Does T-Mobile really own magenta?
Know Your Rights is Engadget's new technology law series, written by our own totally punk copyright attorney Nilay Patel. In it we'll try to answer some fundamental tech-law questions to help you stay out of trouble in this brave new world. Disclaimer: Although this post was written by an attorney, it is not meant as legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.UPDATE: This story has gotten way, way funnier -- T-Mobile's parent company, Deutche Telekom, asked Engadget Mobile to stop using magenta. No, seriously. Full details here.Hey, does T-Mobile really own magenta? I was just about to redesign my blog, and that was going to be the main color.Really? Maybe T-Mo should sue you.Come on, I've been hearing this everywhere. 1265 Diggs can't be wrong.Well, they're not wrong, they're just less than right. T-Mobile's disclaimers certainly do say that "the magenta color" is a T-Mobile trademark.So there you go! That's so stupid! The system is broken! Everyone is corrupt! How can a corporation own a color?! I've already skipped down and begun flaming!Chill out, Sparky. T-Mobile doesn't "own" anything here, least of all a color. That's the part everyone seems to have missed. T-Mobile has what appears to be a German trademark on that specific magenta color (RAL 4010, specifically) as it relates to their branding, but that doesn't really affect the average consumer.Besides, this isn't some radical new development. Lot of other companies have registered color trademarks -- Owens-Corning has a trademark on the use of pink for insulation, Tiffany & Co. has a trademark on that certain blue color it uses for jewelry boxes, and UPS has a trademark on brown. Interesting you haven't seen UPS suing Microsoft over that itty-bitty Zune thing, no?
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]
iPhone for T-Mobile Germany announcement on the way?
Ever since (and perhaps before) the iPhone hit the US market, we've been hearing rumors of an imminent European release, which was confirmed by the company many, many months ago. Of course, there's been no movement besides rampant speculation and high-school style gossiping... but that may all be changing. According to the ridiculously-respected Reuters in an article published today, the German telephone giant Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile to you and me), has inked a deal with Apple to release the iPhone in the Fatherland (AKA Germany), with an official announcement to be made next week. The report (which is still considered rumor) claims that the phones will go on sale for the initial price of €399 ($554), and that Apple and T-Mobile will split voice and data revenue generated by the phones. Additionally, Reuters says that Apple will make similar arrangements with O2 for the UK, and Orange in France. If this news is accurate, it all but squashes the Vodafone deal rumors, but still leaves questions as to whether Apple will introduce a 3G version of the iPhone when it makes its announcements. Only El-Jobso knows for sure.
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 TelekomRead - 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?
T-Mobile? Or Vodafone?
Who will win Europe's iPhone distribution deal? I've been hearing Vodafone for a long time now but today TechDigest posts that T-Mobile may have the edge. Those usual suspects, the 'unnamed sources", are back. And this time those know-it-alls are saying that T-Mobile, which is owned by Deutsche Telekom, has taken over the lead. Unfortunately, T-Mobile does not seem to have a big presence, at least according to the article, in France, Spain or Italy. Also, it's unclear whether the iPhone will have a eurowide release or be introduced in different countries in stages. There's still, what, eight months or so before the iPhone bows in Europe. Is the iPhone going to get an exclusive deal? Who do you think will be the provider? Or will there be many operators and none of this exclusive nonsense?
SmartWeb project to use P2P networks to keep drivers informed
Intelligent roadways are nothing new, as we've seen project after project (and even countries) look at varying ways to keep drivers informed whilst cruising about, but a new rendition showcased at CeBIT is looking to utilize P2P networking in order to spread pertinent information about road hazards to drivers behind the mishap. SmartWeb, which is being coordinated by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence along with a myriad of other corporations, would allow vehicles to detect hazards (such as an oil slick or road block) and pass the information on to surrounding vehicles in order to hopefully prevent accidents and give motorists ample time to locate a detour. This doesn't mark the first time P2P has been used for the betterment of mankind, and the data would reportedly be conveyed via a "dashboard screen or through a mobile handset," potentially adding yet another distraction to overload our brains while trying to remain between the blinking yellow lines. Of course, those of you with real-time traffic updates are already on top of the game, but we could definitely see this technology being marketable to thrill-seeking cops looking to pinpoint information feeds coming from speeding criminals.
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.
Microsoft IPTV makes its way to France
Europe seems next on this list for Microsoft's slow and steady rollout of IPTV, which got under way in the States around the beginning of this year. Switzerland got an early glimpse of the service in 2005, with Swisscom and Microsoft running some early tests, but their planned rollout stalled when Swisscom decided Microsoft's offering was a bit half-baked. To kick things off, Germany's Deutsche Telekom is busting out the service via their Club Internet service in France, offering HDTV, dual show watching simultaneously, and 50 hour DVR capability. Existing Club Internet customers can sign up at the end of the month, and new customers can nab the service in August. Deutsche Telekom hopes to bring the same offering to Germany sometime this summer, and Britain's BT Group is planning on Microsoft IPTV later this year. We'll have to wait and see how this Microsoft-flavored tech will fare against traditional TV offerings in Europe, especially now that HDTV is getting underway in England and elsewhere, but it could all come down to price -- which is as of yet unannounced.
