Ifa2007
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Orange, O2, and T-Mobile agree to iPhone revenue deals
Merely days after we caught wind of Apple's rumored discussions with Vodafone, three other European carriers became the ones to reportedly agree to Apple's terms. According to FinancialTimes, "Apple has succeeded in committing European mobile phone operators that want exclusively to sell its new iPhone to share parts of their revenues with the technology group." The contract, which was signed by T-Mobile Germany, Orange, and O2, "requires that the operators hand over to Apple ten-percent of the revenues made from calls and data transfers by customers over iPhones" -- the same chunk required of those wanting to slap that Made for iPod logo on their accessories. Unfortunately, there's no word just yet on pricing, a launch timeframe, or any other lingering deals with overseas carriers, but we could very well hear more from all sides during IFA.[Via The Boy Genius Report]
Merian rolls out 3.7-inch Scout Navigator for Europe
As the flood of new gizmos continues to pour out of IFA, a new GPS handheld has emerged for the European market. Merian's Scout Navigator touts a 3.7-inch VGA touchscreen, four to eight hours of battery life, NAVTEQ maps of Europe, and traffic notification support. Most notable, however, are the built in AudioGuides, which "automatically play when you pass by any one of more than 800 places of interest in Germany, be it in a vehicle or on foot." For those intrigued, watch for it to land next month for a staggering €779 ($1,047).[Via Messe-Berlin]
Samsung announces F8 LCD lineup at IFA
Among many other things, Samsung has unveiled its F8 series of oh-so-sexy LCDs at IFA in Berlin. Focusing on the LE46F86BD in particular, this display touts 100MHz Motion Plus technology to sharpen up those images, 1080p support, a baffling 25,000:1 contrast ratio, and a superCLEAR panel coating to boot. Furthermore, you'll find a USB 2.0 port, a trio of HDMI 1.3 sockets, an eight-millisecond response time, and CCFL backlighting. Notably, this set looks awfully similar to the 71 / 81-series that Sammy loosed last month, so the possibility of a name change to suit different markets could be the case here -- nevertheless, we'll keep an eye out for pricing and availability details.[Via PRAD, thanks Tony C.]
