With the Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) Blackberry users automatically receive emails from web-based POP3 and IMAP accounts on their a Blackberry smart-phone. In Germany, this Blackberry service is provided through a mobile phone service provider which means Blackberry smart-phone users have to book a specific tariff option in order to use the email push of the Blackberry Internet Service. Here is a short overview of mobile phone providers in Germany offering BIS, of the monthly charges and included services of the Blackberry tariff options and of the prerequisites for booking a Blackberry tariff option.

Sure, you can watch the matches of the German football Bundesliga on TV: Telekom via IPTV (“Entertain”) and Sky via satellite and TV cable (“Welt” and Fußball Bundesliga”) are offering live broadcasts of all games of the Bundesliga. But what about when you are not at home or in a pub but in a parc or on the way instead? Here is a short overview of how to watch live streams of the German football Bundesliga on your mobile.

A new mobile network test by Stiftung Warentest shows: Overall voice quality in Germany is quite good even though there are still a few rural spots without phone coverage. But there are considerable differences between networks when it comes to mobile data transmission rates.

I don’t know of any other construction or work of art that stands for the idea of freedom as much as the Statue of Liberty in New York. It symbolizes the American Dream, that anybody can make it if he or she just tries hard enough. The German mobile phone provider Mobilcom-Debitel uses this symbolic power and promotes its price plan “Free” and its mobile phone and service offers with a portraiture the Statue of Liberty and other “liberty ingredients”.

Tonight, the first mobile phone manufacturers will show their upcoming smart-phones at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We will get to see devices such as the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play or the LG Optimus 3D, just to name two examples. I am visiting Mobile World Congress and will give you a short overview of the most important announcements after the show. For the time being, here is a tip for people looking for an good pay as you go tariff for connecting to the web in Spain via GPRS or UMTS.

Google will start its controversial Street View service with its navigable 360-degree photo maps in 20 cities in Germany this year, the Californian company has announced. This service integrated into Google Maps will give users the opportunity to explore cities virtually, to retrieve local directions, to find a new apartment, house or property, or to check the maps and photos for vacation planning. At the beginning, Google Street will be available in Germany for these cities: Berlin, Bielefeld, Bochum, Bonn, Bremen, Cologne, Dortmund, Dresden, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfort/Main, Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig, Mannheim, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Wuppertal. But unlike in the United States and in 22 other countries around the world, some people in Germany see Street View as an interference with their privacy in an unacceptable way. Some do also think that Google Street View with its detailed street level maps may have potential applications for thieves or terrorists. The strange thing is: According to Google, Germans have already become loyal users of the Street View service.

On the one hand, it makes life easier for mobile Internet users. On the other hand, it is potential cost trap for smartphone users who don’t about this and who don’t make the nessecary arrangements in time. Subscribers of a cell phone plan of German operator O2 Germany do not need to configure the mobile Internet access by themselves. They can access the web via GPRS or UMTS over the O2 Germany network with any access point name (APN) or even without any APN.

Soccer fans traveling to South Africa for watching the games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup should leave the SIM cards of their regular mobile phone provider at home - because of high roaming charges for outgoing and incoming calls as well as for mobile data services. At teltarif.de we have found out: Subscribers of a cell phone plan of one of the German operators Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, E-Plus or Germany pay as much as € 2.55 per minute when calling their family back at home from South Africa. For incoming calls in South Africa German operators charge up to € 2.00 per minute. A less expensive way to keep in touch with family and friends at home while visiting South Africa during the 2010 FIFA World Cup from June, 11th to July, 11th is to buy a prepaid SIM card of a South African provider.

Mobile data roaming fees are still prohibitive. While flat rate tariffs of German providers for accessing the internet over a mobile network can be booked for monthly charges as low as EUR 10.00, in other countries mobile internet users pay EUR 1.95 per megabyte or much more with their German mobile data plan. Thanks to the European Commission, there will be less risk of enormous expenses soon. As of July 1st, European mobile phone providers have to set up a cost limit of EUR 59.50 per month for mobile data roaming within the European Union. Mobile internet users can already benefit from this cost limit for mobile data services when being in another country of the European Union. However, they have to request their mobile phone provider to activate this cost limit feature.

Because of high roaming charges, prepaid SIM cards of domestic providers are a good choice when making mobile phone calls in another country. Usually, these prepaid price plans come without any minimum term or any monthly fee and users are only charged when actually making a phone call. Thus, tourists, travelers, au-pairs or exchange students can even take the prepaid SIM card back home and use it again when visiting the country next time. When being in Germany, there is a broad range of prepaid price plans offering low rates for mobile phone calls within Germany and for international mobile phone calls. However, some of them require a minimum turnover by the customer.