Today, the 50th edition of the consumer electronics show IFA in Berlin is starting. Until coming Wednesday, September 8th, more than 1,423 exhibitors are showing consumer electronics and home appliances on the exhibition site. Key themes on display at the IFA 2010 include HDTV, 3D TV, the networked home, TV/internet convergence and mobile media. One of the highlights is the new Android tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab which the manufacturer presented on Wednesday at the SoHo house in Berlin. In the home appliances sector, the focus is on design, ease-of-use and ergonomics. Other important trends cutting across market segments and discussed in conference sessions are digital lifestyles, smart homes, and energy efficiency. Here is some more information for visitors of the IFA 2010 show.

The Starbucks Coffee Company offers free WiFi in 140 coffee houses in Germany. Smartphone, netbook and notebook users can access the Internet for up to two hours without being charged for it - accept for the coffee or cake they order at Starbucks. Starbucks guests need only bring a mobile, wireless-enabled device and connect to the BT Openzone hotspot at the Starbucks coffee house. Customers of British Telecom can use the BT MobileXpress clients to establish a secure connection to their corporate network and access their e-mails, files and applications as if they were in their office. BT MobileXpress does also provide them with hassle-free access to more than 100,000 public hotspots throughout Germany, e.g. in hotels, restaurants or shops.

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.

The Apple iPhone 4 is now available in Germany. Unlike in most other countries, there is one mobile phone provider in Germany having the exclusive rights for selling the iPhone 4. This means, in this country users can actually buy an iPhone 4 with Net-lock at the shops of operator Telekom (T-Mobile) when they also enter into an agreement with an initial term of two years only. However, there are some other ways to get an Apple iPhone 4 in Germany.

The FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa has finally kicked off. Soccer fans in Germany can watch the games on TV at home, on big screen in a pub or via live stream on the web. In this overview you will find all the information you need to watch the World Cup matches live in Germany: Public and commercial broadcasting stations covering the tournament, providers selling web and TV sticks to PC and laptop users, web radio stations with live coverage and podcasts as well as locations of public showings in Berlin and Hamburg.

A small crowd gathered at the Media Markt store at Alexa mall in Berlin (close to Alexanderplatz) to buy the Apple iPad on the first day of sale. However, you could still see the running of a few hasty Apple fans and even one guy tripping. Media Markt did not say how many iPad devices they had in store today, it might already be sold out.

This weekend I exchanged my cell phone for my camera and hit the road for Kreuzberg, that quarter of Berlin that is famous for its multicultural life and spirit. Just as every other year the Carnival of Cultures is presenting the cultural and ethnic diversity of Berlin and promoting the peaceful coexistence of its different cultures. Members of Berlin’s ethnic communities make their cultures – traditional or modern – visible to Berliners and Berlin visitors equally. As home to more than 450,000 people from around the world Berlin is the most international city in Germany. Here are some of my impressions of this year’s street parade.

The iPhone App by Berlin recommendation platform Townster is available for free and does two things for users: It helps them find the good places to eat and drink in Berlin, and it includes a game that should make going out even more fun. Via GPS, the app lists restaurants, cafés, fast food joints, bars, and pubs in the users’ immediate surroundings and shows them on a map, including location details and user reviews.

Finding out where the next party is, how to get to the next shopping center or what the old building in front of you is – with a smartphone at hand you always have access to information you need on your way. All you need is an adequate mobile data plan and the right apps installed on your handheld. We present ten apps for the Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad that help Berliners and Berlin visitors to get around. At the end of this article you will find recommendations to free WiFi hotspots in Berlin and to cheap mobile data plans (prepaid and postpaid) with a short minimum term commitment of German providers.

Discount provider Simsay has cut the price per minute for mobile phone calls to home phones in Berlin. At least until the end of May, users of the prepaid SIM card of Simsay pay only EUR 0.019 per minute when calling a landline number beginning with the prefix 030 with their mobile. For mobile phone calls over the network of operator E-Plus to other home phones to other mobil phones in Germany or for checking voice mail Simsay still charges EUR 0.089 per minute, for calls between Simsay subscribers EUR 0.059 per minute. When sending SMS within Germany users of a Simsay prepaid SIM card pay EUR 0.089 or EUR 0.059 per message.