In Germany, five different smart-phones running the new Microsoft operating system Windows Phone 7 will be launched at the end of October (probably October 21st). While smart-phones from the device-makers HTC (HD7, 7 Mozart and 7 Trophy), LG (7 Optimus) and Samsung (Omnia 7) will be available at stores of the mobile operators Telekom (T-Mobile), Vodafone, O2 Germany and E-Plus, Windows Phone 7 handsets from Dell will not appear in stores in Germany. Select models of HTC, LG and Samsung will also be available at Microsoft Store locations and from Amazon. This article gives you an overview of the features and retail prices of the first Windows Phone 7 smart-phones in Germany.

With the iPad, Apple has not only launched a new product but also introduced a new device category – the tablet. There might have been similar devices of other manufacturers before – think of the Nokia 770 or the Nokia N800 – but the Apple iPad is the first tablet offering a great user experience and special content for consumation. At IFA 2010 we have seen lots of other tablets already available at stores or being launched soon. The crowd of so-called iPad killers is led by the Samsung Galaxy Tab which can also be used as a regular mobile phone. Names, features, and purchase prices – this article gives you an overview of tablets currently or soon available in Germany.

Smaller, lighter and less expensive – the tablet PC Camangi Webstation 171 might be an alternative to the Apple iPad. It offers a 7-inch resistive LCD touch-screen with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, runs on Android OS 1.5 and can be used for browsing the web or as a music player, a video player, an e-book reader or a digital picture frame. For accessing the Internet at hotspots it supports WiFi b/g. Users can also connect an USB surf stick to the Camangi Webstation 171 and surf the web over mobile networks via GPRS or UMTS (3G). The retail price of the Camangi Webstation 171 is € 299.00, but some web stores in Germany already sell it for purchase prices beginning at € 179.00. This review on the Camangi Webstation 171 shows whether that’s a good investment.

Is that another iPhone? Nope, it just looks like one. It might have been coincidence that Samsung invited me to come Munich to a presentation of the Samsung Galaxy S I9000 smart-phone the very same day that Apple launched the iPhone 4 in Germany. But I don’t believe this – the Samsung Galaxy S seems to be too much a copy of the Apple iPhone. But, heck, I am not accusing Samsung of plagiarism. Lots of cell phone manufacturers have picked up the ideas and concepts that made the iPhone a success story. Since its launch the Apple phone has changed the smart-phone world dramatically and the users have benefited from that. The Samsung Galaxy S is just one example of how simple to use a smart-phone with such a broad range of features can be. Here is my short review of the new Samsung smart-phone and some information on how to buy it in Germany at a comparably low purchase price.

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.

I am not sure whether you can really count on what the German tablet PC manufacturer Neofonie has announced recently. We still have in mind the Neofonie press conference in April when journalists could only watch but not touch the WeTab because the tablet PC being introduced was not working at that time. However, Neofonie has now confirmed that first WeTab devices have been handed out to developers for testing. The official launch of the WeTab in Germany should happen in the middle of September (probably on September 19th). Interested users can already pre-order the Neofonie tablet PC at the Amazon web store or at the Media Markt website. Amazon and Media Markt are both offering the WeTab for € 449.00 and the WeTab 3G for € 569.00.

The HTC Desire is certainly one of the best Android smart-phones available right now. It offers a large number of functions and applications as well as a powerful processor, and it is easily operated. On the other hand, camera, music player and battery performance could be better. German operator Vodafone is selling the HTC Desire for € 479.90 without contract. At O2 Germany stores the HTC Desire is available for € 509.00. At Telekom (T-Mobile) stores buyers will have to pay € 449.00 for the Android smart-phone when he or she does not agree to a new cell phone plan with long term commitment. German web stores offer the HTC Desire for purchase prices beginning at around € 450.00.

The Android 2.1 (Eclair) smart-phone Vodafone 845 is now available at Vodafone stores in Germany. Due to its comparably low purchase price of € 129.90 without a Vodafone contract, the Vodafone 845 is a touch-screen smart-phone for new starters or for penny pinchers. As a contract phone with a “Superflat Internet” plan, purchase prices of the Vodafone 845 begin at € 1.00 at Vodafone stores. Except for at the Vodafone web store, it is also possible to buy the new Android smart-phone with a Vodafone prepaid SIM (“CallYa”) for € 139.80. The prepaid starter package includes the cell phone, the Vodafone SIM card and calling credit of € 10.00.

Small but nice – that’s my impression after having tested the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini of the Xperia multi-media smartphone series. Obviously, the small size of the cell phone compels comprises – the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini fits into any pocket but is not suited for all smartphone application. But don’t be fooled: The X10 Mini is a powerful device despite its small size. Read in this review what I like and what I don’t like about the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini.

The Android smartphone Samsung Galaxy S I9000 is now available at stores in Germany. Web stores offer it for purchase prices beginning at € 465.00 including delivery. O2 Germany has been the only German network operator announcing the Samsung Galaxy S as being available in its shops at the end of this month. But eventually mobile phone users will find this touch-screen smartphone of manufacturer Samsung at all other network operators’ stores as well. In this article, I am summarizing my first impressions of this phone after having tested it for two days.