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.

In my overview of low-rate pay as you go tariffs in Germany, the prepaid tariff of the Vodafone no-frills brand o.tel.o had been one the few examples without any tariff options. Now, there are four tariff options among which users of the prepaid SIM card of o.tel.o can choose.

There are still dead zones in Germany in which people have to take potluck with narrowband connections or with DSL light with a download speed of up to 384 kbps. But there is hope for people living in the country: Telekom Deutschland and Vodafone are now marketing LTE services in the 800 MHz spectrum band in some parts of Germany without DSL or cable Internet coverage. Here is a short overview of how you can get a 4G Internet connection at home and how much it will cost.

As with soldiers in step, stilettos are clacking on the brightly polished tiles. The three nurses’ uniforms consist of short white coats, bonnets, stockings and high heels. Step by step, the nurses are moving through the corridors of a hospital until they stop at the door of a cell which looks just as white and sterile as the nurses dresses. The patient is a businessman, barefooted, with his shirt open and his tie wrapped around his forehead. First part of our new series “Understanding German Ads”.

German operator Vodafone has the Apple iPhone 4 in stock again. The company writes on its web site that it will deliver the iPhone 4 within 48 hours to new buyers. In December, Vodafone had stopped taking orders for the iPhone 4 because of a supply bottleneck, interested users could only make reservations. However, with the resumption of marketing the Apple smart-phone in Germany, Vodafone has also raised purchase prices for the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3G S again.

Dear readers, we wish you a happy new year! As you have noticed we took a little break around Christmas and new year’s eve. Now we are back and will keep on offering you new information on low-priced pay as you go tariffs for mobile phone calls and mobile Internet access by smart-phone, netbook or laptop and new reviews on the latest handsets available in Germany. But first, let us look back at the most important developments in the German prepaid market in the past year.

Now that Telekom has disclosed its new iPhone plans and that Vodafone and O2 Germany have launched the iPhone as well, we get the entire picture. Reason enough for me to wrap it all up. Where can I buy an unlocked iPhone 4 or iPhone 3G S? What provider or retailer in Germany selling the iPhone 4 offers the best bargain? Where in Germany can I buy the iPhone 4 by monthly payments in case I am not able to put down the money at once? What are the best prepay price plans for iPhone users? Which mobile phone providers in Germany hand out these micro SIM cards that fit into the iPhone 4? Will I save money when I buy the iPhone 4 with SIM lock and plan? And where do I find network coverage maps for Germany? Here you will get the answers.

Telekom and Vodafone are selling the Apple iPhone 4 only with SIM or net lock and to customers who also choose one of their voice and mobile data price plans with a long minimum term commitment of 24 months. O2 Germany is the only network operator in the Germany, offering the iPhone 4 without SIM lock and without plan to its customers. The current iPhone model with 16 GB storage capacity costs € 649.00 at O2 Germany stores, the iPhone 4 32 GB costs € 769.00. This is one of the most attractive offers for people looking for an iPhone without SIM lock in order to use it with a prepaid SIM card. Here is an overview of iPhone 4 prepaid offers in Germany, including purchase prices for the Apple smart-phone at different shops and pay as you tariffs that come with a necessary micro SIM card.

In Germany Apple had partnered with only one operator for marketing the iPhone. Telekom Deutschland (former T-Mobile) has had the right to sell the Apple iPhone in Germany exclusively since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007. Telekom offered the iPhone with special voice and mobile data plans with a long term commitment of 24 months and with SIM lock only. Now, other operators such as Vodafone and O2 Germany may market the Apple iPhone in Germany. But don’t get your hopes up too soon and count on dropping purchase prices for the iPhone 4 in Germany because of more competitors selling the smart-phone – the iPhone 4 will remain high-priced. Here is an overview of the iPhone offers of Telekom, Vodafone, O2 Germany and other mobile phone providers and retailers in Germany.

German operator Vodafone has launched a new 3G web stick offer under its discount brand o.tel.o. Smart-phone, netbook and notebook users can choose between four different tariff options with 9 minutes to 9 days for charges between € 0.19 and € 9.99 for accessing the Internet over the Vodafone network in Germany via GPRS or UMTS. The maximum data transfer speed is reduced to 3.6 mbps (download). Once the booked billing cycle has expired or the data volume of 500 MB or 1 GB – according to the tariff chosen – has been used up, the web session stops automatically and the smart-phone or notebook user has to book another mobile Internet session if he or she wants to stay connected to the web.