There have been lots of rumors about the tablet PC Samsung Galaxy Tab. Now, we know: It is real. Today, Samsung has presented the Galaxy Tab at the consumer electronics show IFA 2010 in Berlin. It will be available in October at all four operators’ stores in Germany with and without plan. Without plan the purchase price for the Galaxy Tab with 16 GB storage capacity will be probably less than the recommended retail price of € 799.00. Later on, there will also be a 32 GB version of the mobile device. I had the opportunity to take a closer look at the Android 2.2 (Froyo) tablet yesterday night. Here is a short review of the Galaxy Tab.

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.

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.

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.

Mobile phone users can now order the new Symbian 3 smart-phone Nokia N8 in Germany. At the Nokia web store it is available for € 479.00, but it will not be delivered before September. Other web stores in Germany alreday list the Nokia N8 as well. Here purchase prices start at € 440.00 without contract. This week I met Nokia in Berlin and had the opportunity to take a first look at the N8 and I want to share my first impressions of the smart-phone running on the new operating system Symbian 3. For Nokia fans going to buy a new smart-phone with good multi-media, social networking and messaging features it could be worthwhile to wait for two more months because the N8 shows that Nokia is back on the right track.

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.

Since June 24th the Apple smart-phone iPhone 4 is available in Germany. As before, the operator Telekom (T-Mobile) has the exclusive marketing rights for the new Apple iPhone in this country. Telekom is offering both versions of the iPhone 4 with 16 GB and 32 GB storage capacity for subsidized purchase prices between € 1.00 and € 399.95 only to customers entering or renewing a contract with a term commitment of 24 months. But one month after the iPhone 4 has gone on sale there are some mobile phone providers in Germany offering micro SIM cards with prepaid price plans to iPhone 4 users – here is a short overview.

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.

It really surprised me: My article about how I got mobile Internet access via UMTS in Denmark during my last vacations in April attracted interest of many readers. Since in that article I only described one prepaid plan (“Bredband-2-GO-Cash”) for surfing the web over the mobile network of Danish operator TDC, this time I will offer some kind of overview of several prepaid price plans for mobile Internet access in Denmark. The following prepaid starter packages of TDC, 3.dk and One Mobile can be bought by any visitor in Denmark taking his or her notebook or netbook with him or her at the operators’ stores, at supermarkets or at gas station.

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.