Yesterday wireless carriers Vodafone and O2 started offering the iPhones in Germany. Previously Apple's handset had been carried exclusively by T-Mobile. Nowadays the carrier continues to sell the device. The iPhone is offered in a variety of plans and contracts; one of them even allows to buy the phone for 1 euro.

German version of Apple's Online Store also started offering iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, which are contract-free and unlocked so they can "work with the wireless carrier of your choice". The site also reminds the iPhones work only with GSM networks, and the latest generation of handsets requires a micro-SIM card.

The prices for iPhones in German retail stores are next:

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Apple on Tuesday reported that its white model of iPhone 4 was delayed again until spring 2011. As usual, the company didn’t offer any reasonable reasons for the delays.
But yesterday Cult of Mac web-site posted some information provided by an anonymous source "with connections at Apple". The source claims that the main reason is iPhone 4’s white glass, which influences pictures quality.

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As you remember, last week Apple released new lineup of MacBook Airs, which are now available for order on the company's site. At the start every model had been shipped within 24 hours.

But from this day Apple shows shipping time for new orders of the $999 11.6-inch MacBook Air from 1 to 3 business days, which leads to a thought that the demand for the entry-level Apple's netbook has been very high in the first days of sales.

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After almost ten years it appears that after Microsoft's acquisition of Halo's creator Bungie Steve Jobs called Steve Ballmer to express his anger on this deal. Here is what said former vice president of game publishing at Microsoft Ed Fries in his recent interview to Develop:

"...[Jobs] was mad at Ballmer and phoned him up and was angry because we'd just bought the premier Mac game developer and made them an Xbox developer."

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New app "PBS for iPad" allows to watch the most popular PBS programs for free and with minimal interruption. It features 300+ videos, including previews, segments and even full-length episodes. Among key features:

• Ability to purchase whole seasons or episodes;
• Sharing videos on Twitter, Facebook and email with friends;
• Learn more about specific episodes or programs on PBS;
• Access to TV schedule of PBS;

The app is free and can be downloaded here.

As you remember, a year ago Apple purchased a property in Maiden, North Carolina, for its data center. It was reported that the deal was about 183 acres of land, but today John Paczkowski from Digital Daily discovered that actually Apple owns another 70 acres on the other side of the street. The information was provided by Catawba County Geospatial Information Services.

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In a recent interview to Forbes the president of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime shared his thoughts on Apple. He said that iPod and iPhone are perceived as devices for casual games in most cases and that Apple is a serious threat for his company.

“Do I think that in the near term they can hurt us more than Microsoft? Absolutely.”

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Apple on Tuesday reported that it once again delayed availability of the white iPhone 4 until spring 2011. The Apple spokeswoman put out a statement, where the company apologized for disappointing its customers. When he was asked why the white phone would again be delayed, he declined to comment.

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Recently quite controversial rumors appeared in the Internet. They claim that Apple is going to acquire Sony, and even Facebook. But the company probably isn’t buying Sony, Facebook, or Disney, or Google, AT&T and etc. Apple isn’t going to spend its huge money, because the company isn’t even interested in manufacturing, social networking, and studio plays. We may only suppose that these rumors probably started after Steve Jobs said Apple is saving their $51 billion bank account for making 1 or 2 strategic acquisitions in the future.

Recently Apple updated its own Apple Store application for the very first time. And you may find a little surprise in version 1.1. If you look at the “Reserve Products” screen, you may notice that the much delayed white iPhone 4 is now available for reserving. Only for reserving! So, who knows, may be it is just some sort of glitch in the system, or evidence that sooner or later the white iPhone will be available for purchase.

Duracell Toy conducted a survey, which shows that the iPhone 4, iPad and iPod Touch are the top three spots on kids' wish lists. The iPhone 4 comes in at the top of the list, followed by the iPod touch and the iPad. 17 per cent of five to eight year-olds, 50 per cent of nine to 12 year-olds, and 66 per cent of 13 to 16 year-olds put Apple items at the top of their lists. So, 39 per cent of children, who took part in this survey, prefer to receive an Apple gadget as a Christmas gift.

This Tuesday Microsoft released Office 2011 for Mac, which has a bunch of new features and Microsoft Outlook with totally redesigned interface.

General manager of the MS Office for Mac team Eric Wilfrid explained that many Mac users still want to use Microsoft office, though Microsoft and Apple are serious competitors in this field.

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New Bloomberg report reveals that Apple has made a contract with Unisys Corp to help it sell its products to enterprise and government clients, so now Unisys also provides "maintenance and other services to companies and government agencies that purchase Apple devices."

The history of Unisys is similar to the IBM's one. Nowadays it is a provider of IT-services for huge corporations, airports, the FAA, TSA, IRS, though 30 years ago it was a mainframe hardware vendor.

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Barron's rumor that Apple may be considering an acquisition of Sony, which appeared last Saturday, has gained more steam. According to Reuters, today the stocks of an electronic giant raised up to 3% at one point.

Analysts are skeptical on whether the rumors may be true as Apple can only execute a hostile takeover which will lower its reputation and lead to negative consequences on the Japanese market.

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Now Apple is offering up to 2 lines of text that can be engraved for free on the back of the iPad. The service may be ordered as an "Apple Online Store exclusive" on Apple.com.

To engrave the iPad customers should select the desired model and all the accessories they want in the online store. Apple also warns that engraved iPads are non-returnable so those who want to have a text on its back should double-check the spelling.

The service will take some time so the shipping time will be prolonged to "1-3 shipping days".

Previously Apple was engraving only iPods, and the rumors on expansion of this service for iPad arose in July. Now they are confirmed.