Motorola’s Moto G and Moto X no Longer Available in Germany
Thanks to a patent dispute between Motorola Deutschland, Motorola Mobility USA and the German firm LPKF, the Moto G and Moto X are no longer available in Germany. A German court in Mannheim deemed that Motorola had infringed of patents related to using laser in curved antenna designs to keep the size of smartphones down. The ruling means that Motorola’s Moto G and Moto X are no longer allowed to be sold in Germany and while it’s a surefire bet that Motorola will appeal, engineering firm LPKF’s hold on the patented technology seems pretty strong.
Google Play Gift Cards Heading to Greece, Poland and Portugal Soon
Already available throughout Europe, Google’s gift cards for the Play Store are now listed as “Coming Soon” for Greece, Poland and Portugal. If you’ve never used them before, they’re essentially prepaid credit that you can use against whatever you like in the Play Store. To see if the gift cards are available in your region, take a look at Google’s handy list here.
LG’s QuickCircle Cases to be Available from Clove in the UK for the G3
The G3 might still be working its way to shelves throughout the world, but it’s no longer that difficult to get hold of. Which is why our UK readers will be happy to hear that the Quick Circle case will be available in both variants from online retailer, Clove UK. The first variant, which will cost £24.99 will just snap onto the back cover of the G3, meanwhile the £29.99 variant will feature a replacement back to deliver a sleeker look as well as support for wireless charging as well.
Galaxy S5 Mini Available for Pre-Order at Mobile-Fun
The smaller Galaxy S5 only finally became official a little while ago, but it’s already available for pre-order in the UK. Unsurprisingly for a Samsung device, the Galaxy S5 Mini isn’t cheap, however it is available in either blue or white from Mobile-Fun for £369, with stock listed as available in two months. This is fairly pricey, but it is a for a SIM-free device, allowing you to go to whatever network you’d like.
Vodafone’s WorldTraveller Gets International Roaming Charges Under Control
The EU might well be trying their best to kill roaming charges throughout Europe, but further afield it’s up to the networks to set the prices of roaming. Three UK have done an excellent job at this with their “Feel at Home” plan which allows people to use their data and calls allowance as normal in 16 locations all over the world – including the US! Vodafone have recently announced their own plan in their WorldTraveler plan available to Pay Monthly customers. For an extra £5 a day, users can use their calls and data allowance in the USA, India, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, Ghana, Qatar and South Africa. Frankly, that’s not all that great compared to Three’s deal, but it is better than nothing. and paying an extra £35 for a week abroad is better than coming home to a massive bill, but the saving isn’t all that great. Still, it’s nice to see them do anything we suppose.
Motorola Sells a Million Smartphones in 5 Months in India
Motorola has only been back in the Indian market for around five months now, but in that short time period, the company has sold 1 Million smartphones according to the Times of India. That’s pretty impressive and while this is comprised of the Moto X, Moto G and Moto E it’s pretty clear that the Moto G is the real big seller for Motorola. Devices in India often ship with outdated software and mediocre MediaTek CPUs, meanwhile the Moto G is often cheaper and comes with the latest version of Android and a high-level build quality compared to similarly priced handsets.