Germany

News Byte

Rhapsody Arrives in U.K. and Germany Via Napster Deal

Peter Kafka in Media on January 26 at 12:01 am PT

Streaming music service Rhapsody, which has only been available in the U.S. for the last 11 years, has finally made it to Europe. The service has finished a deal to buy one-time competitor Napster’s operations in the U.K. and Germany; last fall, Rhapsody bought Napster’s U.S. assets. Rhapsody competitor Spotify isn’t in Germany yet, but industry sources expect that to change soon.

News Byte

eBay Acquires Invoicing Company in Germany

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 22, 2011 at 8:34 am PT

EBay has acquired BillSAFE, which serves 15 million accounts in Germany, after buying a minority stake in the company last year. Terms were not disclosed. With BillSAFE, PayPal customers will now be able to receive an invoice for an order, after items have been shipped and received. Because of its security benefits, purchasing by invoice is used heavily in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands, eBay says.

News Byte

Apple Wants Galaxy Tab 10.1N Banned, Too

John Paczkowski in News on November 29, 2011 at 3:11 pm PT

Samsung’s going to have to do a lot more than simply slap a metal border on its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet if it hopes to fend off Apple’s legal challenges. The iPad maker on Tuesday asked a German court to ban sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, a new version of the tablet with modifications intended to protect it from the Community Designs infringements Apple has claimed. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 22.

News Byte

Google Buys Germany’s DailyDeal for Its Daily Deals (Duh)

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on September 19, 2011 at 8:55 am PT

When Google failed to snap up Groupon, it decided to build out its own local commerce business. Now it is expanding its reach through acquisitions. The latest is DailyDeal, according to the company, a daily deals site founded in Berlin two years ago that now operates in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Previously, Google acquired Dealmap, a San Francisco-based service that aggregates deals from dozens of providers.