The week in gadgets


5 Sep 2011

A look at gadget happenings, as Germany bans marketing of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 but lifts restrictions against the sale of classic shooter Doom. iOS 5 and iCloud could also launch soon.

Apple wins injunction against Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, pulled from IFA floor

Apple won another injunction against Samsung, forcing the Korean company to remove demo models of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 from European consumer electronics show IFA.

Bloomberg reports that a Dusseldorf court banned the sales and marketing of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 in Germany on 2 September. Samsung had to remove preview models of the device at the IFA this past weekend.

Samsung said it would pursue all options to make it available again in Germany.

It’s the latest in a number of injunctions granted to Apple against Samsung’s products in Europe, including the Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung Galaxy Ace.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 was only recently announced and features a Super AMOLED screen along with a 1.4GHz dual core processor.

Germany finally lifts restrictions on sales for Doom

While German tech fans may not see the Samsung Galaxy 7.7 any time soon, they can console themselves with the news that classic shooter Doom will now be made available to the general public in the country.

The rating on Doom has been dropped in Germany, allowing it to be sold across any retailer in the country 17 years after its release.

Joystiq reports that the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons previously indexed both Doom and Doom 2.

This meant it was in the same restriction category as pornography so the game could not be sold in general retailers. The rating has now been dropped to USK 16+.

Germany is known to have strict games classification laws and recently indexed Gears of War 3 in this category.

An appeal against the index can be made after 10 years. The first Doom was released in 1993 and the sequel came out in 1994.

Apple Store’s running iOS 5 and iCloud training, launch imminent?

Reports suggest Apple is training its staff on how to use iOS 5 and iCloud, suggesting the release of the next version of its mobile OS and cloud service could happen soon.

9to5 Mac reports Apple usually runs iOS update training for its Apple Store staff a few weeks before it’s released.

Apple Store staff may also have gotten detailed information on Apple’s iCloud service. Apple previously said iCloud would launch alongside iOS 5 due to how heavily it’s integrated into the OS.

Photo: Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

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