It’s not just a Swiss thing. German Mac site macnews.de is waiting for movies on the iTunes Store — like the rest of the Mac community there.

The site notes that, for the first time, there’s a movie category in the German iTunes Store. It says “coming soon” — hence the lack of content — but the infrastructure seems there.

The German Mac citizenry has been on hold for iTunes movie downloads while their US counterparts were able to download away for the best part of two years. However, the wait may soon be over as Germany gets ready for the arrival of movies in the German iTunes Store.

Swiss Mac site MacPrime.ch reports that site readers have noted that the Swiss iTunes Store now has a placeholder in place for films.

This appears along with a noticeable COMING SOON:

iTunes now has a variety of movie title for you to discover and download, as well as many that you can pre-order now so you’ll be the first to get them when they become available. In addition to the newest releases, pre-order classic films that wil soon be making their way to iTunes.

As our reports also show, this is not just a Swiss thing; it looks like Germany will also be in queue for iTunes movies.

There’s no idea when the Swiss Mac citizenry will be entertained with iTunes Silver Screen treats, but hey, at least it’s in the works — and the foundations are there!

Apple and SoftBank will bring the iPod to Japan, so goes the news. In the meantime, some of us are left wondering with what’s to happen to DoCoMo, Japan’s largest telco.

NTT DoCoMo’s Shiuchiro Ichikoshi was quoted by MacNews.de as saying that NTT DoCoMo will do nothing — for the moment.

However, NTT DoCoMo’s still interested in bringing some other touchscreen phones to the Japanese market, including the new Prada mobile phone and the new Sharp SH906i.

Technorati Tags: BeiMac Union, Global Mac News, Japan
Source: Local with references (MacNews.de)
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A bit startling, to think: is the Apple Expo in 2008 going to be an Expo sans Apple? MacBidouille thinks so.

And why will we be witness to an Apple Expo 2008 without Apple (in which case, what’s the “Apple” bit doing in the name, we wonder)? The answer: Steve Jobs prefers throwing in the money for an Apple Store, not for a big Macworld-ish event.

An Apple Expo without Apple will seem like a massive hole, with the number of interested exhibitors most likely to nosedive.

Technorati Tags: BeiMac Union, Global Mac News, France
Source: Local with references (MacBidouille)
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German site MacUp has news that the documentary Welcome to Macintosh, the documentary “for the rest of us”, is expected to land in Germany four months after its US debut.

The film is expected to be shown at the Globians documentary festival in Potsdam in mid-August, and is also expected to make a debut in early September in Berlin.

The German Mac community is one of the more active Mac communities in Europe.

Technorati Tags: BeiMac Union, Global Mac News, Germany
Source: Local with references (MacUp)
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The keitai (mobile phone) culture in Japan is alive and well, and beginning later this year, it’ll have everyone’s favorite Apple icon stuck on as well. Thanks to the efforts of SoftBank Mobile, Japan’s getting the iPhone later in 2008.

SoftBank Mobile just announced that they have signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone into Japan “later this year”. It’s interesting to note that this will most likely be a 3G phone, since SoftBank Mobile is a 3G-only carrier.

No further details of the iPhone intro were made public, including availability, price and other details.

Previously, DoCoMo was rumored to bring the iPhone into Japan.

Technorati Tags: BeiMac Union, Global Mac News, Japan
Source: Local with references (SoftBank Mobile)
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MacPrime.ch reports on some new Swiss Mac innovations in the making.

Recently, the Swiss Dashboard Gallery grew to 49 widgets, with 4 new Widgets uploaded (xt:ShopStat, To Do, Wintersportfotos and ProVoc Dashboard Widget).

12 new applications were also added, and the Swiss App gallery now has already 35 applications.

Technorati Tags: BeiMac Union, Global Mac News, Switzerland
Source: Local with references
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Insanely Great Mac has an article about the Mac “going to Moscow”, the capital of the Russian Federation. Apple’s product availability and marketing tactics are getting much-needed upgrades as 1 Infinite Loop aims for a bigger slice of the world’s biggest country.

Apple’s marketing style has not made big inroads into the Russian market or consumers’ minds, the article says. There’s no indigenous Mac fan base, as there is in many parts of the world, and consumers need convincing to pay the kinds of prices Apple is asking.

But iPods and Apple TV are already available in Russia and Apple has also localized interface elements for the market, including Google Maps for Russia on the iPod Touch.

Unfortunately, the pricing isn’t cheap; in fact, prices are above US levels. The 8 GB iPod touch sells for RUR 12,950 or USD 510; a MacBook Air will go for the equivalent of USD 2,740 — around a thousand more dollars in Russia.

It’s important to note that the average Russia per capita income tops at out USD 4,000 at present. And while quite a number of “new Russian” can afford Think Different gear, it may be difficult for the average Russian to grab a new MacBook “just like that”.

Technorati Tags: BeiMac Union, Global Mac News, Russia
Source: Local with references
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MacNotes.de notes that in the 11 weeks following the launch of the iPhone in Germany, 70,000 phones were sold. The announcement was made Saturday, January 25, 2008.

The head of T-Mobile Germany has also stated that the iPhone is “by far the most sold multimedia device in T-Mobile’s portfolio” — despite the fact that the 70K marker was reached in France in just one month.

Apple announced that 4 million iPhones were sold around the World at Macworld 2008, and that they remain confident in reaching the 10 million goal by late 2008.

Technorati Tags: BeiMac Union, Global Mac News, Germany
Source: Local with references
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MacNews.de reports that an Apple Pro Series event will be held in Berlin on February 6, 2008.

Topics will cover web design, 3D animation, broadcasting, podcasting and other topics. The event is free but requires registration.

Demos, workshops, trainings and an included lunch form part of the entire event, which lasts from 09:30 through to 16:00.

Also part of the event will be Final Cut Studio, iLife and iWork.

Technorati Tags: BeiMac Union, Global Mac News, Germany
Source: Local with references
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