italy

Apple shelves AppleCare warranty product in Italy

Apple has pulled its AppleCare warranty product from store shelves in Italy following scrutiny over the company's compliance with local consumer protection laws.

Reuters reports that Apple last week removed the product from its retail stores, and stopped providing it to its own resellers in the country. Nonetheless, the product can still be purchased from Apple's online store in the country, with mention that the paid plan adds "benefits" to the two years local buyers get under the Consumer Code.

Last December, Apple was hit with a 900,000 euro (then $1.2 million) fine for … Read more

Gangnam Style flash mob 9,000 strong storms Sicily

Times are tough economically in Europe and rates of youth unemployment are crazy-high. Sounds like the perfect conditions for an epic Italian flash mob, Gangnam Style.

You wouldn't know the continental economy has been on the brink of catastrophe for some time now by the way thousands of mostly young folks emulated the now renowned style that mocks life in an affluent Korean suburb.… Read more

Italy threatens Apple with fine, temporary closure

The story, reported here by Reuters centers around a provision of Italian law that guarantees customers free two-year warranties on electronic products.

Italy's AGCM competition and market authority has already imposed fines of 900,000 euros on divisions of Apple, which offers a paid technical support service, for failing to tell customers about their rights to free assistance.

But months after the previous fine, Apple has failed to comply with the antitrust request, the watchdog said. The company offers a free one-year guarantee scheme, which can be extended to two years on payment of a fee.

The AGCM said … Read more

Apple loses appeal in Italian AppleCare issue

Apple today lost part of its appeal in Italy involving the sale and promotion of its AppleCare service in the country.

Per Italian news site Repubblica.it (via The Next Web), Apple today lost part of its appeal, and must make changes to its localized AppleCare Web site as a result.

In December, Apple was hit with a 900,000 Euros ($1.2 million) fine for allegedly encouraging customers to purchase AppleCare, its technical support and extended warranty service. Under Italian law, the country requires companies to offer two years of technical support to product buyers, which is the same … Read more

Italy shoots down Samsung's iPhone 4S injunction attempt

The other shoe has dropped in Samsung's efforts to block sales of Apple's iPhone 4S in France and Italy.

In a decision today, an Italian judge rejected Samsung's request from early October, which asked for a block on the sales of Apple's latest iPhone in the country.

The decision follows a similar one by a French court last month, which denied Samsung's request to ban the phone in France and required the company to pay 100,000 euros worth of Apple's legal fees.

Italian news outlet ANSA today first reported the news, which was … Read more

Italy fines Apple $1.2 million over AppleCare practices

Apple has been hit with a hefty fine on charges that it misled customers.

Italy today fined Apple 900,000 euros ($1.2 million) for allegedly encouraging customers to sign up for AppleCare, the company's technical support service, without informing them that they had two years of free support after buying the product. According to Reuters, Italy requires companies to offer two years of free technical support to customers.

AppleCare is an important after-purchase revenue generator for Apple. The company offers protection plans on all of its products, but prices vary depending on the devices for which customers want … Read more

iPhone 4S to launch in Italy without Samsung ban

Samsung's campaign to keep Apple's iPhone 4S from being sold in Europe has hit a roadblock, with an Italian judge putting off making a decision until after well after the device launches in the country.

Italian news outlet Agenzia Giornalistica Italia (AGI) today reported that Milan judges denied a request from Samsung filed earlier this month to keep Apple's iPhone 4S from being sold in the country, however no ruling has been made. Instead, Apple and Samsung were given extra time to provide the court with information ahead of an additional hearing that will take place December … Read more

First Solar 'Made in EU' stamp comes with discount

First Solar has been granted the right to use "Made in EU" or "Made in Europe" on its thin-film solar panels made in Germany, the company announced Thursday.

The credential was granted based on the Conto Energia 4 (CE4) feed-in tariff program established by the Italian government as a means of getting companies to source materials and commit to manufacturing more goods from within Europe.

Of course, that does not mean all panels made by the Arizona-based company now have European-made status. The credential only applies to the company's Frankfurt, Germany facility. That plant, which … Read more

Battling to keep Venice's floodwaters at bay

VENICE, Italy--Not far beyond this famous city, just at the border between the Venice Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea, a group of concrete behemoths is under construction. A lot of very smart people think they will be part of the solution that could save the island town from drowning.

The notion that Venice is sinking has been around for a long time, and in fact, it has lost 23 centimeters of land over the last 100 years. But these days, it faces a troika of what may be more insidious challenges: rising tides that each year bring more and more … Read more