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Apple’s iPad set to land in Sweden in November

Apple plans to launch its iPad tablet computer in Sweden in November, according to media reports, but the company's choice of mobile operator remains unclear.

Published: 28 September 2010 11:33 CEST

Apple's iPad set to land in Sweden in November

The device has been on sale in the United States since April 3 and has since been rolled out in 19 other markets. The company sold 3 million iPads within the first 80 days of the launch in the US.

“We still do not yet know how Apple will distribute the iPad,” Thomas Ekman, mobile operator Tele2’s retail director, told newspaper Dagens Industri on Tuesday.

It also remains unclear how much Apple will charge for the devices in Sweden. The base model price is $499 in the US, lower than pre-release estimates.

The arrival of the iPad is good news for Swedish companies involved in making applications for mobile devices.

“We started with a pilot project before the iPad was launched because we knew this was coming,” Dinuke Abeysekera, the Swedish head of mobile solutions at IT service company Tieto, told IDG.se.

Tieto got started early with the device, initiating a pilot project with an iPad solution for health care which has been well-received by several Swedish hospitals and will be tested this fall.

However, interest in the new Apple tablet computer comes from many sources, according to Tieto.

“We also work with media companies and companies such as elevator manufacturers that may have daily procedures for sending inspection reports to different places,” said Abeysekera.

Ten employees at Tieto’s Swedish operations work on mobile solutions.

Separately, Sogeti, a subsidiary of consulting, technology and outsourcing giant Capgemini, will open an app centre in Stockholm next month employing 10 staff.

That number is expected to double within a year thanks to the explosive growth in smartphones and the interest in the iPad and other tablet PCs, IDG.se reported.

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Hundreds of German banks make Apple Pay service available for first time

Photo: DPA

It’s been a year since the launch of Apple Pay in Germany, and significantly more consumers are now able to use the mobile payment service than ever before.

READ ALSO: Apple Pay finally launches in cash-loving Germany

On Tuesday, 371 out of a a total of 379 Germans savings banks made the service available for a total of 50 million customers.

Commerzbank, Norisbank, and LBBW (Landesbank Baden-Württemberg) are among the banks now offering the use of the service to their clients.

Integration of popular girocard system still in the works

As is typical for German banks, only credit cards and debit cards issued by the banks themselves can be integrated into the service.

A system which uses the very popular girocard, previously known as the EC card, is still in the works. This interbank network and debit card service connects virtually all German ATMs and banks.

The logo of the popular girocard brand, formerly know as EC-Karte. Photo: DPA.

Jennifer Bailey, the head of Apple Pay, said that the service will be integrated into the girocard system in the coming year.

Extra security

Apple Pay allows customers to pay using the iPhone or Apple Watch as if they were using a contactless card. The payment method also applies for internet purchases.

Users are able to unlock and approve the transactions through face identification or fingerprint scanning technology. Bailey emphasized that this technology ensures that the fraud rate is virtually zero with Apple Pay.

Contactless payment at the cash register relies on the NFC chip technology. NFC stands for “near-field communication,” and works by allowing various devices equipped with the technology to exchange data. Apple's Jennifer Bailey gives a presentation about Apple Pay in Cupertino, CA earlier this year. Photo: DPA.

It is especially secure due to the fact that communication between devices is only possible within about 10 centimeters.

The banks can only access the NFC via use of Apple Pay, due to Apple’s possession of the special high-security chip within their devices called the “Secure Element.”

German regulation challenges Apple’s dominance

Germany passed a law in late November that requires platform operators such as Apple to provide financial services, such as banks who use their technology, full access to the infrastructure, such as the NFC, which makes the system work in exchange for a small fee.

The law ensures that Apple’s rivals in the mobile payment market would still have access to the technology that makes it work.

The regulation is just one part of recent actions in Germany to regulate US technology companies and their market dominance.

Commerzbank was one of the banks to adopt the Apple Pay service recently. Photo: DPA.

Apple criticized the law but feels confident overall about accommodating it from a legal perspective. The company emphasized that it already provides access to the NFC chip infrastructure to financial service providers, thus meeting the requirements of the law.

“When a card is added to the Apple Wallet, banks can decide whether to use it to trigger secure payments from their own apps via NFC. No new law is necessary for that,” the statement said.

Banks ‘voting with their actions’

“Banks are voting with their actions by working with us on Apple Pay,” Bailey said of the bill, in regards to the latest additions and the development of a girocard solution. Apple’s system is still the safest way to pay with the iPhone.

“The only way to the NFC chip today is via Apple Pay,” Bailey said, expressing concern that any other system would jeopardize user data and security.

Translated by Kate Brady.

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