Top Android phones had prices on par of Apple's, please stop repeating that myth.

There are things which I don't like about Android (app permissions being the worst thing), but iOS's dull grid of icon UI is years behind it.

Google didn't just ban Google Maps on iOS.
Apple wanted more features, Google wanted to have more prominent branding in return, Apple didn't want to give that.

So they chose poor user experience just not to say "oh it's google's map apps" more prominently.

For how long does Apple ask to confirm permissions when they are requested? Wasn't it like Apple users didn't even know what an app can and can not access?

And there goes false safety feeling. Remember the Dolphin browser "calling home" to report sites visited by the users?
1) It affected both Android and iOS
2) It was discovered by Andorid users, (and Android is indeed more open)

I don't see any serious issues with Android asking user to confirm permissions, when they are actually exercised by the app. That whole article sounds more like a unfortunate marketing message by Android chief.

Shouldn't he had won the actual court battle, to set a precedent?

iPhones are like 15% market share worldwide, iPads quickly heading into that direction.
They might have sweetest part of the pie, but it's still strange to hear about "controlling position".
If anyone is in such position in that market, it's google.

I hope you were sarcastic.

Nobody can spy on entire internet.
All they could do is archive the data and have the ability to find out what was going on in particular place of interest, if needed.

Argument about secret service/police mistakes is moot, since there is only about surveillance, not about what you need to actually arrest people.

And what if you dial a wrong number and all of it is official? (i.e. court authorized it)

I'm actually working on transnational projects where UK/DE mixed crew outperforming eastern colleagues was so obvious, that management has given up on the idea.

Anyway, if servers would need to be physically located in EU, they will have to have EU crew to support them.

Someone else will decide that and if your phone was at the wrong place at the wrong time and someone misread or misinterpreted some data you're going to be the guy on the floor with assault rifles pointed at your back and your family screaming around you.

But such mistakes can happen regadless of surveillance being legal or illegal.

Oh, right, because we're not voting any representatives of ideologies that have shown no such restraint into power in Europe. Oh, wait...
Because:
a) they don't have any chance to get into power
b) if they do get that far, they can change constitution and make all that legal anyway

They do protect corporation interests, no doubt (extending "copyright" to 100 years just because rights on Elvis' songs expire, US supreme court allowing EULAs to prohibit class suits), but what does that have to do with secret services?

Living in Germany, Snowden leaks didn't bother me much (and as I've heard from "Piraten Partei" member, most voters don't care either). I'm of no interests to secret services whatsoever and if checking my emails helps them fight some !@@#ers, I don't mind.
Intent DOES matter to me and I do not think that any government in western democracies would dare misuse this power for oppressing people.

From US perspective, I can understand you guys are worried about some of the surveillance being unconstitutional, but when law is breached at that level, it's like breaking UN laws, there is no authority to punish you.

To my knowledge, US (and, actually Israel) is present at German Exchange Points (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_exchange_point) so this move is more of a gesture, rather than actual protection.

Nevertheless Merkel's move is good for EU, already because it would create more jobs in Europe, so I welcome it.

Compare Steam's prices (and DRM) to GOG's, which has lower prices and NO DRM, and uh, I'm not that sure about "abuse".
I'm delighted for no-DRM STALKER trilogy going for 14.99$ on GOG.

I'm not German, learned it when I was in mid 20th and I have no problem whatsoever pronouncing (or reading) it.
There are words I struggle with (e.g. Eichhörnchen) but these are none of them.

Also take into account that being long doesn't necessarily mean being complex, long German words are often combined out of very frequently used words, which are easy to recognize.

What you've cited are actually 4 words. Verbraucher-zentralle Bundes-verband.