I am not in agreement on your comments about Germany on this article.

Just from my daily experience and without any concrete data: 
it seems for me that throughout Europe (Except for the UK) most people use smartphones but not the high-end/cutting edge ones. This is different in the UK in my experience.
It is a good question to wonder why are europeans not so interested in upgrading their phones as eagerly as other cultures (chinese,koreans, colombians, americans..etc). It seems to me that the price is not hte problem.

With respect to Germany this is mostly a cultural thing, Germans tend to save, they do not replace something that still works(i.e: gps).To extend my point, look at the use of credit cards/debit cards, in Germany you are expected to carry cash with you. In the UK/Colombia/Asia/USA you can pretty much pay a bottle of water with debit anywhere, nobody cares.

On your note about people talking on public transportation, this is also a cultural difference, in Germany you are expected to be quiet on public transportation(just like in Japan), when you commute in morning, you can see people talking just as much as needed and trying to be quiet.
This is different in other places(Colombia, UK..)

Is internet there more expensive than the rest of the world?
I totally disagree, I remember having an ultra fast connection at home for less than 10€ a month(Back when I lived there). And just checking 02, I can see an lte plan for 4gs for roughly 15€(o2 being one of those expensive providers)

Now, I agree that Germany is not wifi friendly, you can barely find public wifi’s at cafes, that’s a point, and that is something that I hate.