Samsung Captivate Glyde headed for AT&T

Here’s a photo chaser for all the high-end hardware rumors that have been breaking lately. The phone you see below is the Samsung Captivate Glyde – not to be confused with the Captivate, or, uh, the Glyde. Sources pin this one as a Q1 2012 release for AT&T. Details are scarce, but from the looks of it,  we’ve got a 3.5-4-inch QWERTY slider on our hands. Based on the name alone, this may be an updated AT&T version of the Epic 4G.

The tipster says that the phone has an 8 megapixel camera, and you can easily see a front-facing camera peeking through the glass on the front of the phone. Other than that, we really don’t know anything about the upcoming slider – no processor info, no storage, nothing. From the icons and the general look of the OS we can tell that it’s running Samsung’s Sense UI over what’s probably Gingerbread, but the mismatched wallpaper suggests that this one is indeed a ways off from release.
AT&T could use a solid Android slider phone – the only ones being actively marketed are the decidedly low-end Pantech Crossover and Sharp FX Plus. Technically you could add the XPERIA Play, but as anyone who’s ever played a console RPG knows, entering text on a gamepad is no picnic. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more news on the Samsung Captivate Glyde as the rumored release date gets closer.
[via Phandroid]

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Nexus Prime hits the FCC with AT&T and T-Mobile bands

What exclusive? Thanks to a forum tipster, we now know that the Samsung GT-I9250, which is thought to be the Nexus Prime, is passing through the FCC’s wireless certification process. What’s confusing about it is that this particular model features a GSM radio with wireless bands for both AT&T and T-Mobile. According to all the leaks and rumors heard thus far, the Nexus Prime was supposed to be a Verizon exclusive  – that was thought to be part of the reason the carrier was the only one in the United States to pass up on the Samsung Galaxy S II.

The device being examined by the Federal Communications Commission lacks any sort of CDMA radio, ruling out a universal model a la the recently-announced iPhone 4S. Unfortunately, it also lacks any HSPA+, aka “4G” bands, which is odd, since there’s already a 4G model of the Nexus S. A possible answer is that we’re talking about two separate phones, perhaps with different code names – Nexus Prime, Galaxy Nexus, Droid Prime and Droid Nexus have all been bandied about lately. At this point it’s difficult to say which carrier might get the phone first, or how long it might be exclusive to any carrier.
The only thing we can say with any certainty is that Samsung has a new high-profile Android phone in the works, with a release date nebulously set for “soon”. Samsung had planned to unveil the device at CTIA in San Diego next Tuesday, but due to the untimely passing of Steve Jobs, the announcement has been indefinitely postponed. Rumor has it that Samsung and Google may reschedule the Unbox event for October 27th, with a possible London venue.
[via Phandroid]
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Deals: Photon 4G for $50, EVO 3D for $50 and AT&T Galaxy S II for $150 at Amazon

Amazon’s posted up more wireless deals for you all to take a look at. The Sprint EVO 3D that we mentioned the other day for $100 has now had its price cut in half – you can have it for just $50. They’re also offering the Motorola Photon 4G for that same price. Two great dual-core phones that you should take a look at for yourself in a Sprint store.
They’ve also taken $50 off of AT&T’s Samsung Galaxy S II, meaning it can be yours for $150. We can’t say for sure, but we’re willing to bet most of you won’t take a $50 price cut lightly. Take a look at all of them with the links above.

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AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II on sale at Walmart and Amazon as low as $149

The Samsung Galaxy S II is finally available over on AT&T for just $199 and as always others are trying to capitalize on the release. Like usual those include Amazon, Walmart and others all offering lower prices than if you were to over to AT&T themselves.

This 4.3″ AMOLED display packing dual-core beast is as thin as a pencil, but as fast as a Ferrari — Not really but close enough. Like linked to above it is available this week and you can get it from AT&T right now for just $199 with a new 2-year contract. With the same contract agreement the Galaxy S II from AT&T is also available from both Walmart and Amazon for lower prices than AT&T. If you don’t want to wait for shipping you can head down to your nearest Walmart Super Center (I call them Wallyworld) and pick up the Galaxy S II for just $164.99

Then Amazon is at it like they always are and have undercut both AT&T and Walmart and are offering the SGSII for just $149. Prices are for new activations or for those eligible for upgrades signing a new 2-year contract like you’d expect so for now you’ll have to make due with that. So head on over to Amazon or Walmart and get yourself one of the best new smartphones on the market — the Galaxy S II.

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Samsung gives $25 of content to AT&T Galaxy S II Media Hub beta testers

Did you pick up a shiny new Samsung Galaxy S II when AT&T started selling them this weekend? Then you might want to head on over to Samsung’s Media Hub page. New users can beta test the service to get $25 worth of free content, courtesy of Samsung.

Media Hub is Samsung’s all-in-one entertainment distribution system (think iTunes or Amazon Instant Video) and it’s preloaded onto Galaxy S II phones and newer models of the Galaxy Tab. One of the more compelling use cases is that you can purchase videos once, then watch them on your phone, tablet or television – provided, of course, that you have one of Samsung’s 2011 model Smart TVs. While the service doesn’t have a great selection of video at the moment, you can’t beat free when it comes to pricing.
To try out Media Hub, just head click on the link above and enter your customer information. Samsung will send you a confirmation email and then walk you through the steps of redeeming your $25 voucher. When the beta program ends, you’ll be asked to fill out a questionnaire about your experiences. As of now the program is only being offered to AT&T Galaxy S II owners, but expect the qualifications to expand at some point.

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Deal: AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II on sale for at Amazon Wireless for $150

Order AT&T’s Samsung Galaxy S II at Amazon Wireless for $149.99

AT&T’s Samsung Galaxy S II has just become available for sale and if you are looking to save some money, you may want to check out Amazon Wireless. They are currently offering the SGS2 for $149.99 on new accounts and upgrades, you do have to sign a two-year contract though. Here are the specs of this phone as described on their site:

• Android 2.3.4
• 1.2 GHz dual-core processor (Samsung Exynos) speeds up everything–from playing games to watching shows to opening files from work
• 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus multi-touch display (480 x 800 pixels, 16 million color depth)
• 1024 MB of RAM
• 8-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, smile detection, geo-tagging, zero shutter lag, and multiple scene modes
• 2-megapixel forward-facing camera for video chats and self portraits.
• 16 GB internal memory

If you are like me, anyone else and want to save money when getting the Galaxy S II, we suggest that you pay the Amazon Wireless a visit, they also offer free 2-day shipping and 30-day returns. We included the link to the sale below!
Order AT&T’s Samsung Galaxy S II at Amazon Wireless for $149.99

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AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II lock screen security flaw, and how to fix it

It seems like the shiny new AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy S II has at least one dull spot. There’s an easy work-around that will let anyone access your phone if you’ve implemented Android’s unique pattern-based or PIN lock screen. Don’t worry, though, an industrious early adopter has already found a way to secure the Galaxy S II while keeping the lock screen in place.

The flaw works like this: a phone with the pattern lock will work normally if simply turned off and then back on again – you have to hit the correct sequence of dots or enter a PIN in order to access anything except a 9111 call. But if you rapidly turn the screen off and on again, eventually you see Samsung’s TouchWiz unlock screen, and you can just swipe the screen up to access anything on the phone. Strangely, the bug doesn’t affect the lock screen immediately after the phone powers on, or users with Microsoft Exchange security in place. Samsung says that’s they’re aware of the issue and are “looking into it.”
Here’s a video example:



In the meantime, there’s a quick workaround found by one user: set the lock screen time to immediate in the “Location and Security” section of the Galaxy S II’s main menu. Annoying, but functional.
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Slimmer iPhone 5 cases start showing up in AT&T stores

Say what you will about the iPhone 5 rumour mill but it never is uninteresting. After having gone back and forth over how many models of iPhone Apple is releasing on Tuesday, the appearance of cases for a teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 in AT&T retail stores may mean that the company is planning on releasing two new handsets after all.
We received word yesterday of an iPhone 4S having surfaced in Apple’s inventory and an iPhone 5 showed up on China Unicom’s website, advertised as supporting the speedier HSPA+ network. MacRumors now reports that an AT&T retail employee sent them pictures (shown below) of thinner, teardrop-shaped silicone cases showing up in the company’s stores.

Collating the various rumours we have heard so far, the common thread seems to be that Apple is planning to release a low-cost iPhone 4-lookalike, the iPhone 4S, and the new flagship model, a slimmer and MacBook Air-like iPhone 5. Although none of this is written in stone, where there’s smoke there’s fire, and we’d be very surprised if Apple only introduced a single new iPhone come Tuesday.

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HTC Raider sails through the FCC with AT&T 4G LTE

The much rumored HTC Holiday is all set to receive its wings and come to the US now that it has recently cleared the FCC. The Holiday leaked back in August and looked pretty stellar from our point of view. Hopefully this recent FCC filing means it will be headed to AT&T here soon now that they’ve launched their LTE networks.

Recent reports suggest the HTC Holiday will be called the HTC Raider upon its launch on AT&T. The recent FCC filing is for a similarly sized HTC device headed to AT&T with those 4G LTE radios so it only makes sense. Not to mention we’ve even spotted the HTC Holiday in the wild showing off those 4G LTE speeds.

All the links above confirm the details but in case you missed them we have a 4.5″ display, 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 4G LTE, 1GB of RAM and more with this beast of a smartphone. Last we heard AT&T officially outed this as the Raider, that along with the FCC reports lead us to believe it will be coming sometime soon. Stay tuned for more details on the HTC Raider with AT&T 4G LTE.
[via FCC]

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Google seeks to protect confidential Android information in AT&T/T-Mobile merger case

Google has filed a petition with the judge presiding over the case between the Justice Department and AT&T over AT&T's proposed purchase of T-Mobile asking to keep confidential data about Android from being disclosed to the public. Google had provided the information to the Justice Department as part of its investigation into the proposed purchase.
According to Google, the data is "competitively sensitive" and is in regards to internal products and launch plans for unannounced devices. It asked the judge to require both sides of the suit to give it advanced notice of possible disclosures in court or to outside experts.
"Without such additional protection, Google and other non- parties could find their confidential information - such as Google's business plans related to Android - in the hands of competitors (or their competitors' consultants), or even in newspapers, without having had prior notice of its disclosure," said Google in its petition.
The trial is set to begin on February 13 of next year. [via Bloomberg]

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Samsung Galaxy S II from AT&T Is a Slim, Speedy Smartphone

AT&T's (NYSE:T) Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone, which I've had the pleasure of using as my primary phone for the last several days, will launch Oct. 2 for $199.99.
Normally, I would do a full-review, but the device is certainly the baby brother to Sprint's Samsung Galaxy S II, Epic 4G Touch smartphone, which launched Sept. 16 for $199.99 and which I reviewed earlier this month. I also created this gallery of AT&T and Sprint's S II models. 
Both phones run Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android 2.3.4 "Gingerbread" operating system and both share a lot of the same attributes under the hood.
AT&T's S II is a touch lighter and leaner, at 0.35 inches thin, compared with the 0.38 inches of Sprint's S II, and 4.3 ounces compared with 4.6 ounces for the Epic 4G Touch. Both phones are black and feature the same textured plastic back.
With a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED (active-matrix organic LED) Plus display, AT&T's unit felt more comfortable in my hand than Sprint's gadget, whose 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen I found difficult to grip. The 4.3-inch screen is as high as I would go in a smartphone.
Like Sprint's S II, AT&T's model is powered by a 1.2GHz, dual-core processor, whose speed improvement over existing 1GHz dual-core chips was noticeable. Both phones are 4G-capable, though only Sprint's 4G WiMAX network was available to me; combined with the souped-up chip, the phone deftly processed YouTube content and rendered Web pages much faster.
Both handsets use Samsung's TouchWiz user interface technology, which renders widgets and other tools completely customizable across the 7 home screens.
Both devices are motion-activation-capable. Users may hold two fingers on either phone and tilt to enlarge or shrink browser screen size, or press and hold on a screen to access Vlingo's Voice Talk speech-recognition software, which will let users text, email and do searches by speaking into the phone.
Sprint's model does have a nice screen-capture feature that lets users grab and share images of screens, a feature AT&T's S II lacks. Unlike the Epic 4G Touch, AT&T includes Facebook for Android and Qik Lite for users who want to easily access their social network, or trigger video chats from the phone's 2MP, front-facing camera.
Each phone has pretty much the same 8MP rear-facing camera, which takes great pictures with little latency and captures video in 1080p high definition. Plug in a High-Definition Multimedia Interface- (HDMI-) out cable, and you can watch your video clips on an HDTV at home.
Calls were equally crisp on both S II smartphones, though I would note I always seem to have better reception on AT&T than Sprint in my neck of Connecticut.
Sprint easily wins the battery power contest, boasting an 1,800mAh power source, compared with 1,650mAh for AT&T's model. AT&T isn't running on 4G LTE yet, so the battery didn't get sucked down too much compared to the Epic 4G Touch, which slurped battery power while running on Sprint's 4G WiMAX mobile broadband.
In conclusion, I'd recommend either AT&T or Sprint's S II for people who want speedy Web and application processing. If comfort in the hand is key, go with AT&T. If you don't want to sacrifice the 4G power Sprint's phone offers in most regions around the world, go with that model. 

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AT&T, T-Mobile Antitrust Suit Spurs FCC to Restart Special Access Inquiry

The Federal Communications Commission announced that the agency was asking for new data on the pricing and the competitive environment around the Special Access market.

Special Access has come to the surface because of its inclusion as a major point in the antitrust complaints by Sprint and Cellular South in the AT&T–T-Mobile antitrust lawsuit. However, Special Access goes far beyond the needs of wireless companies.

While Special Access is getting a lot of attention right now because wireless companies use the DS1, DS3 and Ethernet lines that make up the Special Access infrastructure for their backhaul from cell towers. But in reality, virtually every company that uses any kind of external network access is using Special Access in one way or another. This means the pricing and competitive information that the FCC gathers, and uses for any subsequent ruling, can directly affect the bottom line of your business.

The timing of the announcement coincides with the antitrust action by the Department of Justice, but that wasn’t intentional. In fact, left to its own devices, the FCC probably would never have moved. It required a Writ of Mandamus filed by the Ad Hoc Telecommunications Users Committeeand several other public interest groups to force the FCC to move forward. The Ad Hoc group has already asked the FCC to take action to force the transparency and competition it thinks is necessary.

According to Maura Corbett, executive director of NoChokePoint, the two largest carriers, AT&T and Verizon, are overcharging on the order of $10 billion per year for Special Access. “We are very anxious to get the data and have the commission rule appropriately based on their data,” Corbett said. “This has been open since 2005. We’re still waiting.” Both groups have filed petitions to deny the transfer of licenses in connection with the AT&T–T-Mobile merger. NoChokePoint is an advocacy group focused on Special Access.
“We would like to get to the point where it’s acknowledged that the market has collapsed,” Corbett said, “and we want to see competition and openness.” Corbett noted that it was clear that there was no competition when the FCC deregulated Special Access, and the prices immediately went up.

Colleen Boothby, the attorney who represents the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee also studied the effects of deregulation. “We noticed that whenever the Commission deregulated Special Access, the price went up. When they broke out earnings, they (the carriers) were making up to 135 percent profit,” Boothby said. “In a competitive market you can’t get earnings like that.”

Boothby’s organization is comprised of Fortune 500 companies that use Special Access in their telecommunications environment. The membership list is kept secret because in the past, the two major carriers, AT&T and Verizon, took retaliatory action against them, Boothby said.

But the fact is that telecom charges are a major cost factor for nearly every business, and with profit margins of up to 135 percent, greater control over costs through competition or regulation would dramatically reduce the overhead for most businesses. The problem right now is that the two major carriers won’t tell you what their profit margin is because the FCC removed that requirement eight years ago. Prior to that, there was customer pressure to keep the margins within reason.

What’s interesting is that the docket item at the FCC was originally opened at the request of Jim Cicconi, who is AT&T’s chief lobbyist, and who is now fighting the FCC action. But at the time of the request, AT&T hadn’t merged and was forced to buy Special Access services. Now that AT&T and Verizon are providing the Special Access lines, the two companies have formed an effective duopoly in that business. Small operators are complaining that they are frozen out of the business by predatory practices.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the same argument Sprint is making regarding the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. Sprint may have a point, It’s already dealing with an effective duopoly in its backhaul and in its complaint is claiming that the costs associated with the backhaul charges are anti-competitive.

Of course, AT&T and Verizon have to pay Special Access charges when they cross over into each other’s territory. The difference is that they’re paying each other for the same services and this effectively cancels out any charges. of course, neither company is willing to say how much it pays the other for Special Access, so they can set the price to the other as high or low as they wish. But in effect Special Access is free for them.

The Special Access market provides a good look at the future of the wireless market if the merger with T-Mobile goes through. You’ll have a duopoly that can charge whatever they want, provide whatever services and products they want because customers don’t really have an alternative. There will still be a few small players in the wireless market just as there are a few small providers now in the Special Access market, all of which are slowly being marginalized. Not a pretty picture, but that’s what’s happened in Special Access, and it could be the future for Wireless as well.

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AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Unboxing and Hands-on [Video]

In the mail today we’ve received a lovely surprise, no less than the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy S II. What we’ve got for you below is a full hands-on rundown of the features you’ll be working with here on the AT&T iteration of this device specifically along with a brief review of what this device will contain in our full review. Remember that this is not the first time the Galaxy S II has been released here in the states, but it is the closest we’ve gotten to the original version yet – more on that in the deep! AT&T, are you the best carrier of this device yet?

What this AT&T version has that the Epic 4G Touch does not is a whole tiny handful of things, most of them carrier-specific apps. The most obvious point of difference you’ll notice right away though is the size of the display. While the Epic 4G Touch has an enlarged 4.5-inch display, the AT&T Galaxy S II has the same 4.32-inch display that the original (international) version of the device. Of course there are quite a few differences between the original and any of the USA versions of this device, apps and the giant joystick on the original being the most obvious.



The good thing we can rely on here is the original Samsung Exynos dual-core processor clocked in at 1.2 GHz. This is one of the most powerful dual-core processors on the market today and has beaten out several other dual-core processors in benchmark tests here on Android Community in the past. This device might be the last (of two) devices in the USA to carry this exact processor, the first one being the Epic 4G Touch. You can see in the video in this post that the device is made to fit nicely in the hand and hit the sweet spot for optimal everyday use as well as screen brightness and sharpness with its Super AMOLED Plus display.

We’re looking forward very much to taking this device through the obstacle course soon to give you a good idea what you’re looking at for the October release. My own first impression is that I’ll be using this version much more than I’ve used the Epic 4G Touch simply because the WiMAX (and the 3G, for that matter,) have been very unreliable thus far AND because this 4.32-inch display seems like, again, the sweet spot for optimal everyday use.
Check out the video and let us know what you need to know about this device so I can answer all your questions in the full review!
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AT&T Galaxy S II kernel source code released already by Samsung

Let the hacking, modding and overclocking begin once this device is finally able to be purchased. Samsung has already released the kernel source code for the AT&T version of the Galaxy S II, even though the phone isn’t even out yet. We sure wish other companies would do the same (hint HTC). While Samsung released the code for the Epic 4G Touch on launch day, they’ve gone a step further here and it’s already available before the phone itself.

Now developers and users can download the source code and tweak, modify and change whatever their hearts desire. The Galaxy S II already is a stellar performing device but crank it up to 1.8 GHz and it will truly fly. Everything is available over at the Samsung open source center.
To make things even easier we’ll take it one step further and for access to the AT&T SGSII source code we’ve found it for you so just head over and download it by clicking here. This should make things readily available so when the phone launches next week developers will already have a head start. For those that may have missed it the AT&T Galaxy S II will be available October 2nd, and for just $199.

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AT&T, T-Mobile court date set for merger hearing

For those of you that had high hopes for the AT&T and T-Mobile merger, U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle set the non-jury trial for February 13th, 2012. A compromise between AT&T’s requested date for January 16th, and the government’s requested date of March 19th. Though Judge Huvelle had set aside 6 months for the trial, lawyers from both AT&T and the Department of Justice believe that the trial will be settled short of the allotted time.

Earlier, Sprint’s attempt to have their case merged with the Department of Justice was blocked by the very same judge. A loss on the part of AT&T would prove to be truly devastating as the company could potentially lose up to $6 billion dollars should the merger not go through. However, even if the merger does happen to fail, AT&T seems confident that they could still avoid the breakage fee under “a number of options”.
That said, the only potential loser should this merger fail is AT&T. T-Mobile users face little to lose as AT&T has already stated that should the merger go through, T-Mobile customers would still be able to maintain their current plans as previously announced. Though the merger would reduce competition in the U.S., a consolidated network would allow provide an ailing AT&T with a greater number of accessible towers, and would add to their available bandwidth for use with their 4G network.
[via TmoNews]

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AT&T claims you can keep your T-Mobile plan and rate after merger

If you are one of the many users over on T-Mobile that have been wondering what will happen during and after this AT&T-Mobile merger goes though (if it does), AT&T and T-Mobile have outlined a few more details to put users at ease. AT&T is now saying users will be able to keep their current rate and plan after the merger goes through, even after your contract expires from T-Mobile. This is great news for many of the long time T-Mo customers with amazing grandfathered-in plans like myself.

AT&T may be eating T-Mobile like the image above, but it appears they wont be eating all the rates and plans — at first at least. According to the documents shown below it appears they will be grandfathering most customers plans for when the merger to AT&T starts. We knew they’d be allowing the plans to continue for the most part but to now know even after plans expire users will be able to continue with the same rate and plan should make many feel more comfortable with the idea of switching to the AT&T world.

Just as TmoNews states we were wondering the same thing regarding the future. What will happen when users want to upgrade their phone, and what about making small changes to a plan? Will this require you to lose what you’ve been using and sign into a new deal completely different than what you had before. These details I’m sure will continue to be explained and detailed as things move forward but with a merger this big there is bound to be some bumps along the way. For now we’ll just have to wait and see what the DOJ has to say about the deal.
[via TmoNews]

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Samsung Galaxy S II coming in October for under $200 to AT&T

If you have been waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone to land at AT&T there are only a couple weeks left to wait. AT&T has gone official with the launch date and the price of the S II smartphone. It will land on October 2 and the official price will be $199.99. Naturally, that price will require you to get a new contract.

The smartphone is a very nice Android device and is one of the best on the market right now. For the $200 you get a big 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and a very thin phone at 8.89mm. The front camera is a 2MP unit and an 8MP rear camera. It will support 1080p video recording and WiFi calling as well.
You can also get the optional HDMI adapter for the phone and a USB host kit to connect things like keyboards, cams, printers, and more.

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AT&T Offers to Sell T-Mobile Assets to Sprint, Others

Bloomberg has reported that AT&T’s contracted Sprint, MetroPCS, Leap Wireless, CenturyLink and Dish Network in order to negotiate the sale of T-Mobile assets in order to gain approval for their proposed merger. This is likely in response to early reports that suggested AT&T would most likely need to go this route in order to persuade anti-trust regulators and the FCC that their moves aren’t to stifle competition.

Talks are supposedly preliminary for the time being with no carrier or firm coming to concrete terms with AT&T on this possible sale. Bloomberg reports that the department of justice may not even consider the sale of assets a huge band-aid for AT&T’s case. That ruling could come to if AT&T offers assets of low value to their competitors. We’d think spectrum would be the most valuable but AT&T’s acquisition is all about that, according to them. It will be an interesting few months, for sure. [Bloomberg]

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HTC Inspire Receives Aggressive AT&T 4G Pricing, Red Model

HTC  Inspire 4G:  4G handsets, such as the HTC Inspire 4G, can basically be considered as having arrived in two different groups. There were those which were the first 4G smartphones to arrive in the mobile marketplace 5 to 10 months ago, and then there was this second tier of 4G phones with more powerful processors, usually better resolution displays, and other advanced features that have been rolling out the last couple of months. You can consider these first-generation and second-generation 4G handsets.

Sprint was the first wireless service provider to become extremely aggressive with their first generation 4G smartphones, pricing many of those first generation handsets anywhere from one penny to $19.99 with a two-year activation. It didn’t take Verizon long to do the same thing with those first-generation 4G phones to enter their LTE mobile broadband network. AT&T is decidedly a much bigger player than all the other United States mobile broadband service providers other than those two, and recently followed suit.

The HTC Inspire 4G is the latest phone to benefit from AT&T’s aggressive first-generation 4G handset pricing structure. The HTC Inspire 4G Android smartphone was recently dropped in price to $19.99 with a two-year activation at certain AT&T authorized retailers, and a new red model was also released at the same retail price. As cell phone manufacturers strive to differentiate themselves from the competition, with so many phones offering basically the same feature set, HTC has added a unique red backing and side plate proprietary to their Inspire 4G handset. The HTC Evo 3-D 4G phone and HTC  Evo 4G recently debuted white phone options as well.

Aftermarket slip on covers and skins are available in many colors, however, ill fitting and sometimes damaging to the handset, by HTC providing a unique red color for the Inspire and white colors for the Evo 3-D and Evo 4G handsets, there is simply one more option for the Android smartphone shopper. The HTC Inspire 4G Android smartphone has a 4.3 inch S-LCD capacitive touch screen with 480 x 800 pixel resolution, and the 4G standard light and proximity sensors with multitouch gesture support.  Buy the HTC Inspire 4G starting at only $19.99.

The Inspire 4G also has a rear facing eight megapixel camera which records in 720P high definition, and provides dual LED flash, autofocus, and geo-tagging features. A single core 1.0 GHz Snapdragon processor and 768 MB of RAM memory are on board, and out of the box, the HTC Inspire 4G ships with Android’s 2.2 Froyo operating system, but a free over the air upgrade to Gingerbread 2.3 was recently released.

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Seven states oppose AT&T-T-Mobile merger

Bad news for AT&T and those in favor of the carrier’s attempted acquisition of T-Mobile. It looks like the Department of Justice has garnered more troops in support of opposing the merger. It has been reported that seven states will be backing the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against AT&T. The seven states against the merger are: New York, Washington, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania. With over a third of the American population, living in these states combined, it looks like AT&T doesn’t really have a lot of support from the public. There’s still no telling if the deal will go through or not, but for now, the chances are definitely looking slim.

Here is a statement from Craig Aaron, president of Free Press:

“We applaud the attorneys general who joined the Justice Department’s suit today to block AT&T’s takeover of T-Mobile. They deserve praise for standing up to AT&T and standing with their citizens. They understand that families can’t afford to shoulder the burden of higher bills that would result from the merger, and that states struggling with unemployment can’t afford to stand aside while corporations kill competition and put people out of work. This lawsuit is yet another blow to AT&T and a victory for the public.
“AT&T’s propaganda and political posturing aren’t working in the face of such overwhelming opposition and evidence against this deal. Both the attorneys general and the Justice Department examined the facts of the case, and the facts are clear: This merger will raise prices, kill competition and put thousands of Americans out of work at a time of skyrocketing unemployment.”

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