T-Mobile & AT&T Merger: Civil Investigative Demands

As you probably know, AT&T wants to merge with T-Mobile USA, but it’s not as simple as expected as the Department of Justice is delving into their investigation and in doing so requires more info on the $39 billion deal.

According to an article over on Cnet, Bloomberg is reporting that two sources “familiar with the matter” have said that the antitrust department of the Department of Justice have also sent out “civil investigative demands,” which are similar to subpoenas, to rivals of both companies.

So basically the Justice Department wants more info on the affects the merger would have on other wireless businesses, although apparently the Justice Department isn’t officially commenting on the matter, and neither are AT&T and T-Mobile.

The FCC is also investigation the proposed merger, and it looks like there is a long way to go yet before AT&T gains approval to purchase T-Mobile, although AT&T state they are confident said deal will meet with the regulator’s requirements.

So a long investigation looks to be underway, but what do our readers thinks about the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA, are you for or against the merger?

Android 2.2 Froyo Update for Viewsonic ViewPad 10

Owners of the Viewsonic ViewPad 10 will be happy to know that the ViewPad 10 is finally being upgraded from Android 1.6 to Android 2.2, which should also make it more appealing to new buyers.
As a reminder, the Viewsonic ViewPad features a 10.1 inch display with a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, and it comes with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor and 2GB of RAM.

There are two different models, a 16GB version which comes with Windows 7 Home Premium and Android 2.2 or a 32GB version which comes with Windows 7 professional and Android 2.2.

LG Optimus Black vs. Galaxy S II and Xperia Arc... fight!

It's time for us to welcome yet another contender in the battle for world's slimmest Android phone: the LG Optimus Black. This 9.2mm-thick handset made its debut to oohs and aahs of admiration at CES earlier in the year, and is now on the very precipice of a global release. Admittedly, it's not quite slender enough to knock the 7.7mm-thick NEC MEDIAS N-04C off its perch as the absolute thinnest, but it is sufficiently slender to give Samsung's Galaxy S II and Sony Ericsson's Xperia Arc a good fright. That pair of smartphones offer thinner proportions on the spec sheet, but when rested on a flat surface they sit ever so slightly higher than the Optimus Black. This is because, unlike its tricky contemporaries, the Optimus Black keeps to the same thickness along its full length (don't laugh), which, technically speaking, makes it the thinnest Android handset on the European market. Check it out in the gallery below or video after the break -- and hold tight, we'll have a full review for you in the coming days!

LG Optimus Black vs. Galaxy S II and Xperia Arc... fight!

Carriers Blocking Android Tethering Apps, Sky Isn’t Falling (Yet)

Within the past few days, reports have sprung up confirming that carriers are blocking direct access to tethering apps on Android handsets in the wake of recent audits designed to stamp out tethering without paying additional fees, whether by rooting or non-rooted apps.

Naturally, this has led to many to turn into Chicken Little and claim that Google is being compliant towards carriers without putting up a fight in the name of “open access”. Verizon and T-Mobile are the latest to block access to tethering apps from their handsets, with many going as far as stating that Verizon blocking tethering apps is a violation of their agreement with the FCC after the purchase of the 700MHz C block spectrum used to power the LTE network.This is wrong, on many levels.

Carriers are still free to control certain aspects of Android and the Market as they see fit for their handset lineup. As for Verizon’s agreement, the requirements spell out control at the network level and have nothing to do with application visibility since the apps themselves are not being actively blocked from network access. More to the point, unlike Apple’s app control and distribution limitations with iOS and iTunes, Android apps can be distributed outside of the Android Market, which frees Google from the same accusations of control. Of course, distributing apps outside of the official market means markedly less visibility compared to direct access on a handset (this is changing), but the freedom to distribute trumps visibility, at least in this case.

This also brings up the main issue of paying additional (and most would say arbitrary) fees for tethering on top of the now standard fee for handset data access, as many customers disagree with this practice on principle alone. The practice is morally ambiguous, as carriers feel that the additional fees are necessary to offset the cost of the additional bandwidth, while a compromise was quietly offered last year without much fanfare. Both Palm and Verizon set the high watermark for carrier acceptance of tethering by including 5GB of access into the monthly fee for handset data access when purchasing a first generation webOS smartphone, an offering that is yet to be equaled or surpassed and which only came about through much arm twisting and ultimately broken promises, before being succeeded by a much less appealing tethering plan for the Pre 2.

Customers complaining about the carrier app blockade should be up in arms about tethering rates and putting carriers to task, demanding better offerings than the current crop. Would it be nice if every carrier adopted the Verizon/Palm model? Yes, since it gives people a viable backup when on the road and it would also send a message that tethering isn’t about abuse or excessive use as carriers see it now, but  the ability to use data access already paid for as one sees fit for the situation at hand.

New HTC Thunderbolt Update Fix: 3G connectivity & GPS

If you own the HTC Thunderbolt smartphone you will be pleased to hear a new update has started to roll out to customers that promises to fix a few things.

Droid-Life uncovered this update last Friday and now confirms via the Verizon Twitter feed that the update has started rolling out today, some will get and other may have to wait as it is rolling out in stages.

Go to your System Updates screen, you will be notified when you can update. The source above says that it is not like Motorola’s Blur that allows you to pull updates manually.

This new HTC Thunderbolt update will fix a few things such as GPS updates will load a lot faster in Google Maps and you will get better 3G connectivity, it will also sort out a few bug fixes. Hopefully battery life will be a little better too, fingers crossed as they say.

If you have had the update please do let us know what it has done for you, we would like to know if the update went smoothly and if your encountered any problems. Thanks

LG Sets New Standard In Style And Performance With Blade Series P430 and P530 Notebooks

LG Electronics (LG) today introduced two notebooks – the P430 and P530 – as the first in the company’s new “Blade” series to be launched later this month. LG’s Blade series comprises ultra-slim notebooks that deliver the ultimate in style without sacrificing performance. Compared with LG’s first generation slim notebooks (models P210 and P420), the Blade series boasts a noticeably slimmer profile. The P430 and P530, with 14-inch and 15.6-inch LED LCD screen respectively, offer outstanding features that set them apart from the competition in slimness, weight and material.

“The Blade series is the fruition of many months of effort by LG engineers and design-ers to develop portable computers that deliver beyond the performance, looks and value that today’s consumers have come to expect,” said J.J. Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of LG Electronics PC Business Unit. “Leveraging tomorrow’s technology and breakthrough design, LG will continue offer slim, beautiful notebooks that raise the bar in portable computing.”

? Three Super Slims: Screen, Bezel, Body

The minimalist, sophisticated designs of the P430 and P530 feature a super-slim LED LCD screen, bezel and body, creating a new style icon for fashion-forward consumers. The notebooks’ new display technology, developed in collaboration with LG Display, allows the LED LCD screens to be incredibly thin while still delivering rich, sharp images. With respective depths of 4.5mm and 4.7mm, the screens of the P430 and P530 are up to 50 percent thinner than any other notebooks in their class.

Thanks to LG’s world-class bezel technology, LG Blade notebooks boast bezels that are more than 40 percent narrower than other notebooks in the same class. This allows the 14-inch P430 to be designed around a 13.3-inch-class notebook. Together, the thinner display and narrower bezel contribute to LG’s new Blade series being up to 22 percent slimmer than the closest competing product in its class.

? Super Light, Maximum Mobility

The P430 and P530 boast extremely lightweight bodies to maximize mobility. Weighing in at just 1.94kg with a depth of 23.8mm, the P430 is lighter than conventional 13-inch notebooks, while the P530, at 2.2kg, weighs less than traditional 14-inch notebooks. Unlike most notebooks with 14- and 15.6-inch screens, LG’s P430 and P530 are comfortable to carry around in a shoulder bag, making them the ideal companions for work-ing on the road.

? Super Material, Sturdy Exterior

Designed with a metallic case, the P430 and P530 offer a more durable alternative to other slim-style notebooks. The metal casing results in a stronger exterior, ensuring extreme protection despite its ultra-slim depth. With a brushed aluminum finish and diamond cutting, a technology that uses real diamonds to cut the edge of the case, LG’s Blade notebooks have a smooth, high quality cover with a refined and luxurious look. The P430 and P530 are available in two colors: Misty Blue and Titan Black.

? Perfect Mix with Unbeatable Performance

Thanks to the second generation Intel Core i7 processor, the P430 and P530 boast outstanding performance. Intel’s new quad-core processor is 20 percent and 50 percent faster than the previous generation Intel Core i7 processor and the second generation Intel Core i5 processor, respectively. The notebooks also include NVIDIA Graphics GeForce GT520M – which boasts 50 percent better performance than integrated graphics cards – to deliver exciting, game-friendly graphics.

The P430 and P530 include an array of multimedia features including a 1.3 HD web-cam, SRS and DLNA technology to easily share and enjoy photos and videos with other DLNA-enabled devices.

LG’s “Style by Blade” campaign will accompany the roll out of the P430 at the end of May and the P530 a month later in markets throughout Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia.

New Android Ice Cream Sandwich: Honeycomb Bug Fix

Now as you may or may not be aware, when Google release their Android operating systems they are usually named after sweet desserts and it would appear that their latest operating system is no different.

Another thing to note about the operating systems that have been released by Google are that they have been in alphabetical order, Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, and Honeycomb. The latest system has been leaked by Romain Guy (a Google developer) and is called ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’.

We previously did an article on January 14th, 2011 relating to a Google Nexus S handset running Android 2.4 Ice Cream Sandwich – see article here. A code issue in a short conversation on the subject ‘Sweep Gradient Honeycomb’, the official Android worker Romain Guy has stated the following: “A bug fix will be provided in Ice Cream Sandwich.”

It was unknown if the latest Android OS would be known as Ice Cream or Ice Cream Sandwich, as per my colleague James’ article dated April 4. However, this latest leak seems to have sorted out that issue.

It is also believed that the Ice Cream Sandwich will bring features from both Gingerbread and Honeycomb together, as indicated at the Mobile World Congress 2011 by Eric Schmidt: “We have OS called gingerbread for phones, we have an OS being previewed now for tablets called Honeycomb. The two of them… you can imagine the follow up will start with an I, be named after dessert, and will combine these two.”

As per the guys at AndroidCommunity, if there were a giant Froyo sculpture and a giant dish of Ice Cream in front of the Google complex, this would cause confusion. However, with the introduction of an Ice Cream Sandwich instead, there would be no confusion. Please let us know what you think of the new name, apart from it being a mouthful.

AT&T and Samsung Mobile Special Event Date: Galaxy S2 or Tablets

AT&T and Samsung Mobile are preparing for its special event on May 5 and everyone is hoping that it will announce the new Galaxy S2 to USA.

This special event on May 5, 2011 at 5 – 6PM will feature product demos and executive remarks, hopefully it is the Samsung Galaxy SII and if not then we would like what IntoMobile suggests and that’s the Infuse 4G for AT&T.

There maybe a chance that the event will reveal a new tablet PC could be an Android 3.0 Honeycomb beauty on its way who knows. The event could announce any of the above, or even a new Galaxy Tab or a new Windows Phone 7 smartphone, all speculation at the moment so just have to sit back and wait.

What do you think the AT&T and Samsung Mobile Event will announce? Please post all your comments in the area provided below. Have some fun