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AT&T drops plans to acquire T-Mobile

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Corporate News, Wireless / WiFi

AT&T T-Mobile dead

AT&T on Monday announced that it has ended its bid to acquire T-Mobile.

AT&T will incur a pre-tax "breakup fee" of $4 billion in the fourth quarter and will enter into a roaming agreement with T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom.

AT&T maintained that the deal would have benefited the U.S. wireless industry. But in recent months, it faced challenges from the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission, both of which found that the merger would not be in the public's interest. That opposition, however, does "not change the realities of the U.S. wireless industry," AT&T said.

"AT&T will continue to be aggressive in leading the mobile Internet revolution," Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "To meet the needs of our customers, we will continue to invest."

Click to continue reading AT&T drops plans to acquire T-Mobile


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AT&T launching its 4G LTE network on September 18

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Corporate News, Wireless / WiFi

at&t 4g lteAT&T will light up its 4G LTE network on Sunday, Sept. 18, an exec said Thursday.

John Stephens, the CFO of AT&T, revealed the launch date at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Entertainment and Communications conference in Bellevue, Washington, according to Fierce Wireless. No locations were announced, but in May, AT&T said it would first hit Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.

In August, another AT&T exec said the company was on track to debut 15 LTE markets and up to 75 million POPs (points of presence) by the end of the year. Next year's rollout pace will depend on regulatory approval of its proposed T-Mobile merger, which is currently in limbo.

AT&T reportedly demoed its LTE network in Plano, Texas, the location of AT&T's Foundry, which delivered speeds of 28.87 Mbits/s down and 10.4 Mbits/s up.

Click to continue reading AT&T launching its 4G LTE network on September 18


Unboxing Live 071: Sonos PLAY:3 wireless Hi-Fi speaker system

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio, Videocasts

In this episode we open up the Sonos PLAY:3, the latest wireless Hi-Fi speaker system from Sonos. The PLAY:3 is the smallest wireless speaker system that Sonos offers, allowing you to plug it in and set it up just about anywhere, but still getting big sound. You can pair two of them together for a wide stereo sound stage, and you can also turn it vertical and it will automatically go into mono sound mode. We open up the PLAY:3 and show you how it looks - be on the lookout for our PLAY:3 review over on Bleeding Edge TV!

You can get the Sonos PLAY:3 now for $299.

Big thanks to our sponsor - GoToMeeting makes it easy to collaborate with anyone, anywhere - and they have just released their new HD faces feature that lets you see the webcams of up to 6 users as a time. Also,  be sure and grab a free $5 credit from JackThreads now!


AT&T tells FCC that T-Mobile purchase will boost 4G coverage more than they thought

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Corporate News, Wireless / WiFi

ATT T-mobile filing

AT&T's bid for T-Mobile is now official. The carrier on Thursday filed the necessary paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission, kicking off what will likely be a in-depth review of the proposed merger.

In its filing, AT&T claimed that purchasing T-Mobile will allow it to deploy its 4G LTE network to 97 percent of the U.S. population, up from the 95 percent number it gave last month.

"After conducting a more refined analysis of the combined network, AT&T is increasing the scope of this commitment to 97.3 percent," the carrier said.

AT&T surprised the tech community recently when it announced plans to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion. AT&T argued that the purchase will help stop the spectrum crunch and spur the companies's deployment of 4G service.

Click to continue reading AT&T tells FCC that T-Mobile purchase will boost 4G coverage more than they thought


ITU redefines what 4G means

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Cell Phones, Wireless / WiFi

In the past couple of years, as 3G has become pervasive, cellphone providers haven't been able to rely on the term anymore in marketing ads. So it's no surprise that as soon as newer technologies get introduced, they start touting that they are now offering the next step above that, 4G. The problem is that whether it's Sprint offering WiMax, or Verizon offering LTE, these new technologies simply aren't 4G. The actual definition of 4G is something that none of the wireless companies can define, as that job belongs to the International Communications Union (ITU)--and according to them, none of the carriers met the requirements to really be called 4G. In fact, the ITU hadn't even provided a clear, final decision as to what could and could not be called 4G. This left customers confused as to who had the actual faster networks.

Now, it seems that the ITU has decided to back down, and cave to the various network providers. Over the weekend, the organization released a statement saying "As the most advanced technologies currently defined for global wireless mobile broadband communications, IMT-Advanced is considered as '4G,' although it is recognized that this term, while undefined, may also be applied to the forerunners of these technologies, LTE and WiMax, and to other evolved 3G technologies providing a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed." Once again, it seems they do their best to remain unclear and confusing, but what did change is that now when a Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon ad claims their 4G speed, they will actually be accurate. So a few days ago, no one had 4G in North America--now almost everyone does.

Read More | ITU

Apple Magic Trackpad now available for $69

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, PC / Laptop, Wireless / WiFi

Apple Magic Trackpad

So, looks like that wireless trackpad peripheral that’s been rumored and leaked has become official, and it’s called the Apple Magic Trackpad. It’s basically a larger version of the trackpad found on the Macbook Pro. Aluminum, glass-covered, and multitouch. It communicates with your Mac over Bluetooth, takes two AA batteries (included,) and requires Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4. You can pick one up now for $69.

Read More | Magic Trackpad

Apple readying software fix for iPad Wi-Fi issues

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Software, Wireless / WiFi

iPad WiFi Fix

Hey, looks like Apple is finally owning up to those Wi-Fi connectivity issues that a bunch of people have been having. Rather than asking people to turn off dual-band mode on their routers (although we’e found that this certainly does help in the meantime,) Apple will be releasing a fix as a software update for the iPad. Of course, we have no timeframe for when we will see it, but we are thinking it will have to happen sooner rather than later, now that both the Wi-Fi model and the Wi-Fi + 3G are both out and about, selling in droves. They won’t want that issue hanging around for too much longer, since without Internet connectivity, the iPad becomes a fairly useless device. Yeah, I said it.

Read More | Apple

ASiQ Bluetooth Access-point for In-flight Service

Posted by Finnian Durkan Categories: Cell Phones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi

ASiQ Bluetooth access pointASiQ Limited has announced the release of the world’s first bluetooth access-point for commercial airlines.  According to Ron Chapman, ASiQ’s CEO, airlines will now be able to offer passengers affordable SMS, MMS, Voice-messaging and text email capabilities while in flight via their new SafeCell app.  Better still, SafeCell will also eliminate GSM roaming charges since it does not require a GSM connection to deliver its services.  Bluetooth access points are far more efficient than their Wi/Fi counterparts, as they operate as a Personal Area Network (PAN) and unlike Wi-Fi do not have to waste time and money logging in to the internet in order to establish a link. The SafeCell App uses file sizes that are so small even a narrow band satellite link can accommodate the SMS/MMS/text-email needs of up to 192 individual passengers. Bluetooth also operates at up to 3 megabits per second making it compatible with any current data or media plan available.  Besides giving you more options to drain your battery with whilst in-flight than just playing Bejeweled II, ASiQ’s service will also enable you to completely ignore the fact that you are crammed in a glorified cigar-tube built by the lowest bidder.  Hopefully.  I’ll be the guy directly behind you faking trying to light his shoe on fire.


AT&T providing iPad 3G service without contracts

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi

iPad AT&T pricing

If you’re considering picking up an Apple when they launch a couple of months from now and you plan on taking it on the go, you’ll want to know about the extra fees you’ll incur if you choose to go the with AT&T-provided 3G access plans. First, though, your 3G iPad will cost $130 more than the Wi-Fi-only version. Once you get it, you’ve got two options with AT&T:

  • $29.99 per month unlimited data plan
  • $14.99 per month for 250MB of monthly data

It’s a good deal for monthly 3G access, especially when you consider the fact that both plans are pre-paid month-to-month plans that don’t require any sort of contract. The other benefit that you get from picking up a 3G iPad model is assisted GPS, which the Wi-Fi-only iPad lacks.


Unboxing Live 054: BlackBerry Presenter

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Cell Phones, Features, Videocasts

During , we were able to catch up with Ryan Biden of , and he was able to give us a live unboxing of the new BlackBerry Presenter device. For those unfamiliar, the BlackBerry Presenter hooks up to a monitor, projector, or display, and allows you to wirelessly give a PowerPoint presentation using a file stored directly on your BlackBerry, with no need for a PC. It’s a great idea, and you can check out the device in this episode. We will also have a demo of the device in our next episode of Bleeding Edge TV.


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