Sprint, the third-biggest U.S. wireless operator, announced on Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit with a federal court in the U.S. District of Columbia in an effort to block AT&T’s planned $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom.

Sprint Vice Presidente of Litigation Susan Z. Haller said: “Sprint opposes AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile. With today’s legal action, we are continuing that advocacy on behalf of consumers and competition, and expect to contribute our expertise and resources in proving that the proposed transaction is illegal.”

here the official Statement :

Sprint Files Suit to Block Proposed AT&T and T-Mobile Transaction

WASHINGTON (BUSINESS WIRE), September 06, 2011 – Sprint Nextel [NYSE:S] today brought suit against AT&T, Inc., AT&T Mobility, Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile seeking to block the proposed acquisition as a violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia as a related case to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) suit against the proposed acquisition.

“Sprint opposes AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile,” said Susan Z. Haller, vice president-Litigation, Sprint. “With today’s legal action, we are continuing that advocacy on behalf of consumers and competition, and expect to contribute our expertise and resources in proving that the proposed transaction is illegal.”

Sprint’s lawsuit focuses on the competitive and consumer harms which would result from a takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T. The proposed takeover would:

• Harm retail consumers and corporate customers by causing higher prices and less innovation.
• Entrench the duopoly control of AT&T and Verizon, the two “Ma Bell” descendants, of the almost one-quarter of a trillion dollar wireless market. As a result of the transaction, AT&T and Verizon would control more than three-quarters of that market and 90 percent of the profits.

• Harm Sprint and the other independent wireless carriers. If the transaction were to be allowed, a combined AT&T and T-Mobile would have the ability to use its control over backhaul, roaming and spectrum, and its increased market position to exclude competitors, raise their costs, restrict their access to handsets, damage their businesses and ultimately to lessen competition.

HTC just posted on its Facebook page that next August, it will start rolling out to  unlock bootloaders of the newest devices like Sensation 4G and EVO 3D for Sprint. . The process is two-fold: first, HTC pushes a “maintenance release” to the phones, but this won’t mean a thing until step two — releasing the actual unlocking tool — is complete in early September.

“We wanted to provide an update on HTC’s progress with bringing bootloader unlocking to our newest phones. We know how excited some of you are for this capability, and we’ve put significant resources behind making this change as soon as possible. While we wish we could flip a simple switch and unlock all bootloaders across our device portfolio, this is actually a complex challenge that requires a new software build and extensive testing to deliver the best possible customer experience.

We’re thrilled to announce today that software updates to support bootloader unlocking will begin rolling out in August for the global HTC Sensation, followed by the HTC Sensation 4G on T-Mobile USA and the HTC EVO 3D on Sprint. We’re in the testing phase for the unlocking capability now, and we expect it to be fully operational by early September for devices that have received the software updates. We’ll continue rolling out the unlocking capability over time to other devices as part of maintenance releases and new shipments.

HTC continues its commitment to unlocking bootloaders and supporting the developer community. Because of the importance of this community to us, please expect an update on this about every few weeks as we make progress toward launch. Thank you for your patience and continued support!”

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Microsoft, Facebook, Oracle, RIM, Yahoo and others,  just signed a letter  expressing their support for the idea that the merge will let AT&T build out its high-speed data networks across the country more quickly.

In the letter to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission filed late Monday, several Silicon Valley giants said a voracious necessity for smart phones, tablets and the apps they provide need more wireless spectrum to smoothly connect people online on the go.

What about the other side of the coin. Sprint CEO Daniel Hesse said that the deal would put his company in a position “to be acquired,” by making it more difficult for the company to compete, and eventually lead to a duopoly in telecommunications.

What a letter .. but, issing from the list of letter writers are Apple and Google. Why?

Sprint  is the first and one of the most important wireless companies that is against AT&T-T-Mobile acquisition. Sprint does not want the be way behind if the proccess passes FCC and be the third in place, only controlling less than 20% of the wireless industry. That is why Sprint has just  used was  this ad, mocking T-Mobile’s own recent ads featuring a brunette in a pink dress — mocking AT&T and Verizon as old, white balding men.

The ad, which features a cigar-smoking man in a similar pink dress, used the tagline “It makes sense if you don’t think about it,” and complains the deal will result in less innovation and higher prices. However, the ad — funded in part by Sprint and supported by groups like Public Knowledge and Media Access Project.

AT&T this morning heads before the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights to defend their planned acquisition of T-Mobile.

We will wait to ear you AT&T.

HTC Evo Shift is hitting Sprint this January 9th for about 149.99. The HTC EVO Shift is the newest handset in the HTC lineup for Sprint. This device leads the pack with a large 3.7″ capacitive touchscreen. Watching videos and playing games are a breeze with the HTC EVO Shift. It also features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for easy and quick messaging. The EVO Shift allows you to download videos, browse the web, watch movies, play games and more! You will never be left behind with this speedy device! If you are looking for some official specification, here there are:

HTC EVO Shift :

• 3.7″  Touchscreen Display
• Slide-out Full QWERTY Keyboard
• Android 2.2 OS
• Up to 4G Data Speeds
• Up to 32GB of microSD Expansion Memory
• Camera with Dual LED Flash + Video Capture

Included Accessories:

• HTC EVO Shift
• Li-Ion Battery
• AC adapter
• USB cable
• 8GB microSD card
• Reference material

Android 2.2

Dimensions (H x W x D)4.63 x 2.3 x .47 in

Weight (w/standard battery)4.6 oz

Camera Resolution8.0 Megapixel with flash and front camera.

UPDATE: WALMART ALSO INDICATES A DUAL CAMERA WITH FLASH

The next generation iPad is suppose to arrive early next next, maybe Q1 2011. The new iPad model will  run on both the GSM and CDMA based networks around the globe. This would allow the iPad to pick up 3G connectivity with virtually every major phone carrier here in the US, Europe, South America, and Asia

No wonder Rupert Murdoch is teaming up with Apple for an iPad only newspaper called Daily. At only $0.99 cents a week, the global reach of the Daily could be substantial.

Anyway, the next generation iPad with its CDMA and GSM will be capable of running off the 3G networks of T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, here within the United States.

Gizmodo got some information about the new Google phone, Nexux Two. This time will not be made my HTC, it will be Samsung with a Galaxy S look.

“It’s black and shiny, built with glossy plastic. Up close, though, it’s “got this curve to it.” While the screen, which our source thinks is the same 4-inch AMOLED affair from the Galaxy series, is flat, the front is “sort of concave” with hard edges. And the back is curved. The tapering makes it feel thinner than Galaxy S, though it might be about the same thickness. “It feels really similar to the Galaxy S in a lot ways.”

Externally, the main difference from all of the current Galaxy S variants in the US is that it’s got a front-facing camera, and it’s running a stock build of Android that was still “really buggy.”

Gizmodo

Samsung will be unveiling a new Android device  in New York City on Nov. 8. Rumors indicate that it could be a new phone for Verizon Wireless, the Samsung Continuum. We just hope getting new information about Samsung Galaxy phones like the Vibrant or Captivate ( i am using one btw)  Stay tuned, folks.

Via Engadget