FCC Approves T-Mobile, MetroPCS Merger

The proposed merger between T-Mobile and MetroPCS is one step closer to becoming the real deal, folks, as another governmental/regulatory body has approved the deal. Following the apparent nod of approval by the Department of Justice (they let the evaluation period expire with no objections, which is pretty much seen as an approval), the FCC has given its thumbs up on the $1.5 billion deal that will see Deutsche Telekom owning 74% of a new company formed by the two.

Even with the FCC’s blessing, though, there’s still work to be done. MetroPCS has to hold a shareholders’ meeting where the folks who have stake in the company will vote on whether or not they want this deal to go through. This is a step that isn’t necessarily seen as an issue, but recent murmurings suggest not everyone is on the bandwagon for this to happen. Several shareholders, including some top hedge-funds, have reportedly expressed distaste, saying MetroPCS is being severely undervalued.

The voting process will commence in another few weeks or so, and that will ultimately determine how all of this plays out. It’s worthy to note that even if shareholders vote against the merger there’s still a chance Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS can tweak some details and flip some numbers to make everyone happy.

In other words, any fear of objections by the FCC, Department of Justice, and any other anti-competitive protection groups are gone, and now it’s all down to Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS to make this happen smoothly. FCC chairman Julius Genachowski had this to say:

“With today’s approval, America’s mobile market continues to strengthen, moving toward robust competition and revitalized competitors. We are seeing billions more in network investment, while the courts have upheld key FCC decisions to accelerate broadband build-out, promote competition, and benefit consumers, including our broadband data roaming and pole attachment rules. Today’s action will benefit millions of American consumers and help the U.S maintain the global leadership in mobile it has regained in recent years.

“Mobile broadband is a key engine of economic growth, with U.S. annual wireless capital investment up 40% over the last four years, the largest increase in the world, and few sectors having more potential to create jobs. In this fast-moving space, of course challenges remain, including the need to unleash even more spectrum for mobile broadband and continuing to promote competition and protect consumers. The Commission will stay focused on these vital goals.”

It sounds like he’s quite excited to give T-Mobile a chance to grow and remain competitive to keep Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon from getting too big. T-Mobile will look to gain control over significant spectrum used by MetroPCS, and that should help get its LTE network off the ground. The FCC wants a faster, more connected America and giving the fourth largest carrier the digital capital to do so.


Source: FCC

HTC One Launch Delayed Until March 29TH

During its press conference in February, HTC failed to announce a release date for the HTC One. It was previously rumored that the company’s flagship smartphone would launch on March 15th, however a new report claims the phone’s release has been delayed until later this month. According to phone retailer Clove, the HTC One has been “officially” delayed in the United Kingdom until March 29th. An HTC spokesperson confirmed that the company “will start fulfilling pre-orders by end March in certain markets and will roll out to more markets as we approach April.” HTC’s new flagship smartphone is equipped with a 4.7-inch full HD display, a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor and a new “Ultrapixel” rear camera.

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“Ultrapixel” Shortage Could Mean Big Delays For HTC

The latest news out of Taiwan is that the troubled manufacturer has been forced to cut the number of HTC One units that it plans to ship in the first half of 2013 by 80%. In other words, it’s only shipping 20% of what it thought it would when the HTC One was first announced. The trouble stems from an inability to secure enough voice coil motors and compact camera modules, components that are crucial for the HTC One’s Ultrapixel camera.

Source: Android Authority

How to Get The New Facebook News Feed

Facebook unveiled a whole new news feed on Thursday morning and the revamp comes with a host of fresh features. Among the chief advantages: bigger images, multiple feeds for different interests and a more consistent user experience across mobile devices.

But all the intrigue brings up just one question: How to get the new Facebook news feed?

Well, there's a site for that and it's pretty simple although the change may not take effect as soon as you'd like. First, go to facebook.com/about/newsfeed. Second, click the big green "Join Waiting List" button at the bottom of the page.

Is Facebook the New Google+

Facebook unveiled today a radical new look for the news feed, but it wasn't the only social network getting major buzz following the design announcement.

Minutes after Facebook debuted the overhaul, boasting multiple feeds, mobile consistency and a bigger focus on pictures, people took to Twitter to discuss the similarities between the update and the existing look of competitor Google+, which was trending on Twitter in the U.S. for a good portion of Mark Zuckerberg's presentation.

Facebook's announcement comes just one day after Google+ launched new features of its own, including a "Local" reviews tab and larger cover photos.


As a part of an effort to de-clutter news feeds, Facebook introduced on Thursday more white space to make reading easier on the eyes. This shift is indeed reflective of Google+'s signature look. Both platforms now have a lot more space in the center of the page.

Looking at the designs side by side, the similarities are obvious. For example, Facebook's new look takes updates from friends also called Stories from small thumbnails to beautiful, blown-up displays, just like Google+'s approach to highlighting updates. Previews of articles shared from friends will also take up more real estate in the redesigned news feed. 

In addition, Facebook will be removing its cluttered left side bar and replacing it with a cleaner, sleeker black bar with visual icons for bookmarks, such as messages and chat. This resembles Google+'s existing grey-scale side bar, also with stacked icons. If you take a look at Facebook's sidebar now, which features smaller icons and more text, this is a huge change toward saving space and streamlining the design. It's also similar to Facebook's iPhone app.

Sound off in the comment section, does the new Facebook design look a lot like the new Google+ design? Let us know what you think.

Meet The Asus Transformer AiO Part Android, Part Windows 8

Asus launched on Thursday the latest device in its Transformer line, and it certainly lives up to the name.

The Transformer AiO P1801 is part tablet, part PC, with the ability to switch from Windows 8 and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with the click of a button. The versatility factor gets better too. The tablet can sit on a PC station, equipped with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and serve as a desktop computer. But when you're ready to use it far from the confines of a desk, the tablet can be removed. Both the tablet and PC station comes with its own processor.

The bundled set is $1299 and will be available for purchase starting April 12.

However, there are a few things to keep in mind. The 18.4-inch tablet which boasts a Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor isn't exactly light in the hands. It's big, and heavy too: 5.28 pounds. This isn't the type of device you'd throw into your bag and go, but it does offer flexibility of setting up shop in another room. That's how Asus is billing the concept. It also comes with a stand for easy leaning.

Other Transformer AiO P1801 tablet specs include a LED backlit display (1920 x 1080) with 10-point touch, meaning you can use all your fingers at once on the screen 2GB DDR3-1600 memory, 32 GB of storage, microSD card reader, built-in microphone, a mini USB 2.0 port and a 33W input charging port. ASUS says the battery should run for about five hours, playing 5 hours of HD video and 15 hours playing music.

Meanwhile, the PC station runs an Intel Core i5-3350P quad core processor, with 8GB DDR-1600 memory, built-in speakers and a slew of features including an optical drive, SD card reader and an HDMI port. It weighs in at about 9 pounds.

To go between Android and Windows 8, which is also touchscreen-friendly, a button on the side of the device will switch the operating system.

The concept in theory is a smart one, allowing users the option of customizing how they want to use the device, but in practice, we're not quite sure how well this would work.

Sprint LG Optimus G Gets Some Jelly Bean Love

Sprint has announced the upgrade to Android 4.1.2 for its LG Optimus G. It’ll bring obvious goods such as Google Now, expandable notifications and an updated Android Beam experience, alongside the many other things unique to Jelly Bean.

Alongside that, a bunch of changes specific to the Optimus G have been made. Sprint says you can expect a smoother user interface thanks to the Android framework doing all the heavy lifting for vsync timing, user-installable keyboard maps, an improved camera app, improved voice search, the ability for third-party launches to add widgets without requiring root access, the ability to download the QuickTranslator application from the Application Manager and more.

That’s quite the hefty update, but you’re probably wondering how you can get it anyway. As usual, you can make your way to Settings > About Phone to check for the upgrade, and make sure your WiFi is on and your battery is charged to at least 50% to ensure the best and most safe updating experience.



Source: Sprint

OUYA Opens Developer Portal for Game Submissions

March 28 is the day that OUYA consoles will start shipping to people who originally started backing it on Kickstarter. 

Seeing as how that’s only a few weeks away, OUYA announced that game developers can submit their games for review starting today. This allows OUYA to test and review the games before launch to build a nice big portfolio for early adopters to play when they fire up their OUYA for the first time. 



Source: OUYA

Motorola Officially Outs Jelly Bean Update For DROID RAZR/MAXX

The soak test of Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.2) for the original DROID RAZR and RAZR MAXX has officially begun. We don’t exactly know when it’ll arrive for all users who are not a part of the Motorola Feedback Network, but assuming this test goes smoothly, it shouldn't be long. And for your sake, I hope you aren't waiting more than a week, as the update rids the device of almost all Moto-inspired bloatware, turning it into a device that even an Android elitist snob would be proud of. If this update isn’t a sign of the “new” Motorola, then I don’t know what is. 

Below, you’ll find the full changelog for the update. The “enhancements” and “fixes” sections are filled with typical goodies and all, but the “changes” section is what should really get you going. Motorola has decided to remove the Social Location app, MotoActv, MotoPrint, Alarm and Timer (replaced by stock Google Clock), and Verizon Video on Demand. They also killed off the My Gallery and My Music apps in favor of the stock Android Gallery app and Google Music. MotoCast is no longer integrated into anything on the device, including the Files app. It’s now a stand alone app (it has been enhanced to be much more powerful). They also killed all of sorts of widgets that you likely weren't using anyway, as they were tied to many of these now-deceased apps.

Outside of the debloating, they made Chrome the stock browser, brought in Google Now, enhanced Voice Search, improved the camera greatly (better panorama too), improved network connectivity, fixed contact sync, and so much more.

The build number is 98.72.16.

This is quite the update. It may shock some of you to see so many major changes, but this is the direction Motorola wants to go. Less “Moto” branded software, more stock Android. We can’t argue against that.

Source: Motorola