The AT&T/T-Mobile deal fell through in December of last year, ending with AT&T giving up 3 billion dollars and 1 billion in spectrum. Today AT&T and T-Mobile have submitted and application to the FCC, to transfer the AWS spectrum over to T-Mobile. This should be the last bit that AT&T has to pay to T-Mobile for the repercussions of the loss of the purchase. T-Mobile has more money now, along with no plans for a future when compared to the other main carriers in the US. Our bet is that they still might be sold in 2012.

(via The Verge)

AT&T announced today that it’s plans to merge with T-Mobile have now been dropped. AT&T will now be paying Deutsche Telekom around 3 billion dollars for their troubles if you will, and about 1 billion in spectrum. The deal will allow each others customers to share their networks.

It is not clear at all how the networks will share the spectrum, they have some different bands and it will take some effort to work out. Who knows, this could help T-Mobile switch over to LTE in the future if they decided to go that route. This saga is still going strong and hopefully it pushes forward to benefit everyone in the future.

(via The Verge)

The T-Mobile and At&t merger saga is still going, but who knows if it will ever take place. If it doesn’t, the CEO of Dish Network, Joseph Clayton has said that he would love to partner with T-Mobile for their spectrum. Dish has already been buying spectrum up this year with a LTE network planned to try to take on Verizon and At&t. They are even looking to Sprint if they have to, either way, the carrier wars keep getting interesting as time rolls by.

(via The Verge)

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Hardware

The Samsung Galaxy S II is extremely thin at .35” and only weighing 4.3 oz. The phone is made up of plastic and does give off a slightly “cheapy” feel. The battery cover is paper thin and textured unlike the smooth plastic found around the rest of the phone. Don’t let the thin and light body fool you, the Galaxy S II packs plenty of punches in the hardware department. This phone isn’t about the body, it’s about the screen.

The beautiful 4.3” Super AMOLED Plus display is vivid and shows off colors remarkably well. Greens and blues almost glow, blacks are so deep it looks as if the display is turned off. It’s bright and extremely crisp. Even with a “lower” resolution of 800 x 480, the screen still looks great even up against other phones with a qHD display. Comparing it to my Thunderbolt, well, there is no comparison, this is a gorgeous display.

Below the screen are your traditional Android keys for menu, home, back and search. They are capacitive buttons and provide a little vibration for feedback as you hit them. Above the screen you will find the 2.0 Megapixel front facing camera for all your self portrait needs. Along the top, off centered to the right, is the 3.5mm head set jack for headphones. The left side is home to the volume rocker, the right side, the power button. The overall look is very clean and uncluttered, and your attention quickly centers on the screen instead of the rest of the hardware.

Cameras

The Galaxy S II sports a 2.0 Megapixel front facing camera, and a 8 Megapixel camera on the back. The rear camera also shoots video in 1080p. The front facing camera does its job and your not going to knock any one’s socks off the quality of your self portraits. It’s there for video calls, for that, it works well. The 8 Megapixel camera takes pretty good shots. Not as good as the iPhone 4s but better than most Android phones. The shutter is quick, but again, not as fast as the iPhone 4s or the upcoming Galaxy Nexus. One very nice feature of the camera is the ability to create panoramic images. Snap a shot, line up a few more, and the phone stitches them together for one continuous image.

Software

Ah the software. This is where the magic either happens or is revealed to be a just an illusion created by David Blane, er Samsung. The Galaxy S II comes with Android 2.3.4 and Samsung’s Touchwiz software. When I first saw Touchwiz on the original Galaxy S, I thought it was ugly, slow, and an iPhone rip off. With the Galaxy S II however, you have a smooth, polished, and very fast user experience. The icon’s “cartoonish” looks have been toned down and everything has a more refined look. The best improvement are in the home screen launcher. You are given a customizable bottom row so that you can place apps that you want in the dock. Samsung also has made it so when you reach the end of your home screen pages, it will scroll circularly to the next page.

Samsung has also added some motion control gestures to interact with the phone. For example, in the browser you can place two thumbs on the screen and tilt the phone backward and forward to zoom in and out. You can do the same on the home screen in order to move your icons around. Another very cool motion feature is flip to mute. Rocking out to some serious jams when your boss walks in, just quickly flip the phone over and it will mute media playback. Flipping phone over on it’s face while a call comes in will mute the ringer as well.

The Galaxy S II is a carrier phone and as such you will get a bevy of AT&T branded apps. Nothing too offensive and some you might even find useful. Also pre-installed is the popular Swype keyboard, allowing you to slide your finger from one letter to the next in order to create sentences and words. For those that do not like Swype, there is also a more traditional keyboard by Samsung which I found to be quite good. It looks and feels very much like the stock Gingerbread keyboard.

Battery and Performance

The Galaxy S II is fast! There is no other way to put it. The phone is powered by a dual core 1.2ghz Exynos processor and 1GB of RAM which makes this device scream. The Samsung Galaxy S II is the quickest Android phone I have used to date. There is zero lag, home screens fly by with no stuttering and menus pop up in an instant. Web pages also seemed to load faster on the Galaxy s II than the Motorola Atrix while both were connected to WiFi. Loading it up with apps and switching between them on the fly was no issue. The phone took every single task I through at it in stride. Whether you’re interested in multitasking or gaming, this device will not let you down. It’s a speed demon.

With all the speed and performance, this thing probably sucks down the juice right? Well it’s actually not bad at all. Users of heavy data and constant multitasking will see around 8 hours of battery, but one could easily squeeze 12-14 hours if you needed to. I like to use my device full force with brightness at 90+ percent, GPS on, WiFi on, mail, twitter, and all kinds of other apps being pushed. The Samsung handled all of this beautifully. The only other device that I have tested with this good of battery is the iPhone 4, and it doesn’t do nearly as much in the background. I was quite impressed.

Wrap Up

Minus the the plasticky feel, the Galaxy S II really stunned me. I was never that impressed with the first Galaxy S and this looked just like the Infuse that’s been out for months. You truly can’t judge a book, er, phone by it’s cover. Under the hood this thing is a beast with the chops to stay alive in this crazy wireless jungle. Beautiful screen, amazing performance, great battery life, and software that isn’t offensive to the user, the Galaxy S II is a great choice for anyone.

Guru Inspection
Hardware
Cheap feeling body, but the gorgeous display makes up for it.
Cameras
The 8mp is good, but not a step above anything we have currently seen. The Front facing camera is great for video calls.
Software
Samsung has toned down Touchwiz and made it very useful and even likeable.
Battery and Performance
Hands down the fastest Android phone I have used. Battery will easilt last 8-10 hours of heavy use.

Overall
The Galaxy S II is a great device, and easily AT&T's best out of their current lineup.

Key Facts

Customers can purchase HTC Jetstream, AT&T’s* first 4G LTE/HSPA+ tablet, online and in company-owned retail stores starting September 4.
HTC Jetstream is HTC’s first tablet running on the Android™ 3.1 (Honeycomb) operating system which was specifically built for tablets.
Tablet features a 10.1” HD display, Snapdragon 1.5 GHz dual core processor and front and rear facing cameras.
For the first time, AT&T custom

ers can receive discounted tablet pricing after committing to a two-year agreement for a new $35, 3GB monthly data plan.
For a limited time, HTC Scribe ™ – an optional digital pen accessory- will be available at no additional cost.
Customer Benefits

Exclusive to AT&T customers, HTC Jetstream is the company’s first 4G LTE/HSPA+ tablet. It runs the Android™ 3.1 (Honeycomb) operating system and represents the first iteration of the HTC Sense™ user experience on Honeycomb. HTC Jetstream boasts a large 10.1” WXGA high-resolution display for an immersive entertainment experience, third-generation Snapdragon 1.5 GHz dual core processor for fast multi-tasking and instant screen refresh. A rich web browsing experience supports Adobe® Flash® Player and an enhanced HD video experience with1080p playback and capture.

The tablet is also compatible with HTC Scribe™ – an optional digital pen accessory, which is sold separately, – for content creation as well as Evernote integration for storing your documents in the cloud. Additionally, HTC Jetstream is preloaded with services optimized for the tablet such as AT&T Family Map, AT&T Navigator ®, HTC Watch™, HTC Hub, Friendstream™, Android Market, and much more.

Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)

HTC Jetstream is AT&T’s first tablet to showcase the Android™ 3.1 OS. The brand new operating system was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screens. It improves on Android favorites with new interactive and resizeable widgets plus improved multi-tasking, browsing, notifications, and customization. The new version of the platform also features Google Maps 5.0 with 3D-like interaction, access to over three million Google eBooks, incognito mode for browsing internet with no history tracking and Google Talk with video chat over Wi-Fi.

Quotes

“This tablet is a beautiful 10.1-inch, LTE powered masterpiece,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “When you combine powerful options like HTC Jetstream with our upcoming LTE technology and nationwide HSPA+ network, it flies.”

“HTC Jetstream combines the acclaimed HTC Sense experience with Android Honeycomb to provide an innovative and engaging experience on a 10.1 inch tablet,” said Martin Fichter, acting president, HTC Americas Region. “Paired with AT&T’s upcoming 4G LTE speed and mobility, HTC Jetstream delivers connectivity for social and entertainment needs alongside productivity and creativity tools in a portable package.”

Price and Availability

On September 4, the tablet will be available exclusively to AT&T customers online and in company-owned retail stores for $699.99 with a new two-year contract.

AT&T postpaid tablet customers now have a new $35, 3 GB monthly data plan option with a two-year contract. Customers who do not choose a long-term commitment may still select one of two existing monthly billing options:

Postpaid: $14.99 for 250 MB or $25 for 2 GB. Customers on the 2 GB plan who exceed their monthly data allotment will be charged $10 per 1 GB of overage. Charges will appear on customers’ monthly wireless statements.
Prepaid: $14.99 for 250 MB or $25 for 2 GB. Customers on the 2 GB plan who exceed their monthly data allotment may choose to purchase an additional 2 GB for $25. Charges will appear on customers’ credit card statements.
Offering the simplicity of a single bill, the postpaid option will show up on customers’ monthly wireless bill after the data is used. The new postpaid billing option will be available online at www.att.com and across AT&T retail locations.

For more information, please visit www.att.com/jetstream.

HTC Jetstream Specifications

LTE (700/AWS)
HSPA+/HSPA/UMTS (850/1900/2100 MHz)
EDGE/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)
HTC Sense™ UX for tablets
Display: 10.1” WXGA HD screen
Processor: Third-generation Snapdragon 1.5GHz dual-core processor
Camera: Front Facing 1.3 MP, Rear facing 8 MP and Dual LED Flash
Battery: 7,300 mAh
Expandable Memory: MicroSD up to 32 GB
Dimensions: 7” (l) x 9.87” (w) x 51” (d)
Weight: 25 ounces
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. 4G speeds delivered by HSPA+ (with enhanced backhaul) or LTE, where available. Deployment ongoing. Compatible data plan required. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Learn more at att.com/network.

AT&T FamilyMap and AT&T Navigator® require a separate subscription.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Limited-time offer. Specifications subject to change. Device subject to availability. Mobile broadband access requires a DataConnect Plan for Tablets or a Session Based DataConnect Plan. DataConnect Plans are billed monthly and automatically renew every month, unless you cancel service prior to the start of the monthly renewal. No term commitment or termination fees apply (with no service commitment plans). Overage charges apply if the monthly data allowance is exceeded. Offer not available for on-tablet activation. Credit check may be required. Geographic and other restrictions apply. Session Based DataConnect Pass Plans for Tablets: Time begins expiring immediately upon purchase/activation, whether you are using the service or not. Once your time expires or the allotted data is used, whichever comes first, your data access will cease. 30-day domestic plans automatically renew, unless you cancel auto-renewal. Fees are non-refundable. Other restrictions apply. For full terms see DataConnect Pass Wireless Data Services Agreement on att.com/wirelesslegal.

Promotional tablet pricing requires a two-year agreement and a minimum $35 a month 3 GB DataConnect Plan for tablets. Overage is $10 for each GB provided, if the included monthly data allowance is exceeded. Geographic and other restrictions apply. Early Termination Fee: None if cancelled in the first 30 days, but up to 10% restocking fee may apply to returns; thereafter up to $325. Some agents impose additional fees. Equipment fee may apply if service canceled within 30 days of purchase. See att.com/returns for details. Sales tax calculated based on price of unactivated equipment.

CRU and IRU customers must purchase a qualifying DataConnect Plan for Tablets.

HTC Scribe Pen Offer: Customers must add the HTC Scribe at time of purchase. Offer cannot be combined with any other equipment promotion, discount, or other offer. Subject to availability limitations. Sales tax calculated based on price of unactivated equipment. Customers who purchase HTC Jetstream between September 4 and October 15 and later return the device must also return the HTC Scribe pen. Offer runs until Sunday, October 15, 2011 11:59 p.m. EDT.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. A leader in mobile broadband, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T | DIRECTV brands. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT. Find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ATT to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at www.Facebook.com/ATTSmallBiz to discover more about our small business services.

About HTC
HTC Corp. (HTC) is one of the fastest-growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative devices that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

© 2011 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. Mobile broadband not available in all areas. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

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Show Notes and more after the break

Contoured Design

The Status has a 5.0 MP main and a VGA front-facing camera which just so happens to work wonderfully for a quick hair status check using the Mirror app. The flash is bright, almost a little too bright, when taking a close up shot it almost fades out/creates a huge reflection in the picture. However, we’re talking about a night shot with a cell phone can’t we can’t be too picky. The speaker, which is really small, is quite potent sounded great on phone calls and when I was rocking out to my favorite jams. Even with it’s location on the back, I never covered up the speaker when texting/e-mailing. Overall, the design of the Status is rock solid.
The Status’ design is sleek, cleverly shaped and fits into your hand ever so softly – almost like it was meant to be. The keyboard is great, the buttons aren’t spaced out too far, arrow keys are great for navigating text fields, and the shortcuts utilizing the arrow keys even put a smile on my face when I stumbled across them. The only qualm I had with the keyboard is the illumination at night. You can see the numbers and letters just fine but the symbols aren’t lit up at all! You can easily access the symbols through screen menus but when I’m in the zone typing, I don’t want to have to reach up to my screen to put in a smiley face.

Software

with HTC Sense

HTC Sense is beautiful. I’ve used Motorola and Samsung Android devices previously, so this was my first phone with HTC Sense (well legitimately) pre-loaded on it. The lock screen with the selectable apps to unlock to is so convenient. The HTC widgets are, in my professionally unprofessional opinion, beautifully designed and easy to read even on this screen. I keep a calendar, task manager, Pandora and easy access to Google stuff such as Google +, Docs and the ilk readily available on my home screens no matter on what device I’ve had as standard issue. I was a bit skeptical about how I’d be able to see all my necessities on this device and the built in Sense Widgets totally satisfied my widget needs.

I’ve commonly used ADW or Launcher Pro depending on the day of the week and I felt no need to go back to them using what was pre-loaded on the Status. Granted on the smaller screen I couldn’t see my entire month but the scrollable widgets are easy enough to use that navigating around the smaller widgets isn’t bad at all. The only part I didn’t like about the setup was the app drawer was only accessible from the main home screen. Compile that with the fact that the home screens don’t rotate continuously – so if you have a lot of homes screens you will loose a few precious seconds of your life going back to the home screen just to access the app drawer.

Navigating around through the phone’s app drawer is very easy – instead of having to worry about finding the right row of apps on a small screen, the drawer has a set amount of apps it will show and you can scroll down to the next page of apps with one flick. There is also a convenient “Frequent” apps tab that has a history of the last few apps you used so it makes getting to your favorite apps very easy. By far though, the easiest app to use on the Status is Facebook due to the dedicated Facebook button.

The Facebook Button

The Facebook Button

If a widget wasn’t easy enough to use, the Status has a dedicated Facebook button that makes posting and sharing information on the social networking site extremely easy. Even if you’re new to the social networking world and find yourself unsure about what is acceptable to share to the world: the Facebook button illuminates when you are doing something you can share with your friends. Holding down the Facebook button will share your location with your fellow Facebook friends so you can see exactly you are at that particular moment.

Text messaging as well as posting is easy but both have large typing fields so, posting on Facebook in particular, you can only see what you’re typing and not much else. In the text message settings you can turn down the font size so that does help but if you have one of those friends who likes to type a novel then you’ll find yourself scrolling up and down a bit more than usual.
Overall the HTC Status is a phone that seemingly leans towards the social/messaging crowd but can easily appease the more advanced phone users.

Power/Performance 

Light and Peppy

The phone has a 800mhz processor which is peppy enough for your average user but could show signs of slow down if you had a lot of live widgets/wallpaper going on all at once. I consider myself an advanced phone user and there was nothing I could do on my current Android device that I could not do on the Status. I really liked the keyboard and I didn’t mind the smaller screen (even though I couldn’t play Age of Zombies…) when I’ve been used to larger screens thus far. The battery was around standard life; I’d get a full day of usage out of the Status but it’d be ready to be charged by the end of the night. Gingerbread operates smoothly on this powerful device that has a lot in a small package. I really enjoyed my time spent with this phone; it will be missed.

Pros:

Great keyboard, Gingerbread, HTC Sense, charging port is illuminated for easy night charging, speaker is solid, ergonomic design feels good in your hand, battery life was good even on a smaller device

Cons:

Small screen, app drawer only accessible from home screen, typing fields large to the point where you can’t see much else on the screen, large widgets on little screen don’t leave room for much else

Guru Inspection Score : 8.5

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This week Nic and Liz dive into a ton of stuff. They finish it off with a long discussion about something or other…you’ll see! Show notes after the break.

Nintendo posts first quarterly operating loss; 3DS now just $169.99

Internet as hard to give up as cigarettes, liquor, study says

Remote unlock and start for cars hacked

China shuts down two fake Apple Stores

Spotify sued by PacketVideo for patent infringement

“Linking is not a crime”: Czech Pirate Party declares war on Big Content

Rogue academic downloader busted by MIT webcam stakeout

Google wants e-mail in Android suit redacted

Facebook to pay hackers for bugs

Petition to revive Oscar the Grouch trash-can utility in OS X Lion

AT&T to throttle smartphone data starting October 1st

Hulu sued for patent infringement

Italian cyber-crime police hacked in AntiSec attack

http://m.lifehacker.com/5825746/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-internet-snooping-bill-and-what-you-can-do-about-it

FBI working from list of top 1,000 protestors in Anonymous raids

Police arrest 19-year old LulzSec hacker ‘Topiary’

Ultimate hack: LulzSec may have duped British authorities into  arresting innocent man