usa

T-Mobile, MetroPCS look to eat Sprint's prepaid lunch

A combining of T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS could make for a potent player in the rough-and-tumble prepaid business.

T-Mobile has over the past few years expanded its no-contract options for consumers, giving it a badly needed source of customer growth. MetroPCS, meanwhile, has long been an aggressive -- albeit small -- provider of prepaid services with experience in running a low-cost business.

Together, the companies could present a challenge to Sprint Nextel, long the biggest champion of no-contract services with multiple prepaid brands under its umbrella. T-Mobile and MetroPCS today touted the establishment of the "leading value-focused wireless carrier&… Read more

Wireless shakeup: T-Mobile to merge with MetroPCS

Deutsche Telekom, parent company to T-Mobile USA, said Wednesday it has struck a merger deal with prepaid regional carrier MetroPCS.

According to the agreement, MetroPCS shareholders will get $1.5 billion in cash and a 26 percent stake in the combined company. Deutsche Telekom will own the remaining 74 percent of the company.

The deal requires regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2013.

"We are extremely pleased to announce this transaction with MetroPCS, which enhances Deutsche Telekom's position in the … Read more

Isis mobile payment service hits snag, delays trial run

Isis won't be launching its mobile payment trials at the end of summer.

Isis, which is a joint venture between Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile USA, told CNET today that it was delaying the start of its trials, which were scheduled to start this month in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Austin, Texas.

Isis is one of several parties attempting to roll out a broader system of mobile payments, which would enable you to purchase goods and services by waving a smartphone at a cash register, subway turnstile, or inside a taxi. Unlike a higher profile launch … Read more

Visa: Mobile payments will hit mainstream in 2 to 3 years

That vision of paying for goods and services with your phone anywhere you go? You shouldn't hold your breath.

While there are trials and select deployments of payment terminals and cash registers that can accept mobile payments, the method won't hit the mainstream in the U.S. for another two to three years, according to Bill Gajda, head of mobile for Visa.

"We're seeing momentum in 2013," Gajda said in an interview with CNET. "But it's really about commercial launches and scale."

Visa has been one of the bigger companies spearheading the … Read more

Friday Poll: How important is it to buy U.S.-made tech?

The Fourth of July is coming up next week. It's a good time to take stock of where the country stands in the world of technology manufacturing.

We've been hearing quite a bit lately about how feasible (or not) it is to make tech products right here at home.

Manufacturing plants in Asia pretty much have the cell phone and gadget market cornered, but there are some blips on the U.S.-made tech radar. Google has managed to design and build the Nexus Q streaming media player in America.

Is this a sign of a reboot for technology manufacturing in America?… Read more

T-Mobile USA CEO resigns

T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm has resigned and will return to Europe where his family lives, according to a press release from the company.

GeekWire reported that a leaked internal memo reveals Humm is leaving to work for a competitor. CNET's messages to Deutsche Telekom, the company that owns T-Mobile, have not been returned, but ZDNET reported a confirmation from Deutsche Telekom that Humm will indeed be joining a rival company.

Deutsche Telekom's Rene Obermann penned the memo, indicating that he has already spoken to a number of candidates. According to the company's press release, T-Mobile COO … Read more

Amazon distributor lashes out at Samsung over Galaxy S III delay

CNET Executive Editor Molly Wood has an ax to grind, but the focus of her ire isn't crystal clear.

Last week, she ordered the global version of the Samsung Galaxy S III, in white, from Amazon.com's only Galaxy S III vendor, a consumer electronics reseller called BluTekUSA.

In choosing the Galaxy S III in white, Molly deliberately steered clear of the blue version, whose shipping hiccup apparently hangs on its "pebble blue" paint job.

All was going dandy -- Molly even received a shipping confirmation for an estimated June 6-8 delivery -- until the distributor, … Read more

T-Mobile parent DT says another sale unlikely

Deutsche Telekom isn't keen on repeating last year's failed attempt to wed its T-Mobile USA unit to AT&T, or any other carrier, for that matter.

A complete sale of T-Mobile is unlikely as Deutsche Telekom focuses on turning the business around and ensuring it is a self-funding venture, Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann told shareholders today, according to a Bloomberg report.

T-Mobile has spent the last few months getting back into the wireless game in a real, aggressive way, launching ads that specifically target its competitors, including former suitor AT&T, and laying out plans … Read more

Is the HTC One S T-Mobile's savior?

T-Mobile USA may not have the iPhone or a slew of other cool Android phones, but next week it will start selling the HTC One S, one of HTC's premiere smartphones that may finally give its subscribers a phone that excites them.

The new HTC One S will go on sale in T-Mobile stores and online April 25 for $199.99 with a two-year contract. The smartphone, which was unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, is the first on T-Mobile's network to sport the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software. It also supports … Read more