metro

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son is ready and willing to entertain other buyout possibilities in the U.S., he has reportedly confirmed.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal in an interview published yesterday, Son said that he isn't yet willing to rule out other acquisition deals, though he didn't specifically cite any company that might be in his crosshairs. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, who was also present at the interview, told the Journal that at some point in the future, he could see his company merge with T-Mobile.

Softbank announced earlier this week that it would pay $20.1 billion … Read more

Start8 brings back the familiar start button to make your transition to Windows 8 a little bit easier. The first thing you'll notice when firing up your new Windows 8 PC is the lack of a Start button. For design reasons, Microsoft has removed the old Start menu in favor of the new Metro Start screen. Start8 aims to bring it back and help you make your move to the new Windows without compromising productivity.

The installation is light and fast, and setting up takes almost no time at all. Setup will ask whether you prefer the original Windows … Read more

Feeling lost in Windows 8's Desktop mode? Not sure how to get back to the Start screen? It's simpler than you think. We've got three ways to get you back home to the colorful safety of Metro's tiles.

Use the Charms, Luke. Open the Charms bar, Windows 8's new superpowered sidebar. If you're on a touch screen, you can do this by swiping in from the right edge. If you've got a mouse, move the cursor to the upper-right-hand corner of your screen. Wait a moment, and the Charms will appear. Move the … Read more

With the news of the T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS merger just settling, company shareholders have filed a lawsuit trying to block the deal.

According to the TMONews, MetroPCS shareholders are calling the deal "drastically undervalued" and claiming that MetroPCS' board is "conflicted and serving its own financial interests." The lawsuit was filed in Dallas, Texas against MetroPCS, T-Mobile USA, its German parent company Deutsche Telekom, and MetroPCS' CEO and board of directors.

"The process leading to the proposed acquisition was tainted by conflicts, tilted towards T-Mobile and driven entirely by the board and company management, … Read more

Last update: 8:20 a.m. PT

Sprint Nextel has confirmed that it's holding discussions with Softbank regarding a "substantial investment" by the Japanese mobile carrier.

The confirmation came several hours after a report in the Wall Street Journal said, citing sources, that Softbank is in advanced talks to acquire the U.S.-based carrier for $12.8 billion. Beyond that, details are slim, and there's no telling if the companies might actually arrive at any kind of a deal.

Sprint's statement stopped short of saying that the company would accept a full buyout:

Sprint appears to be taking a wait-and-see approach on a possible acquisition bid for MetroPCS.

The No. 3 wireless carrier is delaying a counteroffer in an effort to examine Deutsche Telekom's plan to merge the prepaid carrier with T-Mobile, sources tell Bloomberg. The company is reportedly holding its counteroffer for a chance to see Deutsche Telekom's proxy filing to examine details of the German communications giant's negotiations.

CNET has contacted Sprint for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

Deutsche Telekom, which owns T-Mobile, announced a plan last week to buy MetroPCS and combine it with T-Mobile. … Read more

T-Mobile USA may be behind its rivals when it comes to 4G LTE, but that doesn't mean it's mincing words about its ambitions.

AT&T and Verizon Wireless may be able to boast of a super-fast wireless connection now, but T-Mobile believes it can one-up both of them when it finally gets its LTE network rollout going next year.

"LTE today is good, but LTE tomorrow can be great," Ray said in an interview with CNET today. "That's the opportunity we hope to secure and differentiate ourselves with."

The key to T-Mobile'… Read more

Four Windows 8 television advertisements have leaked online, ahead of the operating system's launch later this month.

The advertisements, which first appeared on Israeli technology site TechIt, show off some of the main features of the operating system, but focus on the learning experience for new and existing Windows users.

A number of early adopters have complained that the new user interface is difficult to understand, too complicated or not designed with traditional desktop PCs and laptops in mind. Many reviewers and technology blogs and sites -- including CNET -- have noted that the navigation is tricky and the … Read more

With only a few weeks to go before Microsoft's big Windows overhaul, Mozilla puts forward its first version of Firefox preview optimized for Windows 8's touch interface.

How to install it Once you download and run the Firefox Metro Preview (download installer) in Windows 8, you must close Firefox in Metro and Desktop if you already have them installed, then open the Control Panel and set Internet Explorer as the default browser.

From there, run in Desktop mode the Firefox Nightly EXE that you just downloaded and set it as the Default when prompted. A Windows 8 prompt … Read more