Hoping to halt sinking profits, HTC debuts One smartphone

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The flagship phone that could put an end to HTC’s sinking profits finally hit stores Friday. The long-awaited HTC One is available today by AT&T and Sprint, both online and at their retail stores. You can also purchase it at Best Buy, RadioShack, Walmart, Target, Amazon.com, Costco, Car Toys, Sam’s Club, HSN.com, and HTC.com. Both Sprint and AT&T are… Read More…

T-Mobile tries to lure Android fans with special monthly Galaxy S4 pricing

The Samsung Galaxy S3 on the left, and the new Galaxy S4 on the right.

T-Mobile announced pricing plans today for Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 phone. Starting April 24 on T-Mobile.com, you can order Samsung’s flagship smartphone for $149 up front and pay $20 per month for 24 months thereafter. It’s part of T-Mobile’s new Simple Choice Plan, which separates the cost of wireless service from the purchase of a phone… Read More…

MetroPCS encourages shareholders again to vote for T-Mobile deal

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It looks like the MetroPCS board is happy with Deutsche Telekom’s recent changes to the proposed merger between MetroPCS and T-Mobile. Last week, Deutsche Telekom reduced the amount of debt MetroPCS would carry from the merger from $15 billion to $11.2 billion and also lowered the interest rate on the debt, calling it its “best and… Read More…

Verizon wants to buy Clearwire spectrum for $1.5B

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Both Sprint and Dish Network are looking to buy Clearwire, the Bellevue-based wireless broadband operator that’s most coveted for its spectrum holdings. But now there may be another player in the mix. The Wall Street Journal reports today that Verizon Wireless has offered to pay as much as $1.5 billion to Clearwire for its spectrum leases…. Read More…

Memo: Dish Network offers $25.5 billion to buy Sprint Nextel

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The wireless business continues to go through some wild transformations, and the latest example happened Monday morning as Dish Network announced a $25.5 billion bid for Sprint Nextel. That follows the satellite TV provider’s previous offer to gobble up Clearwire for $3.30 per share, slightly more than $2.97 per share offer from Sprint. Making matters more… Read More…

T-Mobile customers wait in line, swap Androids for iPhone 5

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University of Washington student and T-Mobile customer Mustafa Ahmed got up earlier than normal Friday morning, giving himself enough time to pick up his iPhone 5 and still make it to campus for his 9:30 a.m. lecture. But he was a little surprised when he arrived at the Wallingford T-Mobile store just before 9 a.m…. Read More…

MetroPCS delays vote after T-Mobile beefs up bid

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Two weeks after a top advisory firm recommended that MetroPCS shareholders vote against the merger with T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom — T-Mobile’s parent company — has beefed up the offer. Deutsche Telekom has reduced the amount of debt MetroPCS would carry from $15 billion to $11.2 billion and also lowered the interest rate on the debt, calling… Read More…

Tempted? T-Mobile offers zero-down iPhone 5 for trade-in of iPhone 4 or 4S

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T-Mobile USA, gearing up for its long-awaited launch of the iPhone 5 on Friday, is making a new attempt to lure customers of rival carriers who are still carrying around older versions of the Apple smartphone. The Bellevue-based company tonight announced a new offer to provide an iPhone 5 for $0/down to people who trade… Read More…

‘World’s first text carrier’: Zipwhip debuts cloud-texting for landlines

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Seattle-based Zipwhip was the first company to bring cloud-texting to your desktop via your mobile number, and now they’re doing it for business landlines. “This is one of the biggest announcements we’ve made in Zipwhip’s history,” CEO John Lauer told GeekWire. “We will be the world’s first text carrier. That’s a new term because of how unique… Read More…

Scroogled: Microsoft attacks Google again, this time about Android privacy issues

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First it was Google Shopping, then Gmail, and now, Microsoft’s latest attack on Google comes in the form of Android privacy issues. As part of its “Scroogled,” campaign, Microsoft today launched a new barrage that accuses Google’s handling of user data when purchasing an app from the Google Play Store. In hopes of convincing users to… Read More…