Hasta La Gadget!

European wireless provider Deutsche Telekom (who owns T-Mobile) is rumored to be closing in on an acquisition deal with regional carrier MetroPCS. If and when the buyout happens, the German wireless carrier is planning on using MetroPCS’s resources to bolster up T-Mobile‘s US network. Representatives from both sides are planning to meet tomorrow and could could agree on a deal the same day.

T-Mobile currently has around 33 million users, making it the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the US behind AT&T, Verizon, and the Now Network. With the acquisition, Deutsche Telekom will look to boost its T-Mobile customer base to compete with its large rivals and hopefully take over third place, which would secure the US carrier as a prominent wireless provider.

UPDATE: AllThingsD has confirmed that Deutsche Telekom is meeting with MetroPCS to ink out a deal. However, it’s said that “significant issues have not yet been finalized, contracts have not yet been signed and the conclusion of the transaction is still not certain.”

UPDATE 2: MetroPCS has sent out an official statement for investors that reads as such:

“MetroPCS today confirmed that it is in discussions with Deutsche Telekom regarding an agreement to combine T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS. There can be no assurances that any transaction will result from these discussions, and the Company does not intend to comment further unless and until an agreement is reached.” – MetroPCS

It’s not yet known as to how much Deutsche Telekom will pay for MetroPCS if a deal does end up going down, but shares of MetroPCS jumped as much as 23%, giving the company a market value of just under $5 billion. The acquisition would give T-Mobile an additional 9.3 million prepaid customers. T-Mobile will most likely see some big changes coming its way, especially since the company just hired a new CEO last month. The carrier has seen its share of hardships — its lost around 10% of its customer base in roughly two years’ time, and the carrier doesn’t directly offer the iPhone to its customers, which could be a factor in their lowered subscription rates.

Deutsche Telekom rumored to be buying MetroPCS [UPDATE: talks confirmed] is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve made it through hump day, which means only two more work days to go before the weekend arrives again. Yesterday, we found out about a hack that was resetting Samsung Galaxy S IIIs to their factory settings. Samsung said that the security hole had since been fixed, but today we heard that the remote hack isn’t limited to just Samsung devices. The iPhone 5 might be heading to China soon, and we heard that Apple’s new Lightning connector isn’t identical on both sides. Google maps is rumored to be hitting iOS 6 by the end of the year, which goes hand-in-hand with new report that claims Apple ditched Google Maps because it doesn’t offer turn-by-turn navigation.

Facebook has been axing fake accounts left and right today, while we learned that the Galaxy S III will soon be launching at MetroPCS. Apple has been suspiciously ordering large quantities of carbon fiber, and RIM experienced a stock boost today after its BlackBerry 10 presentation yesterday. Xbox Music pricing details “leaked” out today, and Amazon has launched Vine.com, a new shopping service for those concerned about the environment.

Nintendo gave us a list of 23 titles that will launch alongside the Wii U on November 18, while Boost Mobile announced the LG Venice (which looks awfully similar to the LG Optimus L7). Facebook has implemented Dropbox integration for sharing among groups, and a new Nook video is taking a few shots at both Netflix and Amazon. O2 and HTC announced today that they will be selling an incoming, yet-unannounced smartphone without a charger, seemingly to cut down on the amount of spare chargers floating around out there.

Humble Indie Bundle 6 has a bunch of new games on offer for those who pay more than the average, and Activision delivered new details on the Zombies mode in Black Ops II today. Google launched Google Play services for Android developers today, which allows them to integrate a number of Google services into their apps. Finally tonight, Chris Davies takes a closer look at the fight ahead of the Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets, Chris Burns has a new review of the HiddenRadio Wireless Speaker, and Ewdison Then has reviews of both the Monster Inspiration Headphones and the BMW X1 Crossover, so be sure to give all of those a look!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: September 26, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is from is from Is from Joe, who has helped inspire a regular feature and also wants to know which carrier he should pick for Philadelphia. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“Hey! I loved your question about NYC carriers and thought it would be a great idea to let your visitors sound off on other major cities. I’d love to hear opinions on Philadelphia carriers myself, so if you could possibly consider adding this, I think it would be appreciated by many.”

Way back in April, we asked you about which carrier rules the roost in NYC and it caused a little sensation, with hundreds of you bombarding the Ask Engadget inbox to ask if we’d do your city or state. We’ll be sprinkling them in every now and again to let you sound off about the coverage in your local area, so if you live in Philadelphia and have world-class (or world’s worst) signal, let us know in the comments below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Ask Engadget: best Philadelphia wireless carrier? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 23:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Metro PCS’ first American LTE phone may be fast when it comes to download speeds, but not so much when it comes to basic functionality. The ZTE-built Anthem arrives next week at MetroPCS providers for $249.99 ($219.99 after a mail-in rebate), and it comes with an aging OS — Gingerbread. Yes, when we got our hands on the device this evening, the very first thing we noticed was the decidedly elderly operating system that ships with it — so, it’s not the freshest Android device on the block.

The Anthem’s touch functionality didn’t give a good first impression either, not responding on the first try for a handful of basic functions, and slowly dragging from pane to pane. The phone sports a 4.3-inch WVGA display that’s decent enough, especially when compared with other recently introduced mid-range smartphones and runs on a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU (the company wouldn’t specify which precisely). The phone itself is on the excessively chunky side, but given its off-contract berth and $249 pricing, that lack of design finesse is to be expected. MetroPCS reps wouldn’t confirm whether an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich is on the books for the Anthem, but if you’re plunking down for this clunker, it’s probably not much of a concern. Check out the gallery below for additional shots and head on past the break for a brief video tour.

Continue reading ZTE Anthem 4G hands-on (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Wireless, Mobile

ZTE Anthem 4G hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The folks from MetroPCS just announced another 4G LTE capable smartphone to grace their slowly expanding LTE lineup. The ZTE Anthem 4G will be a great budget friendly device with mid-range specs and a powerful dual-core processor all for the low price of $219 with no annual contract. Head past the break for more details.

The ZTE Anthem will be ZTE’s first 4G LTE device to hit the US market, and while it isn’t a beast by any means it offers a decent package given the price. It certainly isn’t pretty to look at, and is that Gingerbread? Yup sadly this device is launching with a severely outdated OS. Running on the old Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.

Other specs include a 4.3-inch wVGA 480 x 800 resolution display, a Qualcomm 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, we’ll assume 1GB of RAM (could be 768) and packing a 5 megapixel camera with flash on the rear. Other than the old and outdated Gingerbread this device is a rather attractive offering for the no contract 4G LTE plans at MetroPCS.

“As our first U.S. 4GLTE smartphone, we’re proud to launch the Anthem 4G with our long-time partner MetroPCS because we share their goal of providing consumers with outstanding value and a strong 4G LTE experience,” said Lixin Cheng, CEO, ZTE USA

Why ZTE or MetroPCS are allowing this out of the factory with Gingerbread is beyond me, but what do I know. You’ll also get micro-SD support and HDMI-out for those looking to stream anything to the big screen. The ZTE Anthem 4G will be available in the coming weeks on MetroPCS with no annual contract for just $219.

[via PRNewswire]

ZTE Anthem heads to MetroPCS with dual-core power for $219 is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.