While addressing shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Cologne, Germany, Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann told investors that a complete takeover of T-Mobile USA was out of the question after AT&T’s very public failed bid last year. Obermann did tell investors that it was considering all other options, including a potential merger of [...]]]>

While addressing shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Cologne, Germany, Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann told investors that a complete takeover of T-Mobile USA was out of the question after AT&T’s very public failed bid last year. Obermann did tell investors that it was considering all other options, including a potential merger of its T-Mobile USA business unit with another organization.

There are several options on the table in such a scenario; Sprint has had its eye on T-Mobile USA for a while, and a combined company would present a large competitor to AT&T and Verizon. Such a scenario is unlikely, however, as the technology these companies employ is so different that it would be extremely costly to make the networks compatible.

The more likely potential suitor is MetroPCS, as recent rumors have suggested that the two companies are actively speaking about a possible merger. Bloomberg reported a few weeks back that the company was essentially looking to do a joint venture with MetroPCS, with Deutsche Telekom holding the majority stake of the combined company. The deal could be similar to the Everything Everywhere carrier in the UK, a joint venture between T-Mobile and Orange. Deutsche Telekom is also considering a network sharing agreement with MetroPCS or Sprint, which would have the companies sharing spectrum but maintaining their current status as standalone organizations.

Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for T-Mobile USA. The company is beginning to actively build out an LTE network over the next two years. Time will tell the fate of T-Mobile USA, though the message from Deutsche Telekom is still crystal clear; T-Mobile USA does not work as a standalone business, and the company will be looking at ways to either make T-Mobile profitable, or spin it off into a new company combined with another carrier.

The delayed launch of the HTC EVO 4G LTE has officially come to an end. Sprint has just released a statement indicating that pre-order customers will receive their HTC EVO 4G LTE “on or around” May 24th — just one day after the May 23rd launch date claimed by Best Buy. This is certainly good [...]]]>

The delayed launch of the HTC EVO 4G LTE has officially come to an end. Sprint has just released a statement indicating that pre-order customers will receive their HTC EVO 4G LTE “on or around” May 24th — just one day after the May 23rd launch date claimed by Best Buy. This is certainly good news for those who have pre-ordered the phone, but we’d like to point out that the date only applies to those who pre-ordered the phone directly from Sprint’s website. Those who snatched up discounted pre-order deals from Amazon or Best Buy will most likely have to wait a few extra days before their handset is delivered.

Neither HTC nor Sprint have indicated when the handset will be available in retail stores, but we assume HTC EVO 4G LTE handsets shouldn’t have any issues making it through U.S. Customs going forward.

How many of you are excited to get your greasy fingers on your pre-ordered HTC EVO 4G LTE?

Customers who pre-ordered HTC EVO 4G LTE...Your wait is almost over! Sprint expects to begin shipping HTC EVO 4G LTE for arrival on or around Thursday, May 24 to customers who pre-ordered the device online from Sprint. We will provide details on the full national launch as soon as possible. To access the latest news and device information, visit our Sprint Community page where we'll be providing regular updates. To check the status of your pre-order, please visit www.sprint.com/myorder.Sprint

Yesterday HTC told us the EVO 4G LTE launch was delayed and now Sprint is confirming the device will not be in stores on May 18th. A post on the Sprint Community Forums says that HTC is working to resolve this issue and they can’t provide specific timing for product availability at this time.

Sprint goes [...]]]>

Yesterday HTC told us the EVO 4G LTE launch was delayed and now Sprint is confirming the device will not be in stores on May 18th. A post on the Sprint Community Forums says that HTC is working to resolve this issue and they can’t provide specific timing for product availability at this time.

Sprint goes on to say that you can cancel your pre-order, but we wouldn’t recommend it. The EVO 4G LTE offers a nearly identical experience to the HTC One X that we loved, and it will be the best smartphone available on Sprint for the next couple of months.

Hopefully HTC can resolve the issues with US customs and get this awesome device into Sprint customers’ hands soon enough. We have a demo unit in house, so be on the lookout for our full review coming in the coming days.

Back in December you might recall that the International Trade Commission ruled that HTC was infringing upon one of Apple’s patents (#5,946,647 if you must know) and a ban was to be placed on the importation of a number of HTC devices.

The good news for HTC was that the ban wasn’t immediate [...]]]>

Back in December you might recall that the International Trade Commission ruled that HTC was infringing upon one of Apple’s patents (#5,946,647 if you must know) and a ban was to be placed on the importation of a number of HTC devices.

The good news for HTC was that the ban wasn’t immediate and they had until April 19th to rectify the situation or face the ban on a number of their devices. Further good news is that the patent in question was for the UI behavior that pulls up a menu in response to a user selecting a recognizable numeric sequence or string of text like a phone number or email address and so it could be corrected via a software update.

Well April 19th came and went without any grave consequences, but HTC confirmed in a press release this afternoon that both the AT&T One X and Sprint EVO 4G LTE are now being held by US Customs as a result of the ITC exclusion order.

The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC Evo 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible.

No word yet on whether this will delay the May 18th launch of the Evo 4G LTE on Sprint and while the AT&T One X has made it out to some users in its first week of availability the stock has already dried up online and with no new stock coming in stores will likely follow soon.

Nick Gray, our resident HTC addict, has both an AT&T One X and T-Mobile One S at the moment and verified that both still launch the dialer when selecting a phone number which would seem to be in conflict with the ITC’s ruling.

It’s unfortunate to see this great hardware from HTC held up by a seemingly trivial software detail and it seems impossible that with this ITC exclusion order hanging over their heads that HTC wouldn’t have dealt with the issue by now.

We’ll update you as we find out more.

Update: The launch of the Sprint Evo 4G LTE has been postponed with Sprint now simply indicating that it will be “coming soon.”

After a month of rumors and speculation, Sprint has finally announced that the HTC EVO 4G LTE will go on sale May 18th. The HTC EVO 4G LTE can be pre-ordered directly from Sprint, but Best Buy is offering customers a $50 Best Buy gift card if you pre-order the handset from [...]]]>

After a month of rumors and speculation, Sprint has finally announced that the HTC EVO 4G LTE will go on sale May 18^th. The HTC EVO 4G LTE can be pre-ordered directly from Sprint, but Best Buy is offering customers a $50 Best Buy gift card if you pre-order the handset from them.

The HTC EVO 4G LTE may not be the first LTE enabled device on Sprint’s network, but it will be the most powerful. The handset is powered by a dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm processor and contains a 720p HD display,1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a dedicated ImageChip used for the 8MP rear camera and a 2,000 mAh battery. At launch, the HTC EVO 4G LTE will be the most powerful and feature-rich Android phone on the market.

While the phone may be amazing, it will not reach its full potential until Sprint’s LTE network rollout switches into high gear. So far, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Baltimore, Kansas City and San Antonio are the only markets with Sprint’s 4G LTE coverage. Major LTE expansion isn’t expected until 2013, so don’t expect to get much use out of that LTE modem until then.

Is the HTC EVO 4G LTE the perfect phone for you or will you wait to see what Sprint’s variant of the Samsung Galaxy S III will offer?

Though we’ve known this date was coming for quite some time now, Sprint has officially announced that the HTC EVO 4G LTE is now up for preorder, and will run $199.99 with a new 2 year agreement. Customers looking to get their hands on the latest in the EVO line can head over [...]]]>

Though we’ve known this date was coming for quite some time now, Sprint has officially announced that the HTC EVO 4G LTE is now up for preorder, and will run $199.99 with a new 2 year agreement. Customers looking to get their hands on the latest in the EVO line can head over to Sprint’s EVO 4G LTE landing page to reserve your device.

Of course, you may want to wait until a bit later this week to get your preorder on, as Sprint should be unveiling more information on their LTE rollout at the CTIA conference kicking off today in New Orleans. As you probably are aware, Sprint has the slowest 3G network of the major US carriers, and you probably won’t want to be stuck with 3G service if their speedy LTE network isn’t making its way to your town until next year.

The EVO 4G LTE is widely believed to be available on May 18th, so you won’t have to wait too long to get your hands on the EVO after preordering the device.

As a reminder, specs for the EVO 4G LTE include:

• 4.7″ 720P HD display
• Dual-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
• 8 megapixel rear camera with an f2.0 lens BSI sensor, dedicated imaging chip and HTC’s new Image Sense technology
• 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB internal storage
• NFC
• LTE
• 2,000 mAh battery
• HD Voice for crystal-clear audio calls

Want to be the first to find out when Samsung announces details on the US versions of the Samsung Galaxy S III? They just opened up a registration page for the device and promised customers will receive the latest updates about their highly anticipated device in exchange for your email address.

Some will [...]]]>

Want to be the first to find out when Samsung announces details on the US versions of the Samsung Galaxy S III? They just opened up a registration page for the device and promised customers will receive the latest updates about their highly anticipated device in exchange for your email address.

Some will probably notice there is a field for carrier preference that lists AT&T, C Spire, Metro PCS, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon, but we wouldn’t read too much into that. However, Samsung did say the device will come to 296 mobile operators in 145 countries, so we wouldn’t be surprised if it eventually landed on all those.

Could the Galaxy S III come to all these US carriers? Maybe...

After yesterday’s review of the AT&T HTC One X, many Sprint fans are even more excited to get their hands on the EVO 4G LTE. Sprint’s version of the device will feature all the same awesomeness, with the addition of a microSD card slot, slightly larger 2,000 mAh battery (vs 1,800 mAh), and a [...]]]>

After yesterday’s review of the AT&T HTC One X, many Sprint fans are even more excited to get their hands on the EVO 4G LTE. Sprint’s version of the device will feature all the same awesomeness, with the addition of a microSD card slot, slightly larger 2,000 mAh battery (vs 1,800 mAh), and a kickstand.

Today HTC shared a new gallery of photos taken by the EVO 4G LTE to show off their ImageSense technology. For this round of shots, HTC hired Meeno Peluce, American photographer and former child actor. Head over to the source link to check out the entire album.

Sprint opens up pre-orders for the EVO 4G LTE on May 7th, and you can head over to their holding page to sign up for reminders. We are still waiting on the official release date, but the latest rumors suggest it could be as early as May 18th.

The elephant in the room remains Samsung’s next Galaxy phone, but they unpack that tomorrow so we will know how the two device stack up soon enough.

If you are on Sprint, let us know which way you are leaning. What would Samsung have to do in order for you to pass on the EVO 4G LTE?

Anyone planning on buying the newly launched Galaxy Nexus from Sprint may want to hold off for a week or two. A handful of new Galaxy Nexus owners are reporting issues connecting to Sprint’s 3G network. From what we can tell, affected users are able to send and receive phone calls and text messages, [...]]]>

Anyone planning on buying the newly launched Galaxy Nexus from Sprint may want to hold off for a week or two. A handful of new Galaxy Nexus owners are reporting issues connecting to Sprint’s 3G network. From what we can tell, affected users are able to send and receive phone calls and text messages, but the data connection to the phone simply remains in “connecting” status without ever making a complete connection.

Several affected users have been given replacement phones at local Sprint stores, but others have been turned away since a fix for the issue is apparently already in the works. No specifics about the software update have been revealed, but a Sprint Community moderator claims that Sprint is hoping to have the issue resolved by early next week.

Sprint/Samsung are aware of this problem and will be releasing a software update to resolve the issue. Can't commit to a date yet, but they are trying really hard to get it released early next week. Sorry for your troubles.ModeratorSprint Community

Have any of you experienced any data connectivity issues with the Sprint Galaxy Nexus? It seems a bit ironic that Sprint’s first 4G LTE phone can’t even get a 3G connection.

Ever since Sprint and HTC announced the HTC EVO 4G LTE, I’ve been wanting to get my grubby little hands on one. The HTC One X variant is up for preorder on May 7th, with Sprint claiming a release would come shortly thereafter. The EVO 4G LTE will run $199.99 with new two year [...]]]>

Ever since Sprint and HTC announced the HTC EVO 4G LTE, I’ve been wanting to get my grubby little hands on one. The HTC One X variant is up for preorder on May 7th, with Sprint claiming a release would come shortly thereafter. The EVO 4G LTE will run $199.99 with new two year agreement, continuing Sprint’s insistence on $200 as the ideal high-end smartphone price.

The Rumor

Sprint will release the EVO 4G LTE on May 18th both online and in Sprint’s retail stores. Today’s rumor serves as further evidence of a May 18th date, after a PhoneDog rumor last week.

The Source

This rumor comes from an anonymous source inside Sprint, who for obvious reasons wishes to remain nameless. This source has proven reliable in the past, pinpointing the release date for the Sprint Galaxy Nexus, and I find this source to be trustworthy.

One Android Insider’s take on the rumor

With preorders of the HTC EVO 4G LTE set to begin on May 7th, May 18th seems just about as good a date as any for the follow up to the highly popular EVO line, and goes along with a previous PhoneDog rumor from a separate source. That said, both the Galaxy Nexus and LG Viper were released on a Sunday, giving us just a bit of skepticism that Sprint would choose to launch the EVO 4G LTE on a Friday.

Still, our source has provided us reliable information in the past, and we know that Sprint wants to get the EVO 4G LTE out as soon as possible. Unless we hear otherwise, we’re going to go ahead and pen the 18th in as the EVO’s release date, and you probably should too.

Who’s planning on picking up the EVO 4G LTE when it launches next month?