T Mobile

The parent company of T-Mobile USA Inc. has confirmed it is in talks to buy rival MetroPCS Communications Inc. in a deal that would give the combined entity more clout in the competitive U.S. wireless market. After weeks of speculation, German company Deutsche Telekom, which owns T-Mobile, said Tuesday that it was eyeing MetroPCS but that no decision had been reached. "The talks are at a stage where significant issues have not yet been finalized, contracts have not yet been signed and the conclusion of the transaction is still not certain," Deutsche Telekom said in a statement.

T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS have announced they will merge in a move to combine two weaker wireless companies in an industry dominated by bigger players. Under the terms of the agreement, MetroPCS shareholders will receive $1.5 billion in cash and 26% ownership in the company, which will have the T-Mobile name. Deutsche Telekom AG, the Germany company that owns T-Mobile, will receive a 74% stake. In a teleconference call with media Wednesday, Rene Obermann, chief executive of Deutsche Telekom, said the merger "means we are here to compete, we are here to unlock value and we are here to win. This deal has the potential to be a game changer.

T-Mobile is trying to set its version of the Galaxy S III smartphones apart from rival carriers by giving it one feature they don't have: a free digital copy of "Marvel's The Avengers. " The mobile carrier said that new and existing customers with a T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S III will be able to go to the Samsung Media Hub and download the popular superhero movie when it launches Tuesday. That's a cool promotion, but it's unclear just how much a free movie will help T-Mobile, which has a complicated pricing system for the flagship Samsung phone.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Research firm EMarketer Inc. projects that Facebook's mobile advertising revenue in the United States will quintuple next year. That would put Facebook just behind Google in the mobile ad business, EMarketer analyst Debra Williamson said. But Facebook, which has been slow to embrace mobile and is now trying to reinvent itself as a "mobile first" company, has a long way to go, Williamson said. Next year, Facebook will generate $387 million in U.S. revenue from ads on mobile devices, EMarketer projects, or about 9% of overall U.S. mobile ad sales.

Six years ago, The Times' editorial board wrote a piece titled " The Math of the Market ," which argued that there was something special about having at least four companies competing in every segment. It started this way: There are four major record companies, four national wireless phone carriers, four Baby Bells and four international auditing firms. Mere coincidence? Perhaps not. Each of those industries has consolidated in the last decade, and the ranks of music and phone companies may shrink further if pending or rumored deals win approval.

After moving last year to an unlimited data plan that throttled speed after 2 gigabytes of usage, T-Mobile on Wednesday introduced a new, true unlimited data plan. The Unlimited Nationwide 4G Data plan will become available on Sept. 5, and it will range in price, depending on what type of existing plan it is added to. T-Mobile said the new unlimited data plan will cost $20 a month when added to a Value voice and text plan, and $30 a month when added to a Classic voice and text plan.

T-Mobile launched a sale Wednesday that lets customers buy a Samsung phone and get a second phone free. The sale applies to all Samsung Galaxy 4G devices available at T-Mobile. When customers purchase a Galaxy S III, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy S Blaze, Galaxy Exhibit or Galaxy S II, they can get a second phone free. Buyers must purchase the second phone but are reimbursed by sending in a rebate card. The phones they can receive are limited to the Galaxy S Blaze, the Galaxy Exhibit or the Galaxy S II. The sale ends Sept.

What if you accidentally dropped your phone into the toilet? Would you grab for it? Well if you would, don't be embarrassed. Well maybe be embarrassed, but least know that you aren't alone. A new survey shows that 59% of smartphone owners say they would reach into the toilet for their phone, and that isn't the only crazy thing they'd do if they were faced with the prospect of losing their device. The survey shows that about three in five people would turn to questionable methods to retrieve their phones.

The Samsung Galaxy S III is set to make its U.S. debut Thursday for T-Mobile and for Sprint a week later. And we have in our hot little hands the Galaxy S III from T-Mobile. The things that jumped out at us and made notable first impressions were its huge screen, sleek design and S Voice. Clearly, the very first thing you can't help noticing is that expansive 4.8-inch screen, whose largeness seemed to be offset by the phone's light weight and slim design. It never became too difficult to navigate, although it could take some getting used to for fingers accustomed to stretching across a 3.5-inch screen.