Boost Mobile is co-hosting an event with Samsung tonight, and as we reported yesterday, the companies are expected to unveil the Samsung Galaxy Prevail, a new, no-contract Android-based smartphone. Well, we can pretty much say that’s a sure thing now. Today, Boost posted a teaser site for the Galaxy Prevail and confirmed some of the …

We’re all back from Orlando, Fla., and CTIA 2011, and we’re joined in studio by our wonderful colleague at CNET News Maggie Reardon and our new technical producer Stephen Beacham. We have a lot to talk about in this week’s podcast, including a little story about AT&T buying T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. You know, nothing major. Plus, we recap …

When AT&T announced its plans to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion last week, Sprint was quick to criticize the deal, saying that it would dramatically alter the structure of the communications industry and affect innovation–a sentiment that was echoed by Sprint CEO Dan Hesse during CTIA 2011. In case its position wasn’t clear, the carrier issued an official statement today …

CNET has confirmed with AT&T that it will enable the HSUPA radios on the Motorola Atrix 4G and HTC Inspire 4G via a software update in April. HSUPA, which stands for High-Speed Uplink Packet Access, is the protocol that enables faster upload speeds (up to 5.76Mbps) on your mobile phone. However, it recently came to light that the technology was …

HTC Merge Bonnie Cha/CNET ORLANDO, Fla.–How’s that for timing? We just wrote up our feelings on the HTC Merge this morning, and now we have our first North American carrier to offer the smartphone. Alltel Wireless announced today that it will begin taking preorders for the Merge on March 28, with pricing set at $124.99 with a two-year contract. Highlights …

HTC Merge Bonnie Cha/CNET ORLANDO, Fla.–Introduced back in late February, the HTC Merge is due to hit North American carriers this spring. Fortunately, HTC brought the Android smartphone to CTIA 2011, so we were able to get some hands-on time with the device, and we’re liking what we see so far. First off, it’s nice to see another Android-based world …

ORLANDO, Fla.–Though the AT&T-T-Mobile merger was the big news of CTIA 2011, AT&T did have some other announcements at the show, including the LG Thrill 4G and HTC HD7S. We had an opportunity to check out the HD7S last night at an AT&T reception, and there weren’t a whole lot of surprises. The Windows Phone 7 smartphone is a lot …

ORLANDO, Fla.–Verizon Wireless has been relatively quiet here at CTIA 2011, but the carrier did announce an additional 59 markets that will be covered by its 4G LTE network by the end of 2011. New markets include Tucson, Ariz., Sacramento, Calif., Springfield, Ill., Louisville, Ky., Portland, Ore., Reno, Nev., El Paso, Texas, and Spokane., Wash. This group joins the 49 …

ORLANDO, Fla.–Along with a couple of smartphones, AT&T is adding a new tablet to its portfolio. The carrier announced today here at CTIA 2011 that it will bring the Acer Iconia Tab A501 with 4G support later this summer. The Iconia Tab is an Android Honeycomb tablet with an Nvidia dual-core processor, a 10-inch WXGA multitouch screen, and 1080p HD …

ORLANDO, Fla.–As expected, Samsung took the wraps off of a new tablet today at CTIA 2011, and there’s not just one brand-spanking new device but actually two: the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Not to be confused with the other Galaxy Tab 10.1, which was introduced at Mobile World Congress, this version, along with the …