Engadget Podcast 372 – 12.12.13
It’s that time between Black Friday and CES when the news cycle becomes a snoozefest, but your intrepid host Brian Heater sallies forth into the abyss along with Terrence O’Brien and Sarah Silbert to bring you this week’s tech tidbits. Led Zeppelin landed on Spotify to mark yet another major artist holdout that’s finally crossed over to digital services. Blockbuster, however, failed to change with the times and finally announced the closure of its last remaining UK stores. This leads the gang to reflect on Red Vines, beaded video-store curtains and the dearly departed Tower Records. There’s plenty in store in this week’s show, so hang on tight and head on down to the streaming links below for another edition of the Engadget Podcast.
Hosts: Brian Heater, Terrence O’Brien, Sarah Silbert
Producer: Jon Turi
Hear the podcast:
02:05 – Led Zeppelin comes to Spotify
06:04 – Spotify goes free on mobile devices through the magic of shuffling
09:33 – Instagram debuts Direct, letting users share photos and videos with select friends
18:34 – Ubuntu gets its first smartphone deal, comes to high-end devices in 2014
28:51 – Microsoft has sold 2 million Xbox One consoles to date, maintains ‘record-setting’ pace
30:21 – Blockbuster to shutter all of its remaining UK stores
38:44 – Facebook is reportedly working on a ‘sympathize’ button to show support for somber updates
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Connect with the hosts on Twitter: @bheater, @terrenceobrien, @sarahsilbert
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Filed under: Podcasts
Sprint Working on Potential T-Mobile US Purchase
Sprint is preparing a possible bid for T-Mobile US, reports The Wall Street Journal. If permitted by antitrust regulators, a potential merger between the two companies would result in just three major carriers in the United States.
Sprint is studying regulatory concerns and could launch a bid in the first half of next year, the people said. A deal could be worth more than $20 billion, depending on the size of any stake in T-Mobile that Sprint tries to buy.
Sprint hasn’t yet decided whether to move ahead with a bid. Going forward despite regulators’ concerns would be highly risky. Any pursuit of a bid by Sprint could be aimed at testing antitrust officials’ reaction to a deal, and a bad reaction could put an end to the effort.
Currently, T-Mobile US, which operates under the T-Mobile, MetroPCS and GoSmart brands, is the fourth largest carrier in the United States with 45 million customers. Sprint is the third largest carrier with 54 million customers. Combined, the two companies would be come close to reaching the subscriber numbers of the larger carriers in the U.S., Verizon and AT&T, at 119 million and 108 million customers each, respectively.
Both Sprint and T-Mobile have struggled to keep up with competitors like Verizon and AT&T, which have installed much larger LTE networks. A merger between the two companies would likely see significant service improvements for customers, due to a larger network infrastructure.
It is unclear whether such a merger would be permitted, as AT&T previously tried to purchase T-Mobile US in 2011. The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice both made moves to block the transaction, putting an end to the acquisition. AT&T had planned to pay $39 billion in cash and stock for the company.
According to the report, Deutsche Telekom AG, which owns approximately 67 percent of T-Mobile US, is looking to exit the U.S. market.
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