image courtesy ctrlZstudio

The FCC chariman today recommended the $39 billion merger of AT&T and T-Mobile be sent for an official review by an administrative law judge.  Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski suggested this course of action to fellow commissioners, citing that the FCC found the deal "would significantly diminish competition and lead to massive job losses."  Genachowski's order still requires the approval of a majority of the commissioners, and if approved would extend the review of the merger beyond AT&T's hopes to have things all wrapped-up at the FCC early in 2012.  Of course, AT&T is none too happy, stating:

"The FCC’s action today is disappointing. It is yet another example of a government agency acting to prevent billions in new investment and the creation of many thousands of new jobs at a time when the US economy desperately needs both."

If you'll allow a bit of editorial comment, I'm a happy T-Mobile customer.  I don't want to change anything about my service from T-Mobile, and am concerned that I will lose the legendary customer support T-Mobile offers, as well as gaining an additional $100 or so attached to my monthly bill.  I'm also concerned that Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company no longer wants to retain control of the small U.S. carrier because of the huge financial drain that comes with.  I worry what will happen either way -- having AT&T as my carrier is my rock, and having DT let T-Mobile die is my hard place, and I'm smack dab in the middle.  Either case has me getting cell service from AT&T, unless the government has a contingency plan for T-Mobile should the merger fail to pass.  Hopefully, the fellows in Washington have a plan to serve the consumer's best interests, but I'm skeptical.  Unless another company like Google or Apple steps in and buys T-Mobile, our future looks shaky either way.  For now, I, and 33 million others, just have to wait and see.

More: Reuters; BusinessWire

LG's got an event laid on for early next month in New York City. And while the invitation reads "All will be revealed on December 1," we're getting a little more than perhaps we were supposed to, as some versions of the invite image (ours was renamed) pointed toward the Nitro HD, otherwise known as AT&T's unannounced version of the Optimus LTE. And that's exciting not just for the high-speed data, but for the 1280x720 resolution as well.

Of course, we'll be there with bells on to bring you the whole thing as it happens. It's how we roll.

If you're rocking the new LTE Samsung Skyrocket on AT&T, you might want to check for an OTA update.  An OTA to Android 2.3.6 is pushing out now, and we manually checked on our review unit (Menu>Settings>Software update>Check for updates) and sure enough, one was waiting.  We're not quite sure what was changed here -- we know that 2.3.6 addressed a bug in Google voice search, but we imagine Samsung and AT&T packaged a bit more into this one.  We're not seeing anything listed at the usual locations, so we've reached out to AT&T and Samsung for an answer.  In the meantime, updates are always fun and make our inner Android geek feel good, so grab yours and we'll sort it out in the forums.

Thanks, Vlad!

Rejoice, LG Optimus 3D owners, for your handset's long journey to Gingerbread is finally over. The European version of phone, which launched in August with Froyo, today received an update to version 21a, based on Android 2.3.5. As well as the usual goodies you'd expect from Gingerbread, you'll also get 21Mbps HSPA+ support, a 2D and 3D video editor, improved video quality and faster Gallery app performance, just as we reported earlier this month.

The V21a update is currently available in the UK and most of mainland Europe via the LG updater utility, and should be rolling out over the air shortly. We haven't heard any reports of the update arriving on the LG Thrill 4G, the Optimus 3D's American cousin, but hopefully Thrill owners should be on a fast track to receive the new software, now that it's out internationally.

Now, about that ICS update...

Youtube link for mobile viewing

I know some of you guys and gals (like myself) are suckers for white electronics.  If that sounds like you, and you're a T-Mobile customer, you probably already heard the Galaxy S II was coming in white for the holidays.  We still don't know when, or how much, but at least we get to see T-Mobile product managers playing with one.  Now how about a white Galaxy Nexus?  Hmm.

Cellcom, the Wisconsin-based regional carrier, is introducing three new Android smartphones into its smartphone lineup, just in time for the holiday season. The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY and the LG Ignite (a.k.a. the Marquee) will both be available beginning on Black Friday, while the Motorola Milestone 2  is simply listed as "coming soon." All three devices will set you back $49.99 on a new two year contract. Not a bad deal for all you Cheeseheads out there if you ask us. You can visit Cellcom at the source link below. 

Source: Cellcom

Sony Ericsson has joined forced with Aston Villa's Darren Bent and rock band Kasabian to stage a slightly bizarre (and completely awesome) real-life soccer football match using Xperia Play handsets, location tracking technology and ten real live human beings. The five-a-side match saw England international Bent face off against Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan, with both controlling their teams from on high with specially modified Xperia Plays.

While you probably won't be able to command real, actual footballers using your Xperia Play anytime soon, SE is using this opportunity to remind everyone that Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 and FIFA 12 are both available (and optimized) for the device, with the latter being an Xperia Play exclusive until February 2012.

We've got video after the jump.

Samsung's being a bit shy with the details, but the T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S II will be available in white for the holidays. That's the same 4.5-inch device we've come to know and love -- be sure to read our full review -- only in white. We can't imagine it'll cost any more than the black version, but we'll let you know more on that when we get it.

More: T-Mobile Galaxy S II forums

We've spotted the Samsung Illusion a few times in the past but Verizon has now fully unveiled the device for all. Pulling in to the entry level market, the specs for the Samsung Illusion aren't mind blowing but not bad either especially as a starter device.

• Android 2.3
• 3.5-inch HVGA TFT display
• 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor
• TouchWiz
• 3MP rear camera
• 512MB RAM
• 2GB ROM
• MicroSD card slot up to 32GB
• Mobile Hotspot capability – share 3G connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices
• SWYPE Technology – input text faster and in a more intuitive way with one continuous finger motion across the screen keyboard

The Samsung Illusion will be available from Verizon on Nov. 23, and will be available in Verizon Wireless Stores in January 2012 for $79.99 on contract, or free from Nov. 24-28.

Read our Galaxy Nexus Review!

Pardon us a minute while we read way too much into something. The screen you see here is what indirect Verizon retailers -- as in not a corporate-branded store -- now see to order their own Samsung Galaxy Nexus stock. And note that it says Samsung Galaxy Nexus, not Samsung Nexus Prime, which reappeared on a Best Buy flyer first posted in our Galaxy Nexus forums last night.

Point is, it's still coming to Verizon ... eventually ... and we're still expecting it to be the Galaxy Nexus. Probably.

Thanks, anon!