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Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note - a device that is neither a phone nor a tablet but a happy combination of both - in October.

2011 has been a very exciting year for smartphones thanks to the number of devices that flooded the market, and the trend is expected to continue in 2012.

Only a day after announcing it would impose a $2 fee for one-time online and telephone bill payments, Verizon Wireless on Friday scrapped the plan because of consumer backlash.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a law giving telecommunication giants immunity over the Bush Administration's domestic surveillance program, but authorized lawsuits against the federal government.

AT&T released one of the long-awaited 4G LTE smartphones, HTC Vivid, on its network Nov. 6. The phone has a 128.8 x 67.1 x 11.2 mm dimension, and weighs 176.9 grams.

HTC Amaze 4G, which was released in October for T-Mobile, is expected to see or give stiff competition to Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, which is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) version of the Galaxy S2 and debuted Nov 6 in AT&T network.

A smartphone is no longer a style statement, rather it is a necessity. So there is no wonder that 2011 has been an exciting year for smartphones. A number of smartphones flooded the market this year and the phones manufactured by HTC stole a considerable share in the market.

Lumia 800, which Nokia's best high-end smartphone and is the fruit of its partnership with Microsoft, is rumored to hit the U.S. market in January 2012. It will, however, face immense pressure from LG Nitro HD, which has more specifications.

The LG Nitro HD, which was made available on AT&T's network from Dec. 4, is expected to face heavy competition from the HTC Rezound, which was made available on Verizon's network from Nov. 14.

Nokia's best high-end smartphone - the Lumia 800 - which is the fruit of its partnership with Microsoft is rumored to hit the U.S. market in January 2012. It will, however, face heavy competition from Samsung's Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, which has more specifications when compared to Lumia 800.

AT&T Inc said late on Thursday that it won regulatory approval to buy wireless spectrum from U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc, a move that would boost the company's 4G network.

The LG Nitro HD, which was made available on AT&T's network from Dec. 4, is expected to face immense pressure from Motorola's Droid RAZR, as Verizon is offering an additional $100 off on the Droid XYBOARD Tablet when customers buy the Motorola smartphone.

The AT&T/T-Mobile is the third high-profile merger the U.S. Department of Justice has successfully defeated in 2011.

Current speculation among investors include deals with Dish Network, Sprint Nextel and Clearwire.

Based on a preliminary vote count, 99 percent of shareholders of the Franklin, N.J.-based pharmacy benefit manager approved the merger.

AT&T Inc may look to Dish Network Corp or Clearwire Corp for its next deal as it recovers from its failure to buy T-Mobile USA.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) said on Monday that it was ending a $39 billion bid to acquire T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, which began in March. The announcement came via an AT&T statement and after a thorough review of options.

AT&T has dropped its controversial $39 billion bid for Deutsche Telekom's U.S. wireless unit, bowing to fierce regulatory opposition and leaving both companies scrambling for alternatives.

Now that AT&T is aggressively rolling out its LTE high-speed data network, the company has a tiered system of super-smartphones. In the first tier is the LTE enabled smartphones like the Galaxy S2 Skyrocket and HTC Vivid. Next are the iPhone and other non-LTE phones followed by the mid and entry level devices.

The Justice Department is probing Verizon Wireless' multi-billion dollar deal to buy wireless airwaves from cable operators and let them resell its mobile service, the department said on Tuesday.

Deutsche Telekom may be forced into a tie-up of its sub-scale U.S. wireless unit with Sprint Nextel after a $39 billion deal with AT&T collapsed.

AT&T gives up on $39 billion bid for T-Mobile USA

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.5 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.4 percent at 0819 GMT.

AT&T has dropped its controversial $39 billion bid for Deutsche Telekom's wireless U.S. unit, bowing to regulatory opposition over the deal that would have made it the largest cellphone operator in the country.

The Dallas-based company announced Monday that after a thorough review of its options it was backing out of the $39 billion deal, thus avoiding a costly and potentially lengthy legal battle.

AT&T said on Monday that it would drop its $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA in the face of regulatory pressure.

The Dallas-based company's plan to sell off some of its assets in order to gain regulatory approval for its $39 billion merger are falling flat, which could spell trouble for the merging parties as they try to convince regulators that a merger wouldn't concentrate too much power in the wireless industry.

The much-awaited Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, is finally in Verizon Wireless stores and available online for $299.99 with a two-year contract. The smartphone battle can only get more intense, with the LG Nitro HD and the Galaxy Nexus squaring off against each other.

Talks over potential asset sales as part of AT&T Inc's efforts to get approval of its $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA have gone cold, according to The Wall Street Journal on Sunday.