PCs

T-Mobile USA isn't a prepaid carrier, but it might as well be.

While the company's base of contract subscribers -- still a majority of its business and greatest source of revenue -- has been shrinking over the past few quarters, its prepaid business continues to sign up new customers.

In fact, it's been one of the rare bright spots at a carrier that is struggling to get back on its feet after a failed takeover attempt by AT&T. With higher-end customers looking to the other national carriers for better phones (read: iPhone) or 4G LTE … Read more

About a month ago in March, I got my hands on the ZTE Score by Cricket Wireless. Aside from its decent call quality, there wasn't much to write home about. The device had a unresponsive touch screen and its speed (both in relation to the processor and network) was sluggish.

Tacking on an extra "M" at the end of its name (I'm assuming it stands for MetroPCS...or maybe marshmallows?), MetroPCS got a hold of the device, changed up the design a bit to accommodate a larger battery (the original score had a 1,200mAh battery; … Read more

MetroPCS recently added the LG Optimus M+ to its Android offerings, and the phone is available online now, starting at $129.

The 3G Gingerbread device has a 3.5-inch touch-screen display, an 800MHz processor inside, and a 5-megapixel camera in the rear.

The handset also includes features such as Bluetooth, 2.8GB of internal memory, and a 1,300mAh battery.

For an extra $60 a month, users can also receive Rhapsody Unlimited, a music portal where subscribers can download and access millions of songs and albums.

Intel's latest CPUs will be rolling out in various waves over the next few months, but the first wave of higher-end, quad-core processors is finally here.

So far, the biggest impact has been on gaming without a dedicated graphics GPU, with other differences remaining subtle at best.

Of course, this may not reflect future laptops and desktops in the coming months, but it clearly tells the story of Ivy Bridge at launch: this is evolutionary, rather than revolutionary.

Check out our review roundup below. For more questions on Ivy Bridge, read our FAQ.… Read more

Slowly but surely, wireless carriers are admitting that data throttling is unavoidable. First it was the national providers like AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and now even the smaller prepaid carriers are following the crowd.

Today, just as it increased the monthly cost of its unlimited plan by $10, MetroPCS also announced that it would begin throttling the data speeds of its cheaper plans. The latter change was more of a footnote on MetroPCS's data plans Web page, but a carrier spokesman confirmed the move in an interview with Fierce Wireless.

The carrier's premium unlimited plan now … Read more

The Big Four wireless carriers may be warring for LTE spectrum the loudest, but don't forget that smaller carriers like MetroPCS are also caught up in the battle.

The nation's fifth-largest provider needs to reinforce and expand its 4G network to support its 500,000 total LTE subscribers, suggested MetroPCS' Keith Terreri, vice president of finance and treasurer. That's about 5 percent of the no-contract carrier's 9.34 million customers, Fierce Wireless reported.

MetroPCS has deployed LTE to 14 of its markets, and was the first carrier to launch a LTE phone.

Perhaps even more than … Read more

Hewlett-Packard today made it official: It is merging its PC and printing units in a bid to improve the financial profile of both increasingly commoditized products.

The news, which surfaced yesterday at AllThingsD, means that Vyomesh Joshi, who led the printer unit, is retiring. The combined unit will now report to Todd Bradley.

HP said in a statement that the combination will help the company's go-to-market strategy, branding, supply chain, and customer support.

However, analysts were already questioning the rationale.

For instance, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said the combination isn't likely to result in much cost savings … Read more

Sprint Nextel is getting into the 4G LTE game by building its own network. But to make its dreams a reality, it needs a scarce resource that every other wireless operator around the world is clamoring to get its hands on: wireless spectrum.

And Sprint has already missed two major opportunities. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that in the first few months of this year, Sprint's board shot down the company's plan to purchase prepaid provider MetroPCS. The company also botched talks with T-Mobile USA for a network-sharing arrangement. The impetus behind each of these … Read more

The wait for Diablo III is nearly over. Blizzard Entertainment today attached a May 15 release date to the long-awaited action role-playing game. Gamers can prepurchase the title today on Battle.net.

Beginning on May 15, gamers can purchase Diablo III at brick-and-mortar retailers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Additionally, players in those regions--as well as in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil--will be able to purchase a digital copy of Diablo III via Battle.net.

Read more "Diablo III raging May 15" at GameSpot.