Let me start by qualifying that I have no background in mergers and acquisitions. And our company operates largely on the periphery of wireless providers. That said, this acquisition is significant in the business community and the mobility world. Our two directors who attended the CTIA conference a week ago can attest to the buzz in the telecom community that is surrounding this deal.

First, the numbers: AT&T has offered $39 B for T-Mobile (or 7-times T-Mobile’s 2010 Ebitda) with a $3 B breakup fee. Certainly staggering numbers.

A lot of talk has centered around the $3 B breakup fee. Many believe that this merger will not receive government approval because it stifles competition and innovation. If approved, AT&T and Verizon would together share 80% of the market. And since AT&T and T-Mobile both use GSM technology (Sprint and Verizon use CDMA) this acquisition would result in only one major GSM carrier in the US.

Another interesting piece of this story is the varying stances from Verizon and Sprint. Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse has come out vehemently against the deal (tactfully jabbing the AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega at the recent CTIA conference) because if it goes through Sprint would be left in 3rd place, far behind the two giants. But Verizon has expressed ambivalence, not weighing in for or against the deal. The acquisition succeeding could eliminate the current price leader (T-Mobile) and give Verizon the opportunity to acquire assets that AT&T will likely have to divest due to regulatory requirements. If it fails, AT&T would be left distracted and marginalized.

These facts were not ignored by the stock market. While AT&T and Verizon stocks rose 2.4% and 1.4% respectfully, Sprint Nextel stock fell 3.4%.

This will not be our last post about this topic, so if you’re interested be sure to keep reading!

Bloomberg posted a fun video about the economics of tablet disposal when millions of consumers will be retiring them. Bloomberg project sales of 57 million tablets this year. With these devices expected to have an 18 month lifespan, by 2014 their disposal will create a $12 billion market for the e-waste industry.

Not bad, when you consider that this device category didn’t even exist until a year ago. Make sure you get a piece of that pie by selling your old tablet to YouRenew!

Check out the video here.

An article in this morning’s Wall Street Journal touches on the topic in my last post: the new diverse uses of the mobile device. Google, MasterCard and Citigroup are currently working on a wireless payment solution that will allow you to replace your credit card with your Android device. If successful, you will be able to pay at the counter by waving your device in front of small reader.

Wireless payment isn’t a new idea. It has been around for some time with products like E-ZPass and Exxon Mobile Speedpass. (Although if you can use your phone to start your car and pay at the pump, you could ditch your entire keychain.) Google will be using a technology called “near field communication”, considered to be a more sophisticated technology than the magnetic strip on your current credit card.

What’s particularly noteworthy is that Google will not be charging transaction fees. For Google, this venture is about collecting information about customers so that retailers can better target their advertising. It may have the ability to show whether or not targeted ads actually lead to in-store sales. Users will also have access to special coupons and be able to manage their credit card bills through an Android app.

Despite Google, MasterCard and Citigroup making headlines today, they are not the only companies venturing into this space. This could be one of the next big battlefields for credit card companies, wireless carriers and mobile device manufacturers. I know I’m excited to see this play out!

Years ago, a friend released a Jazz album called All Roads Lead to One. I never had any idea what that title meant – until now.

In recent years we have been seeing many of our household electronics being consolidated into mobile devices and tablets. In addition to being a phone line, today’s mobile device can also be used as a GPS, alarm clock, game console, TV, wifi hotspot, camera, and MP3 player (just to name a few).

This week Sam Grobart wrote a great piece in the NY Times discussing which electronics are worth keeping and which ones can be replaced by your mobile device. For instance: why would you buy an iPod, or any other MP3 player, when you can just as easily play music from your iPhone? On the other side, he advises to keep things like your high speed internet because most mobile hotspots are not yet strong enough to properly support applications like Hulu and Netflix.

This is definitely something consumers will be considering. It doesn’t make sense to spend big money on a GPS and a digital camera when these features already come standard with your mobile device. When you add up all the items your phone can now replace, the large price tag that comes with an iPhone or Droid seems a little more practical. And further, you might be able to get cash back for these devices at YouRenew!

That said, I do not think my friend’s album title was meant to foreshadow the consolidation of electronic devices. But you never know…

Three Stanford students have developed a cool new laptop design called the Bloom. It can be easily taken apart to segregate the component materials in less than three minutes without the use of any tools.

The design is based on what they call “modularity”. That means that each piece is segmented into a distinct area that can be easily taken out and put back in. It’s like organizing a messy closet by grouping all the shirts in one container, all the pants in another container, etc.

Recycling today’s laptops can be a labor intensive process that involves more than 100 steps to disassemble the device’s components and separate the materials. With the Bloom, any consumer can separate the plastics from the metal circuitry in a 10-step process that takes less than three minutes.

The modularity also makes repair and reuse a much simpler process. It could mean that any consumer would be able to easily swap out broken parts for new ones. Which would also make parts reuse easier for us!

I am also a big fan of the wireless keyboard and trackpad that were included in the design.

Check it out