It’s the inevitable conclusion to an acquisition years in the making, especially after a US court gave its thumbs up. AT&T has just proudly announced that it has, at long last, completed its acquisition of Time Warner. This practically puts one of the US’ biggest entertainment companies into the hands of one of the country’s biggest telecom companies, creating a media giant that AT&T’s rivals will have a hard time toppling.
In a massively controversial decision, US District Judge Richard Leon has ruled that AT&T can acquire Time Warner, and do so without any conditions placed on it. This was the biggest antitrust case in many years, potentially paving the way for similar deals among other companies. Now that the ruling has been made, we may soon see the fallout: sources say Comcast is preparing to make a move on Fox.
Right after AT&T suggested they had exclusive access to the LG V35 ThinQ, Google weighed in with a different message. According to Google, Project Fi also has the LG V35 ThinQ, and the LG G7 ThinQ too - and also the Motorola-made Moto G6. That's three new devices for Project Fi, all at the same time.
![AT&T gets LG V35 ThinQ after skipping G7 [Updated]](https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LG-V35-ThinQ-04-1-980x620.jpg)
The new LG V35 ThinQ will launch on AT&T in early June in the US, the carrier has confirmed, helping explain why it opted out of picking up the LG G7 ThinQ earlier this month. The new smartphone, latest in the company's V series, is closer to the G7 than the name would suggest, however.
Amazon has made some rather odd devices in the past, from the terrible flop that was the Fire Phone to the suspicious fashionista Echo Look. But one strange product that seems to have somewhat survived is the Dash button. A one-click device primarily designed to make it easy for Amazon users to order one type of product, the Dash concept seems to have had some fans over at AT&T. The carrier has just launched its own LTE-M Button which can do more than just order Tide pods.
There's a device called RED Hydrogen One out in the universe that we need to have a talk about. This is a smartphone from the folks at RED, a company best known for their cinema-friendly high-end video cameras. We've seen this smartphone - parts of it anyway - earlier this year, but without a whole lot of deep detail, it's suddenly popped up on Verizon and AT&T. What the heck?
RED's Hydrogen One smartphone is headed to AT&T and Verizon this summer, offering a glasses-free 3D display and an interchangeable camera system. First phone from the famous RED camera company, the Hydrogen One has a 5.7-inch display that uses a homegrown 3D technology that's been branded 4-View.
AT&T's OTT streaming television service DirecTV NOW has expanded its DVR features, making them available for all subscribers despite the continued "beta" status. The features are being made available to iOS and tvOS users first, though AT&T promises that Android, Roku, and Fire TV users will get access to the DVR and other changes in coming weeks. Joining the DVR is a new interface and more.
LG told us we could expect its new G7 ThinQ on all the major US carriers, but it seems at least one is sitting out the new Android smartphone. Though unveiled earlier this week, the G7 ThinQ isn't due to hit shelves until the start of June, with preorders expected across multiple carriers toward the end of May.
A newly published report claims Verizon and AT&T are the subject of a Department of Justice investigation. According to the sources cited, officials are looking into whether the two carriers, as well as telecom standards organization GSMA, colluded to make it harder for customers to switch providers. The Justice Department hasn't confirmed the allegations at this time.
AT&T has tweaked its prepaid plans, making them slightly more attractive than before. Of note, users now have the option of an 8GB prepaid plan that costs $50/month, double or more the high-speed data you'll get from similarly priced plans elsewhere. As is common with prepaid plans, the carrier is making it attractive to set up auto pay by reducing the monthly fee in return.
AT&T, if you haven't already heard, wants to buy Time Warner's broadcasting business. The government, on the other hand, doesn't seem to think that such a merger is a good idea, and it's brought an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T in an attempt to block the deal. Yesterday, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson took the stand to explain why he thinks the merger wouldn't harm customers, and in the process, he announced a new streaming service that's set to debut in just a few weeks.