After plans to merge with AT&T died off when the companies failed to get FCC approval, T-Mobile pocketed $4 billion. With its wallet bursting with Leap Wireless’s spectrum, the company is searching for a new partnership that could entail an outright purchase of T-Mobile. The second option is a stock swap, which would give T-Mobile’s mommy-company Deutsche Telekom control over both T-Mobile and MetroPCS.

T-Mobile’s first quarter reports achieved high expectations by outperforming analyst expectations. The company added 187,000 subscribers during the first quarter, which is a large increase from last year’s performance.

In addition to the good news, T-Mobile expects to reach an agreement with Apple for the next version of the iPhone. Many believe Apple’s smartphone is one of the top reasons customers switch to T-Mobile, though the only options available to T-Mobile users currently are jailbroken or high-end, Micro-SIMed versions.

The deal with AT&T was a dead one because it raised monopolistic concerns. AT&T is the nation’s second-largest carrier. If it had been successful in acquiring T-Mobile, many feared that AT&T and Verizon would recreate a duopoly in the wireless market.

However, T-Mobile’s merge with MetroPCS would be more likely to gain approval. MetroPCS isn’t as large as AT&T, and T-Mobile desperately needs rescuing.

Oracle originally accused Google of infringing copyrights, asking for almost $1 billion in damages. On Monday, May 7, a federal jury declared a split verdict in the trial over Android’s software. The verdict declared that Google did infringe copyrights held by Oracle, but the verdict failed to answer a key question Oracle needed in order to press it case further.

Oracle did not gain a share of the profits in Android’s sales.

Though Oracle won a small battle, it has yet to achieve what it set out for when it first sued Google. Google also has much at stake, considering that it has invested a tremendous amount in its mobile operating system.

Oracle wants to increase its revenue from Java, which it acquired along with Sun Microsystems two years ago. The software currently Android systems, and Oracle is demanding a profit for its use.

The jurors in the case agreed Google infringed on Oracle’s copyright by using a small amount of Java code in Android. However, other less significant infringement claims were rejected.

Oracle is asking for Google to alter Android or pay a licensing fee, but the judge did not indicate how he will rule. The second phase of the case focuses on Oracle’s allegations that Android violated Java patents. Other accusations will also be looked at in the second and third phase of the case.

The carrier is working with TeleCommunication Systems to facilitate SMS sending to emergency call-centers. The company hopes to make the feature available as early as 2013.

The service will use existing CDMA and SMS networks and will be available to all customers once it rolls out.

Since its creation, texting hasn’t just acted as a social way to communicate. Mobile texting has been a huge beneficial contribution to the hearing impaired. The text to 911 feature is a wonderful advancement for the community.

In the press release, Verizon stated:

While consumers should always first try to contact a 911 center by making a voice call, this enhanced SMS service, when deployed, will offer an alternative for customers on the Verizon Wireless network who are deaf or hard of hearing and cannot make voice calls or who could be placed in additional danger by speaking.

Verizon is currently working with others in the industry, including the FCC, to deploy the new service.

These search engines make a profit by selling users information to advertisers, which raises the question of whether they release too much information.

But users don’t have to deprive themselves of Internet searches for fear of data tracking. A new, free, privacy-centric search engine, DuckDuckGo, doesn’t store search history or send click information to other sites.

DuckDuckGo’s homepage says “We don’t track or bubble you!” The site is a simply designed and fast searching alternative that doesn’t provide targeted advertising. Since it doesn’t track users’ history, it doesn’t filter results based on past information. Everyone gets the same search results.

Though Google’s history-tracking search results, such as the autocomplete feature and smart ads, come in handy, users are concerned about how Google (and sites like it) release their data. DuckDuckGo is an easy and quick alternative if users are wary of how companies use personal information.

Now the battle between the two companies continues as Yahoo reportedly informs Facebook that it believes the social network is infringing on an additional 16 of Yahoo’s patents. Yahoo says its patents hold information related to open-source technology. According to Yahoo, Facebook is using the technology in its data centers and servers.

Yahoo’s patent lawsuit started in March, first accusing Facebook of infringing upon 10 patents, and then adding two more patents later. To make matters more complicated than necessary, Facebook counter-sued by accusing Yahoo of infringing on 10 of Facebook’s patents.

Neither company is willing to back down, but Yahoo claims an agreement between the in-house counsels. The two companies will discuss intellectual property issues between one another.

Google released a report, listing software breakdown and distribution among its subscribers. The 4.9% of ICS users is an increase from last month’s 2.9%. However, we must point out that the increase was caused by Google’s recent releases of the Galaxy Nexus S 4G, Galaxy S II, HTC One X and One S, which all have ICS running on them as defaults.

Most popular among the platforms is the Gingerbread, which reaches more than 64% of Android users. Next in line are Froyo at almost 21% and Éclair at 5.5%.

The report was released to developers so that they may target their apps for devices most popular on the market. Google has reason to expect that Android 4.0 will spread to more Android users in the future, due in large to popular smartphones that have recently been released.

The application is currently exclusive to iOS and Android. It lets users find friends based on their current locations. However, since Facebook scooped up Glancee, the app has been taken off both app stores.

Facebook’s recent purchases of Instagram and Tagtile took everyone by surprise, but they won’t be the last stop in its shopping spree. The company is on the prowl for new acquisitions as it invests heavily in building a mobile presence. Though mobile monetization is an unsteady source of revenue, Facebook plans to have a strong foot in the mobile door.

The new purchase of Glancee will bring a heap of features to Facebook’s mobile app. Glancee allowed users to generate a list of nearby Glancee users to discover friends’ interests and locations. Users could follow or “favorite” one another, or even chat online to determine whether or not a real friendship is plausible.

Sounds like friendly stalking, if you ask us. But the more’s the merrier, as they say, and Facebook is certainly taking the phrase seriously. We can expect to see many more acquisitions to the social networking in the future.

Clearwire says the launch of its network will arrive in 31 cities in the first half of 2013.

The rollout will focus on major cities and “hot zones” in urban centers, where demand for spectrum is high. The big names right now are Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle. The other cities will be named in the upcoming months.

Clearwire says its network will bring much-needed capacity on a wholesale basis. Its new TD-LTE will address demands for mobile data and scarcity of spectrum in urban and suburban markets.

The company currently has a Wi-MAX wholesale agreement signed with Sprint, a long-standing business partner.

Clearwire ended its first quarter with 11 million subscribers.

The move comes shortly after Verizon’s fourth-quarter reports showed a decline in profit margins. After losing a substantial amount of profit to Apple for the popular iPhone, Verizon feels a pressure to supplement its costs.

Until now, customers were always given free upgrades under the terms of their contracts. However, though mobile customers pay a price for new phones every time they upgrade, companies get no extra revenue from the sale.

The news will no doubt cause uproar among Verizon’s loyal customers. But the company points out that the fee was not exclusive to Verizon Wireless. AT&T has also announced that it will be changing upgrade policies this year.

Facebook announced in mid-April that they will be acquiring substantially all of Tagtile’s assets. The team of developers behind the start-up will also be joining Facebook’s staff.

Tagtile is a marketing mobile app targeted at small businesses. The company helped business market and manage customers by making the process easy and enjoyable. Clients were able to track customer base, visit frequency, and utilize marketing tools for customer offers and notifications.

The financial details of the deal weren’t released.