AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA for $39 billion has taken the mobile industry by storm. Together, the two companies are expected to control 80 percent of the US market, far outstripping Verizon and leaving a beleaguered Sprint lagging in third place.

There are many reasons to have mixed feelings about the proposed merger, even if you aren’t a Sprint exec. If the merger passes regulatory inspection by the Federal Communications Commission, decreased competition is expected to limit the number of available smartphone models as well as drive up plan prices. Many jobs will be lost as redundant facilities close down.

However, there are some pros to the merger as well. The increased number of towers will improve service for customers of both phones, especially in densely populated urban areas. Also, if you are a T-Mobile customer, you can expect to get the iPhone in about 12 months, though by that time you’ll technically be an AT&T customer. Users can also expect an increase in 4G coverage. AT&T has promised to expand its 4G LTE network to include 95 percent of the US population as part of the merger with T-Mobile.

This particular buyout is changing the face of the mobile industry, as the market is being increasingly dominated by the Verizon and AT&T duopoly. It is up to the US customer base to decide whether or not it is changing for the bet

Sprint rolled out the HTC EVO View 4G, the tablet version of the highly popular EVO family of phones, at CTIA 2011 in Orlando. The WiMAX tablet, exclusive to Sprint, boasts 32 GB of memory and 1 GB of RAM, and seems to have all the specs to compete in the increasingly-cutthroat tablet market.

The HTC EVO View appears to be nigh identical to none other than the HTC EVO Flyer Tablet, recently announced in Barcelona. However, the EVO View is WiMAX-read and exchanges the Flyer’s angelically white look for a tougher black and red façade. The Android Gingerbread powered tablet, which is the tablet version of the new Evo 4G 3D, still boasts an old-school stylus and a dual-core Qualcomm 1.4 GHz Snapdragon Processor. It still retains the ability to turn into a 3G/4G wireless hotspot with the ability to support up to eight wireless devices simultaneously.

So why did HTC feel the need to slightly modify the look of the Flyer and completely alter the name?

Some analysts surmise that, as the 4G tablet is exclusive to US-based Sprint customers, HTC felt the need to stress this exclusivity by standing out in the crowd. The bad-ass black and red veneer demonstrates to onlookers that this is no simple WiFi device. Furthermore, it is possible that HTC felt the slicker coloring would appeal to American audiences more than the white casing would.

The HTC View 4G tablet is expected to be available sometime this summer. Keep your eyes open for an announcement from T-Mobile in the coming weeks. Word on the street is that T-Mobile will also be offering the HTC Flyer in the near future.