U.S. Files Complaint to Block AT&T, T-Mobile Merger.

AT&T’s proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile hit a major snag on Wednesday when the U.S. Justice Department filed to block the merger.

The Justice Department is arguing that the takeover would violate antitrust laws and “would substantially lessen competition for mobile wireless telecommunications services across the United States, resulting in higher prices, poorer quality services, fewer choices and fewer innovative products for the millions of American consumers who rely on mobile wireless services in their everyday lives.” (For the full complaint, see below.) Reps from AT&T and T-Mobile could not be reached for comment.

AT&T announced the proposed takeover in March. AT&T’s stock price was down 5% this morning after the news broke.

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Sony Unveils a Personal 3D Entertainment Headset:

Sony’s latest entertainment device looks like it was lifted from a sci-fi movie.

On Wednesday, the company unveiled HMZ-T1, a “personal viewer” that allows individuals to watch 3D or 2D videos, play games and listen to music using a personal headset that weighs about three times as much as an iPhone.

Sony first introduced the concept at CES-(Computer Electronics Show), but it did not indicate a timetable for its release. The company has now announced plans to release the first versions in Japan on November 11 with a price tag of 60,000 yen (about $780).

Sony says that wearing the headset — which has a processing unit that plugs into a Blu-ray disc player or game machine — is like viewing a 750-inch movie screen. It also says the device’s speaker system makes “it seem as though the sound source is emanating from speakers placed all around the viewer (including front and back).”

That sounds like a great experience, but is it enough to convince you to wear one?

 

U.S. Troops Overseas Can Use Gmail To Call Home For Free

Uniformed U.S. military personnel serving abroad can use Gmail’s phone calling feature for free. The promotion starts now and runs through the end of the year.

The free offering merely requires would-be callers to add and validate their .mil email addresses in Gmail. Then they can click the “Call phone” link in the Chat sidebar to initiate a call via Gmail’s dial pad.

“We recognize and appreciate the sacrifices U.S. troops make when they serve abroad, and we’re proud to help make it a little bit easier for them to stay connected and hear a familiar voice,” Ilya Frank, Senior Software Engineer at Google, says of the company’s decision.

The generous free-calling offer is Google’s second of the year. The company is letting Gmail users make free phone calls to the U.S. and Canada throughout the year to promote its Skype-challenger.

Google Launches Offline Versions of Gmail, Calendar & Docs:

Google is launching a new Gmail web app and updates to Calendar and Docs, in an effort to increase its products’ offline utility.

Google users have called bringing Gmail, Calendar and Docs offline an essential step for improving productivity. The problem is that when users need offline access to their email or calendar, they really need it.

To that end, Google is launching a new Chrome app called Gmail Offline. Separate from Gmail itself, the new app is designed for accessing, managing and sending email while you’re disconnected from the web. “We can build on top of a lot of HTML5 standards, which gives us the capabilities to make it work offline,” (source) said.

The HTML5 app looks and feels a lot like the Gmail app for tablets. That’s because Gmail Offline is based on the tablet version, which was designed to function with or without Internet access. It focuses on the key features users need to access while offline, including organizing, starring, labeling, archiving and responding to email. It won’t give you access to Gmail Labs features, but it will get the job done.

In addition to the Gmail Offline app, Google is rolling out the ability to access Calendar and Docs offline. The feature, available by clicking the gear icon at the top of the page, lets you view events and RSVP to appointments in Calendar and view documents in Docs. Offline document editing isn’t available yet, but Google promises to find a way to make it work. Part of the problem is finding a way to make sure document edits made offline don’t override edits made by online collaborators.

The apps are only available through the Chrome Web Store at the moment. If you try to use the Calendar or Docs offline features, you will be prompted to first install Chrome. Google says that it intends to roll out its offline apps to other browsers once they support the functionality.