The first quarter of 2011 saw the continuation of some important trends, but it also some unexpected developments. The biggest story saw AT&T agree to acquire T-Mobile USA in a deal that — if approved by federal regulators — would drastically consolidate the market of tier-one operators. Apple’s hold on the tablet industry, meanwhile, loosened slightly emergence of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and a few other devices. Competitors of the iPad 2 nonetheless face a daunting challenge. And Verizon Wireless continued to ramp up its LTE deployments. The mobile carrier is potentially poised to capture a base of lucrative postpaid subscribers with this — and perhaps close the gap with the combined AT&T/T-Mobile, should that deal go through. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Research in Motion, Nokia, Google, HTC and Motorola. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial.