It’s been a week of major profits and the occasional loss in the cellular world, with AT&T and Apple both announcing strong Q4 2007 performance and celebrating with a new bevy of enterprise data packages for the iPhone (although some are pointing out that their figures for the Jesus phone just don’t quite add up). Meanwhile, LG celebrated 550,000 European sales of their 5-megapixel-toting Viewty with a new, ‘Dark Silver’ version that packs not only the fresh suit but UI improvements too.
Sadly not everyone has been celebrating; Palm announced on Wednesday that, by the end of January, all their standalone retail stores will have closed. Critics are blaming the frankly uninspiring range of handsets they’ve got on offer, and looking at the rumored Treo 800w – apparently hitting the shelves in April – you can’t really disagree.
Biggest industry news, however, was the FCC’s 700MHz wireless spectrum auction kicking off on Thursday, with the first round of bidding clocking up $2.4bn. So far bidders identities have been kept secret, so there’s no telling whether Google have opened their wallet or left the open-access Block C to mainstream rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
It’s been a week of upgrades, too, both official and otherwise with a Jailbreak for Apple’s latest 1.1.3 iPhone firmware (that has caused a few people trouble) and the long-awaited Windows Mobile 6 update for Samsung’s Blackjack. As for software, PHONE Magazine is still giving away three copies of Makayama’s Voice Dial for the iPhone, so head over and get your entry in.
Finally, I couldn’t let the Review go by without mentioning our new writer, Areeanna Gregory, who you can see unboxing and checking out the Kyocera Lingo for Cricket Wireless, and the great new site look that launched this weekend. As ever, we’re here to bring you the very best in new cellphone news, so keep your tips and suggestions coming!









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