Nokia started the week on a positive note, winning an extended contract with Nordic operator Telenor. Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia will provide radio equipment (they're actually named Hopper radios) for two years. I actually just found out that Nordic means Norway too. Amazing, some of the things you learn every day.

The market research firm Gartner released the results of a quarterly study that showed an increase in global cell phone shipments (18%, to be exact) from last year. The results also reflected Nokia's and Motorola's (and to some extent, Sony Ericcson's) market share gains in the second quarter, with many of the smaller companies feeling the crunch of the Big Kahunas.

Motorola's RAZR (of course) phones led the growth spurt while Nokia's topline N72 and N73 phones paved the way for the high-end market. One interesting quote from the article: "Gartner said Nokia has to do more to attract users who put fashion ahead of functionality and are looking for thin products." And by fashion we don't mean those ridiculous, completely unusable phones like the 7380.

More amusing quotes from the report:
"Samsung needs to develop handsets with a more distinctive design."
"Sony Ericsson's bet on music and imaging continue to pay back."

Ok, that's enough of that.

Nokia also announced that it would begin receiving entries for this year's Forum Nokia PRO Awards, which "recognize outstanding achievements in the explosive consumer entertainment and content markets and in new mobility solutions for productivity and the enterprise." I should mention that several years ago I attempted to make a blockbuster mobile phone game. I got as far as displaying some arrows on the screen. However, I'm sure it would've been a VERY strong contender at the 2007 Forum Nokia awards had I finished it.

T-mobile is still leading the FCC airwaves auction with bids totaling more than $4.1 billion. Verizon is second with $2.8 billion, while another company called SpectrumCo is in third with $2.06 billion.

That is all for this week. Next week I will be in Vegas checking out the local sights and may be reporting from there. Or not.

Tags: fcc, tmobile, week in review

The latest Nokia cell phone blog entries can be found on the main page.