Webwire: No crowds for CDMA iPhone; Nortel auction held up

The Verzion CDMA iPhone went on sale yesterday, but despite strong pre-sales, Verizon and Apple stores were reportedly bereft of the sprawling queues that usually accompany a new iPhone launch.
 
People involved in the auction of Nortel's remaining patent portfolio claim the process has been delayed because no bidder wants to pay the roughly $1 billion target set by the liquidator.
 
Companies including Google and Facebook have been in talks with Twitter over a possible acquisition, sources say, with estimated valuations reportedly skirting as high as $10 billion (€7.3 billion).
 
US Wimax provider Clearwire may exit the retail business, instead concentrating on providing its network on a wholesale basis. Partner Sprint Nextel might provide the company with more capital if it agrees to the divestment.
 
Vodafone and Essar Group have shortlisted banker UBS to settle their dispute over the valuation of joint venture Vodafone Essar. Essar can choose to sell all or part of its stake to Vodafone by May.
 
Facebook has launched Places Deals, a location-based discount promotions service, in the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Canada.
 
PC sales in India grew 16.2% year-on-year to 2.7 million units during 4Q10, Gartner reports.