The newest Admob report is out and some outstanding numbers:

1. The Mobile Web grew 104% within the last 12 months

2. US and UK grew substantially faster

3. Palm counts for 2% of the worldwide mobile web trafffic

4. Top Devices include Nokia, Motorola, SonyEricson, Samsung. Apple only No. 9, but growing strong

Mixi.jp is Japan’s largest social network and Techcrunch has a great post about it. Most intrestingly Mix.jp has more mobile users than web user (about 60% mobile, 40% online). This comes to me as a big
surprise, even that I knew that Mobile usage in Japan is common.

We’ll see if this trend coming from Asia will prevail in Europe and the US.

The New York Times posted it end of last week and it’s pretty interesting with all the Iphone hype::

“Nearly 36 percent of all mobile ads served up by AdMob were sent to a
Motorola phone, the company said, with the Razr and Krzr coming up as
the first and second most popular models. Samsung phones came in second
at 14.1 percent. Worldwide, Nokia and Motorola phones are commonly
used, with the Razr and Krzr again the most popular devices for viewing
mobile ads.”

Arnold Zafra over at Appletell.com just posted about the latest Google mobile app tweaking. I guess the engineers fear to loose some share and constantly work on their product.

According to Arnold the speed improved twice and optimized Google.com for search.

Iphone is the hottest developer platform out there right now. Facebook, Android and Myspace probably currently close behind.

But what will the Facebook 2.0 platform be? A platform to bring the Facebook apps on the mobile? I am not sure about that, but great thoughts over at Cenet’s article “Facebook platfrom 2.0: Is mobile the key?”

Moblyng is a new startups that lets you take stuff from Myspace or Friendster and send it to your or your friends phones.

All the user has to do is enter their profile URL and select the stuff that they want to send to their phone.
I guess Moblyng mostly targets teens, but the concept is quite interesting. How about offering this service for Linkedin or Xing

A London School of Economics survey of young mobile-owning Brits showed the following:

“More than 45 per cent of mobile users access websites every day via
their mobile device, according to the survey, while a whopping 62 per
cent check emails daily and more than a fifth (24 per cent) have
subscribed to social networking on their phones….The survey also found the main barrier to mobile email and social
networking adoption is the perceived threat of high bills - with almost
half (41 per cent) of respondents saying they would be ‘very likely’ to
use the mobile internet more often if cost was not a factor.“

Opera Mobile 9.5 Beta has been released today. Here the new key features:

• Faster

  Speed tests show Opera Mobile 9.5 beta loads Web pages 2.5 times faster than Internet Explorer Mobile.

• Pan and zoom

  Opera
  Mobile 9.5 defaults to full Web page viewing and allows users to pan
  and zoom into their desired content in just a few clicks.

• Improved user interface

  Opera
  has completely renovated its user interface. Cleaner and more
  intuitive, the new UI is designed for quick and easy navigation.

• Opera Dragonfly

  It’s a developer’s toolkit right on the mobile phone.

• Improved standards support

  Opera
  Mobile 9.5 is the most standards compliant browser available. Opera
  Software remains steadfast in its commitment to make the Web accessible
  for all.

• Save pages and/or images

  With a click, simply save your selected content and view it later offline.

• A true Web experience

  Multitask with tabbed browsing, view content in widescreen, and enjoy small-screen rendering.

• Rich Web content

  Browse with the full richness of AJAX.

• Type less and browse more

  Save time with address auto-complete, Password Manager and pop-up handler.

• History and bookmarks

  Pick up past browsing sessions and bookmark them for next time.

• Upload contents

  Upload to Web sites such as online mail services or blogs.

Well said and I think it is right on. The recent Iphone hype just shows how much power the Iphone has. I only got hooked up with an Itouch and keep my thrid “Blackbatterydrainage” in my pocket, while using the Itouch to test and play around with stuff.

Here the official article and 7 (coincidence) world wonders reasons why the 7th Mass Medium has arrived:

“1 - The mobile phone is the first personal mass media
2 - The mobile is permanently carried media
3 - The mobile is the only always-on mass media
4 - Mobile is the only mass media with a built-in payment mechanism
5 - Mobile is only media available at the point of creative inspiration
6 - Mobile is only media with accurate audience measurement
7 - Mobile captures the social context of media consumption”

I agree that the Mobile has a lot of potential and as we’ve seen new design and bigger screens will overcome the bad mobile web experience of past years. However the switch from PC to phone might take some time and even today I spent way more time in front of the PC instead of playing with my mobile.

Having said that I live in the US and from my travels all around the world, I know that the mobile has way more influence in other countries, especially tiger states or third world.

It will be exciting and we will hopefully be a small part of the 7th Mass Medium

Seems like the MMA has updated their Global Code of Conduct paper. Here’s what’s included:

“
-Notice – The fundamental principle of the
MMA Privacy Code of Conduct, informing users of the marketers’
identity or products and services offered and the key terms and
conditions that govern an interaction between the marketer and the user’s
mobile device.

-Choice & Consent - Respecting the right of the user to control which
mobile messages they receive by obtaining consent (opt-in) and
implementing a simple termination (opt-out) process.

-Customization & Constraint – Ensuring
that collected user information is used to tailor communication to the
interests of the recipient and is handled responsibly, sensitively and
in compliance with applicable law. Mobile messages should be limited
to those requested by the user and provide value such as product and
service enhancements, contests, requested information, entertainment
or discounts.

-Security – The implementation of reasonable
technical, administrative and physical procedures to protect user
information from unauthorized use, alteration, disclosure,
distribution, or access.

-Enforcement & Accountability - The MMA expects its members to comply
with the MMA Privacy Code of Conduct and has incorporated the Code
into applicable MMA Guidelines, including the U.S. Consumer Best
Practice (“CBP”)
Guidelines. Until the Code can be enforced effectively by a third
party enforcement organization, Mobile Marketers are expected to use
evaluations of their practices to certify compliance with the Code.”"