Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is rolling out another serious swipe at advertising in a relatively new category: mobile phone screens. Although mobile advertising is nothing new, Google's intense focus on this new platform for display ads is ramping up excitement in some circles. After all, there are many more cellphones with mobile web capability than there are PCs worldwide. The trick is to get consumers and businesses using the mobile web. The iPhone has helped kickstart interest in this that had been pretty much dormant before last year for a range of reasons.Google co-founder Sergey Brin even said at Google's recent quarterly results conference call that "The mobile ads work very well ... there's nothing to dissuade me it would be any worse than traditional desktop search." If that holds true -- and we all know how desktop search has panned out -- mobile search may be a huge blockbuster.
Faster data connections are available with many wireless carriers now, smartphone shipments are increasing, and attention to the mobile web has gained a huge amount of steam due to the iPhone and its full web browsing capabilities. Once Google's Android operating system begins shipping and the mobile web is a single button press away, Google's next frontier to attack will be the mobile search market. And, of course, selling display ads along with all those searches.
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