This month, Google told its AdWords advertisers, "Your location-specific business phone number will display alongside your destination url in ads that appear on high-end mobile devices ... Users will be able to click-to-call your business just as easily as they click to visit your website ... You'll be charged for clicks to call, same as you are for clicks to visit your website." As Search Engine Land explains, this is basically a version of "pay-per-phone call," although the cost per call is the same as a click -- a bargain (generally speaking) for the advertisers to receive a …

On the heels of its purchase of AMR Research, Gartner has acquired IT research firm Burton Group for $56 million. The Burton Group is comprised of 41 analysts, 40 sales people, and annual revenue of $30 million. Gartner paid $64 million for AMR, which had $40 million in revenue. "The addition of Gartner resources and global organization will enrich current Burton Group offerings," Burton Group CEO Jamie Lewis said in a statement. Similar to the AMR deal, Gartner plans to use the Burton acquisition to expand its offerings and IT research. Gartner, which financed the deal through cash …

In an early and in-depth review of the Nexus One, Engadget describes the world's first Google-branded smartphone as a "sleek, streamlined phone that can easily go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 3GSs, Pres, and Droids of the world." Still, can it live up to all the hype? Well, "It's clear that Google and (the phone's manufacturer) HTC made strides to bring an Android handset into the same realm of base desirability that Apple's halo device occupies," and "for the most part, they've succeeded." Overall, however, "The Nexus One is at its core just another Android smartphone," Engadget writes. "It's …

If only for a minute, the industry on Tuesday forgot about "iTablets" and Google-branded smartphones to consider Apple's acquisition of mobile advertiser Quattro Wireless for a reported $275 million (though this is just another way for all of us to chase the same shiny new toys). All Things Digital, which broke the news Monday evening, put the deal in the context of Google's recent acquisition of Quattro competitor AdMob for "an astonishing" $750 million -- beating out competing bids by Apple -- and describing it as "upping the ante in the mobile ad business significantly."

On days when there are no big stories, such as when the entire world seems to have been asleep for the past two weeks, still in a food coma, still hungover from New Year's, etc, what news outlets like to do is make plenty of fancy lists. And of course the New Year lends itself to prognostications as well. With the added strain of this being the dawning of a new decade -- so we are obviously now living in the future -- the lists can get even more wind-y than usual. But at least John …

Seesmic, an applications developer, announced that it was acquiring social status updater Ping.fm. Ping.fm integrates with some 50 social networks, which is about 45 more than you'd ever think necessary. The financial details were disclosed, but along with 500,000 Ping users, Seesmic takes on its two cofounders. On January 1, Seesmic founder Loic Le Meur stated that his goal for the company was to have 1 million status updates a day, and obviously the acquisition puts him 200,000 a day closer to getting there. Seesmic says it will maintain and develop Ping's relationship with the 100 outside …

Facebook has pulled the plug on the Web 2.0 Suicide Machine, banning the IP address of the site that purports to be a social media Dr. Kevorkian. In a demonstration video for the service, which seems to be the type of parody that is only half kidding, the person offing his Facebook self marvels as his friends are deleted one-by-one, "So many people you actually really didn't care about." The Web 2.0 Suicide Machine has vowed it will fight on. A message on the site chirps: "We are currently looking in ways to circumvent this ungrounded restriction …

Public advocates and antitrust watchdog groups will send letters to the FTC today requesting that the government look into so-called "TV Everywhere" plans. "The public interest groups allege collusion between video service providers such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Verizon and Direct TV to keep video content behind a subscription-based pay wall," writes the Washington Post. Representatives for MSOs say that the companies are exploring their options, not seeking to wall off content. "The old media giants are working together to kill off innovative online competitors and carve up the market for themselves," Marvin Ammori, a …

A Google patent application titled "Web-Based System for Generation of Interactive Games Based on Digital Videos" filed last February, but just recently come to light, seems primarily to deal with annotations on videos which can be utilized for creating interactive games with videos. The patent hints at the potential YouTube could have as a gaming site, hosting games overlaid on videos. Said Bnet, late last week, "The games could be built atop videos submitted to a hosting site, which makes it sound as though Google plans to extend YouTube site into an associated gaming site." Or it …

Microblogging service Twitter continues to add top-tier digital talent from its blue-chip peers, reports Louis Gray. Bakari Brock, formerly an in-house lawyer for Google focused on music, video and syndication, is the latest in a slew of hires ringing in the new year. Other hires starting the first week of the new year are staffers from Bebo, TiVo, Cloudera, Quik, Ning, and another Googler.