• eweek et al., Friday, May 28, 2010 2:11 PM

Overcoming regulatory hurdles, Google on Thursday succeeded in acquiring mobile ad network AdMob. Now the real challenges begin.

Indeed, among the deal's many implications, Google has succeeded in "setting up a battle with Apple for digital ads served in applications on smartphones," notes eWeek. "The battle between Google and Apple in mobile ads should begin in earnest when Apple starts serving ads through iAd on new iPhones this summer."

Likely sensing the impending storm, Susan Wojcicki, Google's VP of Product Management, said in a blog post that the company was moving fast to integrate the AdMob team into its ad unit as quickly as possible.

"They are trying to make up some of the time the FTC's long look into Google's business had expended," writes Fortune. "Google is moving fast in the mobile advertising space as new rival Apple is rapidly expanding its new iAds service to a number of big clients."

"Apple doesn't want Google to run off with the mobile ad revenue on its platform ... And Google isn't about to cede mobile advertising space to Apple," explains ZDNet's Between the Lines blog. "The mission in both cases: Develop mobile advertising and garner the revenue on their respective platforms."

That Google was allowed to go ahead with the deal came as little surprise to some. "Truth be told, it would have really only been news if Google had failed to close the deal after the Federal Trade Commission said last week that it would not block the $750 million acquisition following a nearly six-month review," writes CNet's Relevant Results blog.

As Macworld notes, the FTC said the acquisition does raise "serious antitrust concerns," but Apple's announcement earlier this year that it would launch its own ad network ultimately made the deal palatable.

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