What comes to mind when you think of Brazil? Soccer? beautiful beaches? Bossa nova? Coffee? Probably not smartphones. As one of the so-called BRIC nations, Brazil is often characterized as an emerging economy poised for big growth. If the widening use of smartphones is any indication, it's on its way to rising prosperity.

One of the more intriguing pieces of advice handed out during MediaPost's Mobile Summit last week was Eric Bader's exhortation to look elsewhere besides digital budgets to fund mobile campaigns. He argued that because digital budgets were already small--between 5% and 8% of a brand's ad spending--it wasn't a good place to look for extra dollars.

With the long-anticipated launch of Facebook's location-based service, Facebook Places, predictions about the demise of competing properties like Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt have been flying thick and fast.

A true clash of the titans is shaping up in the emerging mobile payments space, with Verizon Wireless and AT&T on one side and Visa and Bank of America on the other. The companies have recently revealed competing initiatives to try to wrest control of mobile payments, which are expected to grow quickly in the coming years.

With the forthcoming launch of News Corp.'s iPad-focused digital newspaper, CEO Rupert Murdoch has pledged to bring young people back to newspaper reading through the allure of the Apple tablet and short, snappy stories.

When it comes to talking and texting on mobile phones, African-Americans, women and Southerners are the most active users, according to data released today by Nielsen.

Apple may not have won the app war after all. With its more than 250,000 titles on offer in the App Store and more than 5 billion downloads bringing in $1 billion to date, there's no question the technology giant is the dominant player in mobile apps. But competitors certainly aren't ready to raise the white flag.

A day after Facebook unveiled its Places location-sharing initiative, Google checked in to let the world know it would be a major competitor in the space. In a blog post ostensibly about Google Maps surpassing 100 million users, Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering, touted a variety of location-based features and services Google has rolled out over the last five years.

Does Research in Motion really need its own ad network? The Wall Street Journal reported today that the BlackBerry maker is in talks to buy mobile ad network Millennial Media but is balking at the $400 to $500 million Millennial is seeking. (Neither side has confirmed the negotiations.)

With Facebook expected to announce its long-awaited location-based service later today, speculation has heated up about exactly what form it will take. Will it compete head-to-head with existing social location competitors like Foursquare and Gowalla, or encourage integration of third-party check-in services?