A new mobile ad forecast from research firm Macquarie Securities takes a closer look at what a mobile boom could mean for ad agencies. It starts with a bullish projection of worldwide mobile ad revenue growing from an estimated $2 billion in 2009 to $14 billion in 2015--a 38% average annual growth rate.

As 2010 draws to a close, mobile TV remains more an early-adopter niche than anything remotely resembling a mainstream medium. A Yankee Group report making predictions about 4G said mobile video won't be a factor in driving consumers to sign up for next-generation service. Mobile apps and Web browsing will dominate 4G network use.

The dawn of 4G service in the U.S. brings the promise of landline-like speeds igniting an explosion in mobile media consumption, from downloading books to watching movies to zipping around the Web on handheld devices. It's also brought delayed rollouts, competing claims about service offerings, and disputes over the very definition of 4G. Stepping into this wireless whirlwind of hype and high stakes is research firm Yankee Group, offering more than a dozen predictions about 4G in the coming year.

According to a new estimate by IDC via Bloomberg Businessweek, Google is now by far the dominant player in mobile advertising, poised to end 2010 with a 59% share of the $877 million U.S. market. IAd-maker Apple is a distant second with an 8.4% share, followed by Millennial Media with 6.8%.

For a company that's built its online empire on search, you'd think Google would've set the standard for app discovery through its Android Market. That hasn't been the case, but Google is lately taking steps to make it easier to find titles through its app storefront now that it's crossed the 100,000 mark in apps.

Here's one trend I'd like to see gain traction in 2011: other retailers adopting Apple's mobile point-of-sales (POS) system to streamline the in-store sales process. The Apple-tracking site 9 To 5 Mac reports that The Gap, and its Old Navy subsidiary, are rolling out Apple's EasyPay POS system on a trial basis to allow sales people to wirelessly handle purchases on iPhones or iPod touch devices from anywhere within their stores.

With the Wall Street Journal reporting today that Google is poised to launch its long-anticipated e-book business, Google Editions, another industry appears on the verge of being shaken up by the Internet behemoth. Expected to debut in the U.S. by year's end, Google's e-book store would compete with those of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Sony and others.