The last time I met AdMob CEO Omar Hamoui, I asked him when Google was going to buy them. In fact I think I might have asked him this on camera. My memory is rubbish!

Anyway, having raised almost $50m from some Silicon Valley greats, there was really no question that the next step for AdMob was — obviously — Google.

You can read Omar’s public letter here with the news and here’s Google’s reaction.

It’s no surprise whatsoever. Yahoo is limping along and, frankly, there’s not that many other organisations with the direct interest and the cash to spunk three quarters of a billion dollars on AdMob.

Throughout the marketplace there’s been a general recognition — for a while now — that Google has been arsing about with mobile. If you take a look at their existing mobile advertising offering, you’ll see how rubbish it is. Like a 4-year-old knocked it up using their 20% day off from the sand pit.

AdMob and Google = natural fit.

The deal was a forgone conclusion in my mind once they began to hit a billion impressions a month.

Kudos to Omar and the rest of the team at AdMob. It’s a super exit and I’m sure they’ll go on to even greater things at Google and beyond.

Is your company in the Smaato Mobile Advertising Award nominees list? I see quite a few I recognise.

Here’s the full list:

4Square Labs, Aaron Cohen Software, Abphone, AccuWeather, Aero Weather, aha mobile, aka-aki, aloqa, AroundMe, Art & Smart, audio Boo, Avantar Showtimes, Avatar Free, Backgrounds, Barnes & Noble, Belysio, Brightkite, Bump, Buzzd, Cascada Mobile, Cell Fun, Celltrigen, Cellution Media, centrl, City Sense, CitySourced, clipintouch, CocoaStuff, cooliris, crashcorp, delivr.com, DocScanner, Doodle Buddy, Dopplr, Dropbox, eBuddy, eeenmachine, emoze, Epicurious, ESPN Cricinfo, Fandango, Findlinks, Fish Labs, Fliq, flirtomatic, FlyTunes, Foreca.mobi, Fortune Ball, foursquare, Foxmobile, Frengo, Fring, Funji, funkysexycool, Gap Stylemixer, geome, goal.com, golden gecko, gowalla, graffitigeo, groovr, Gypsii, Handango, Handmark Rocket Express, Hands Mobile, Happy Dangy Diggy, hearplanet, Hiogi, iDict, Info2cell, iPhunny, IQ Engines, itsmy, iWood, Jaiku, jamcode, Jiwire, Joikusoft, Joost, Juice Caster, Jumbuck, Kayak, Kiboo, Kyte, Larvalabs, Last.fm, Layar, Liquid Air Lab, LockBox, Locle, Lonely Planet, Loopt, Lufthansa, Mastercard ATM Hunter, McLaughlin, Meet Moi, Mig33, Mobile Air Mouse, Mobile Life, Mobiluck, Mobiscope, moblr, Moco Space, Mofuse, Moosh, MoTweets, Mover, Mxit, My6sense, mywaves, nachtagenten, NearbyNow, Nimbuzz, Now Then, Nulaz, Open Table, Orbster, pageonce, Palringo, Pandora, Panoramic Software, Peperonity, PhotoShare, Placestodo, Platial, Plusmo, Qeep, Qik, Rabble.com, Rader.net, Retronyms, RjDj, RSS Lite, Rummble, SAPO, SGN, Shazam, Shopping Places, Shozu, Simple touch software, SixPack App, Slacker Radio, Smarter Agent, smsO2, Smule, Snac, Snaptu, Socialight, soonr, SPB Software, Spiegel, Spotify, Squace, Starbucks, STARS Foundation, Storyz, strands, Streaming live scores, style.com, stylecaster, surfkitchen, TagTag, Taibidiny Media Works, taptu, Tapulous, Tatango, Thumbplay, Tiggits, Tonchidot, Trapster, Treemo, Trigga.me, Tripcase, Truphone, trustedplaces, tweetdeck, twitteriffic, Uclick, Ulocate, unlike networks, Urbanspoon, Veeker, Venista m-Joy, Viigo, Visual Radio, Vlingo, Vringo, vulevu, Wadja.com, Waze, wikitude, Wirenode s.r.o., Wooden Labyrinth 3D, Worldmate, Yelp, Yoose, Yowza, Zagat, Zannel, Zedge, Zero9.it, Zhiing, Zillow, Zyb.

If you’re really, really quick, you can still enter to get nominated here — but you’ve got just a few hours to go now.

I got this email flyer through today:

It’s from The Roebuck pub/restaurant on Chiswick High Road. I went there for lunch a few weeks ago and, whilst in the toilets (“restrooms”) read their flyer encouraging me to sign-up to find out about their special offers.

Unfortunately (for me, as a mobile geek) the instructions required me to visit their website later on to do this.

“GAHHHHH!” I thought to myself, “Why no mobile sign-up option? Or automatic list subscription via-mobile-browser?”

I eventually remembered to check out the website and signed-up. The food and the service was good.

Here, then, is the result of my efforts. If I take my wife down for a main course, Monday to Friday lunch/dinner, we’ll both get a free glass of prosecco. Nice.

To qualify I simply need to bring the email.

And that’s where my heart sank.

I was looking for some kind of mobile equivalent. Do I really still have to physically print something off, still?

I understand that this is probably the best way of ensuring every customer of The Roebuck can participate.

But here’s a question. On my Blackberry, you can see this flyer perfectly fine on screen. Do you think that would qualify? If I simply held my phone toward the waiter?

I have to confess that I think it would be UBER cool if the flyer simply said ’show this on your phone’.

How many people wouldn’t participate, though, because they’ve got a bollocks handset that doesn’t *do* email properly? Fair point, fair point.

I’m interested as to why the management at The Roebuck haven’t implemented a mobile marketing system rather than email. Surely mobile is actually a more ubiquitous (and immediate/personal) system of contact than email?

Anyway, if you’re in Chiswick, London, and you’d like a free glass of prosecco this month, you know where to go.

If you work in mobile marketing/advertising, chances are, your eyes are on Adfonic here in Europe.

Over to the seriously useful Farney Media for more information:

Adfonic launched a self-service mobile ad marketplace this week. The platform allows advertisers to build, execute, monitor and control campaigns.

Publishers have access to tools and real-time reporting and analytics to maximise their earning potential from mobile advertising.

Advertisers can bid on the mobile ad inventory, and price is dictated by supply and demand.

Mobile sites won’t be able to set a floor price on their ad inventory, but it is something Adfonic are keen to introduce.

Very, very interesting. If it gets the requisite attention, it could really change the mobile ad marketplace.

You can read Ciaran’s full post (and interview with Adfonic) here.

Last week I posted a query from reader, Richard, who had a question about a bluetooth headset that would work with his Blackberry *and* his PC. The replies from readers were super — and Richard was delighted. But I’d like to highlight this one from Mo at MobileFun.

Ewan,

Essentially, you want to be looking out for Bluetooth Headsets that feature multipoint, will allow you to pair the headset with two devices at the same time. More details here: http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/blog/2008/08/what-is-multipoint/.

We have a selection here:

http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/cat/Multipoint-Bluetooth-Headsets.htm and TerenceEden’s recommendation is on there too.

Then next “feature” I would recommend looking out for is a USB charging cable in box, so keeping the headset charged up would be easy next to the PC/Laptop. Even better would be a headset that charges using the same socket as your BlackBerry. Most are MiniUSB, however the newer BlackBerrys (8900 curve and Storm) are MicroUSB.

If you have a newer BlackBerry, then this Jabra BT530 fits the bill: (Multi-Point and MicroUSB)

http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/jabra-bt530-bluetooth-headset-p16778.htm and this features noise reduction technology.

I hope this helps Richard.

This is the kind of really smart marketing that I like to see around the web. Yes Mo’s included links to his site, yes you can actually buy the products from Mo and, I’m sure he’ll make a bit of cash from that.

But the informed and personal nature of his response is, in my opinion, text-book marketing.

I’ve never bought anything from MobileFun before but after this helpful outreach message from Mo, I think I’ll give them a go.

Check them out.

Neil Robertson over at PR agency, IF Communications, is just back from holiday (“vacation”) and has some really good news to report from no-frills airline, EasyJet.

They’ve launched a free text reminder service for their customers. Here’s how it works.

A few days before Neil was due to leave, he received an email from EasyJet asking if he’d like to receive some free text alerts relating to his flight.

The service is powered by StreamThru — here’s a screenshot:

I particularly like the fact that you can consume StreamThru’s service via Twitter.

But back to EasyJet.

Neil signed up to receive a series of updates thus:

- Pre-departure flight update (sent 3 hours before departure)
- Personal boarding call
- Delay and cancellation alerts
- Maximum of 2 special offers

Now the element that interests me are the special offers. Being able to capture and do business with the people leaving the UK (laden, one imagines, with some amount of cash) could be rather useful.

How did the service pan out?

Really good, according to Neil. He appeared to thoroughly appreciate the service. Here’s his overview:

1st text: 4hrs before i’m due to fly out, i’ll receive a ‘Booking reference reminder’ with details of my flight number, booking reference, when and what terminal my flight will depart.

- 1st text received perfectly. Flight number, North Terminal of Gatwick, booking reference and check in times. Good so far…

2nd text: 2hrs before i’m due to take off i’ll receive up to two promotional codes for shops in the terminal i’ll be in, waiting for the plane.

- 2nd text is actually an absolute blessing. I hadn’t changed up any money before hitting the airport and so was going to have to take the plunge and suffer at the hands of the air-side Bureau de Change. However, EasyJet came to my rescue with a discount on buying currency plus no commission charge. BONUS! A text that actually saves me money.

3rd text: 40mins before i’m due to fly out, i’ll receive my personal boarding call, telling me the gate number and what time the boarding gate will close.

- 3rd text did pretty much what i said it would do, although didn’t send me the gate number, just the closing time. Bit of a shame as the gate number would have really been useful, but on the other hand, there are a shed load of screens to check things on.

Excellent.

The second text Neil received, was timed perfectly. Two hours before his flight was due to leave (i.e. he was probably IN the airport already), he was sent an advertisement for the TTT Moneycorp Bureau de Change. The text offered no commission and a better exchange rate, if he showed the text at the counter. Neil took advantage of this. A super, super example of making advertising useful as apposed to bothersome. A win for EasyJet, a win for StreamThru, a customer for TTT Moneycorp and a win for Neil. Everybody wins!

I wonder if more Airlines will adopt this kind of offering. I hope they do.