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On the iPhone, even the ads are cool. Mobile advertising network AdMob is launching a whole new set of customized ads for iPhone apps. As CEO Omar Hamoui explains in the video above, the ads are specifically designed for iPhone apps. Rather than the static text or image ads that make up most of its mobile ad inventory today, these take advantage of specific features of the iPhone. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/24/admob-makes-mobile-ads-suck-less-will-give-away-one-million-dollars-worth-of-ads-to-iphone-app-developers 7/24)

Ad Mob currently has 1 – 2% of their inventory on the iPhone currently serving up 60 million impressions.  Hamoui forecasts that this will ramp up to 50% of their ad inventory within a year.  Big bet.  BIG bet.

Today at the f8 conference Benjamin Ling revealed that Facebook will be releasing a Cocoa framework for the iPhone that will allow application developers to integrate with Facebook Connect. The framework is expected to be released sometime in the fall, and will take the form of an SDK that can be used by developers of iPhone applications. Facebook Connect allows applications to integrate the facebook platform and the identity of users into their own applications. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/23/facebook-connect-coming-to-iphone-this-fall 7/23)

Noting the growing importance of segmentation in the cell phone market, Samsung said it would introduce at least 18 models later in the year, from sophisticated touch-screen-only devices to one designed for senior citizens, the company said. The lineup includes three touch screens in the mold of its Instinct model, three made with QWERTY keyboards for heavy text-message users, two PDA phones with Windows Mobile software, a model built to be durable and a lower-cost 3G model. TWICE (7/23)