That the mobile advertising arena is poised for a ground-breaking change is evident from the fact that Google, Apple, and quite a few start-ups are trying to convince mobile ad vendors to increase their mobile advertising expenditure.

Thus far, the mobile ads market has remained fairly small, despite the ever-increasing addition of newer mobile phones, because mobile ads essentially comprised either small banner ads inserted in a corner of the mobile Web page or else the spam-like text-message ads.

With the technology industry hyping the mobile ads potential for years now, Google and Apple are investing further into the arena. Last November, Google went through with a $750-million acquisition of diverse ads selling firm AdMob; while Apple took over the mobile firm Quattro Wireless earlier this month.

Furthermore, even the start-ups like FourSquare and Loopt are persuading marketers to explore new ways in which to target customers on their mobile phones. Commenting on the attraction of mobile ads, Loopt CEO Sam Altman noted: “Advertisers want to reach people near their doorway, and when they are at that critical moment about making a decision.”

Meanwhile, marketers who intend broadening their strategies beyond first-generation mobile ads, like text-messages ads, are anxiously watching the response to the newly-released Apple tablet computer which is capable of running software applications similar to iPhone apps!