Apple has bought Quattro Wireless, an advertising company, for a price believed to be close to $300 million - and Google has congratulated Apple, widely viewed as Google's arch-rival, on the acquisition.

Two consumer groups have asked the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to block Google's purchase of the AdMob mobile advertising company. The groups claim the acquisition would contravene anti-trust laws.

The total face value of online coupons in the US is expected to jump by more than 50% from $8.3 billion to $12.7 billion in 2010, according to a report from Borrell Associates.

AppVoyage, which offers a fully visual method for anyone to transform web content into mobile apps, has added new features to help create, launch and monitor ad campaigns.

The Lat49 location-focused ad network has announced its entry into mobile advertising, giving advertisers the ability to target their messages to a mobile device user's physical location.

Hot on the heels of its acquisition of AdMob for $750 million, Google has announced plans to buy another display ad company. This time the target is Teracent, a startup that customises display ads for different situations.

A new study by BIGresearch indicates that an increasing proportion of consumers dislike mobile marketing for various reasons, including its perceived invasion of privacy.

A joint study by Millennial Media and DM2Events.com indicates that ad agencies plan to spend a lot more on mobile advertising, including location-based ads, next year.

The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has launched a mobile site to promote the medium and provide a best practice guide for brands looking to establish their mobile presence.

Pelago, the makers of Whrrl, and Collective Bias, the social media agency unit of MARS, have announced an exclusive partnership to co-develop and co-brand a mobile social shopping solution.