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As reported on AppleInsider.com, the company is in the process of hiring developers to extent the current iPhone/iPod developer framework to include advertising. It appears that Apple will be creating additional functionality to allow application developers to easily add paid advertising into their applications. This new feature will allow publishers to add a new simplified revenue stream into their published applications with minimal effort.

Apple hasn’t yet delved into the ad network arena so it will be interesting to see how they sell the new mobile ad inventory that will of course become available to advertisers. I also want to see how will they target users with relevant marketing messages? Will they pull usage information from each application the user currently runs or will they leverage information about their iTunes purchasing and browsing habits. It will be very interesting to see this unfold over the next year or so.

In the past couple of years Microsoft has lost their way on the mobile platform. With the iPhone, Blackberry, Pre and Android phones getting all the headlines Microsoft has been trailing the pack in innovation and attention. Microsoft is putting their best foot forward to try and regain some market share with Windows Phone 7. As an iPhone owner who absolutely loves his device I can’t see myself switching but I have to admit that Microsoft seems to have hit the mark pretty well with their new offering.

According to Mediamark Research, sometime between September 2006 and this April, the percentage of people living in U.S. households with one or more cellphones exceeded the number of people living in households with landlines, 86.2% to 84.5%.

This trend opens up the flood gates for mobile marketing opportunities. With mobile web, and mobile messaging leading the way we are only restricted by our imaginations.