The only thing stopping the relentless march of mobile is usability.

If you want any proof that mobile is going mainstream, consider what is happening at Google. Kunur Patel, writing in AdAge a year after Google’s acquisition of AdMob notes,

“Mobile first” was a mantra repeated many times by former CEO Eric Schmidt. New chief Larry Page is said to also continue the charge. But even on phones and tablets it’s largely a search game. When including search, Google is the mobile advertising market leader by far, holding 59% of overall U.S. revenue in 2010, far ahead of No. 2 Apple’s 8.4%, according to IDC Research. But in mobile display ad revenue, Google is neck-and-neck with Apple, which sells its own brand of mobile ads, iAd.

“In the mobile sphere, both search and display are growing exponentially, largely thanks to the millions of new smartphones hitting the market. “We’re seeing mobile as the fastest growing media in history,” said Karim Temsamani, Google’s global head of mobile. Google is seeing 50% of new internet connections globally coming from mobile devices.” One Year Later, AdMob Making Its Mark on Google

Kunur shares some numbers from Google
  • 300% – growth of traffic from tablets since October
  • 2.7 billion – display ad requests per day globally in April, up from 2 billion in January
  • $1 billion – in projected yearly revenue, according to Google last fall
  • 150 million – Apple and Android devices on the network, up 50% since January

Google is playing a key role in getting mobile into the mainstream. At a recent conference, I listened to Dan Cobley, VP Marketing for Northern and Central Europe at Google talk about trends in marketing and advertising. One thing made a huge impression.

He said that everything Google does is designed for smartphones and then reversed into tablets and PCs.

When Google is designing for mobile, it is probably time you did too. When we first put the agenda together for our Money in Mobile Forum on June 14th, we included a UX design session. It turned out that it was the session that speakers were queuing up to speak in.

As one commented, “Usability is the single biggest issue in mobile right now. Technology isn’t holding us back, our ability to make things simple for users is”.

  • You know mobile is getting more important to your business but can you see how it can make you money now? This day will help you understand exactly that.

  • There is so much guff and hype about mobile that it is hard to see the important stuff. Our one day Money in Mobile Forum on June 14th will help you see the wood from the trees.

  • Please note, there are now less than 5 places left. If you want to join us, don’t delay, act today. We will be sold out.

We want to see how companies are making money from mobile today as we think the companies that take mobile mainstream will be among some of the most successful businesses of the decade. Putting some of the people that are making this happen together in a room and helping them share ideas, meet partners, investors and customers seemed like a sensible thing to do. Throw in some press for good measure and we have the ingredients for an exceptional day of discussion, business development, networking and mobile brain food.

Want to see who is coming? Have a look at the confirmed participants as of May 24th.

  • You will get to meet with senior people from companies playing leading roles in making mobile a business necessity.
  • Over 35 of the most active VCs in mobile will be there.
  • You will hear from ten businesses out of the 48 entrants who will make a case to be the winner of our Money in Mobile Award. This will be presented to the company who in the opinion of the judges has the greatest potential to make money for customers.

If you are making things happen in mobile – either as an entrepreneur or adopter of technology – you will fit right in. Pontificators, hangers-on and wannabes – not so much.

For more information about speakers, sessions and who is attending: http://moneyinmobile2011.thebln.com/