T-Mobile enables carrier billing for digital purchases
T-Mobile USA Inc. will introduce Direct Carrier Billing later this month, a nationwide program giving customers a way to buy digital content and services and charge the cost to their existing T-Mobile account from a mobile device or PC.

The wireless carrier's customers will be presented with this option when purchasing online content from participating providers using their mobile device. Text and data rates apply, but there is no additional fee for using carrier billing.

This extends an existing program that offers direct carrier billing for Android devices to browser-based purchases across a variety of mobile devices.

The new program will initially use billing services provided by BilltoMobile, Boku, OpenMarket, Payfone and Zong. Additional billing service partners and content providers will be added to the program as it expands.

Android leads global smartphone market: Canalys
Android is the leading smartphone platform by shipments in 35 countries worldwide and has a 48 percent global market share, according to a new report from Canalys.

Android was also the strongest growth driver in the second quarter, with Android-based smartphone shipments up 379 percent from over a year ago for a total of 51.9 million units.

IOS overtook Nokia?s Symbian platform to take second place worldwide with 20.3 million units shipped and 19 percent market share. This makes Apple the leading individual smartphone vendor worldwide.

Canalys? Q2 2011 smartphone market estimates, the smartphone market grew 73 percent globally year-on-year, with a total of 107.7 million units shipping in the second quarter.

Asia-Pacific remains the largest regional market with 39.8 million units shipped there compared with 35 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 32.9 million in the Americas.

InMobi makes HTML5 play, acquires Sprout
Mobile ad network InMobi has acquired Sprout, which offers an HTML5 platform to help agencies and brands create and distribute rich media mobile ads.

Sprout?s cloud-based platform helps advertisers build digital content once and deliver it across mobile and desktop devices. Its clients include Chevrolet, Disney, Paramount Pictures, HTC, Sega and Nokia. 

For InMobi, the deal could help it build the use of rich media advertising and give advertisers a way to drive higher results from mobile.

Sprout will operate as a fully independent company. The company expects to build onto its product offerings in the near future with workflow enhancements, analytics and new ad units. 

NTP patents upheld on appeal
NTP Inc. has won an appeals court ruling that will see the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reconsider its invalidation of seven NTP patents related to sending information via a wireless network.

NTP is suing a list of companies for patent infringement using the patents in question as a basis, The companies being sued by NTP include Apple, Google, Microsoft, Verizon Wireless and others.

These cases were on hold during the appeals process. However, it may be a while before any of these suits proceed as the USPTO reconsiders its findings.

The appeals upheld the invalidation of another NTP patent.

Low mobile ROI dampens marketers? interest: Relevancy Group
A low return on investment from mobile advertising is the main reason why 43 percent of marketers are not planning to increase their mobile ad spending this year, according to a new study from The Relevancy Group and Pontiflex.

The survey also found that 93 percent of marketers said they would increase mobile ad spending if they realized a higher ROI.

The most effective mobile ad campaigns ? according to 41 percent of marketers ? are the ones where marketers pay for the email addresses and social networking handles for people who have opted-in to receive communications from them.

Other findings include that 56 percent of Fortune 500 marketers are dissatisfied with or do not use click-based mobile advertising.

Omnego adds in-app purchasing via Admeris
Omnego is enhancing its mobile payments functionality with in-app purchasing through a new partnership with Admeris.

Omnego?s white label mobile marketing platform provides marketers with mobile wallet and marketing tools such as advertising, coupons, tickets, messaging and alerts as well as invoice notifications and receipts.

Omnego will integrate Admeris? OneTouch mobile commerce solution to enable consumers to securely pay for mobile invoices directly from their smartphone. Invoice notifications are saved directly to the consumer?s mobile wallet, from which the consumer can make payments via a smartphone without leaving an app.