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According to the Wall Street Journal, the Federal Trade Commission is spending more time investigating Google’s acquisition of Admob. Why on earth is the FTC investigating mobile advertising, one of the fastest growing and most competitive markets in today’s economy?

A few weeks ago I received a subpoena from the FTC to come and testify in Washington DC and share my experience with advertising in mobile applications. I have spent a good bit of time explaining to the FTC why this acquisition isn’t a problem and will actually benefit app publishers.

Many of Sax.net’s iPhone apps are ad-supported, and we’ve been using a variety of ad-networks, including AdMob, Google Adsense, and Quattro Wireless. Using Adwhirl and some in-house technology it’s very easy to monitor the results of different networks and switch in real-time to the one that yields the highest return. Other solutions, like Mobclix, provide similar technology, putting different ad networks in the most direct competition against each other.

How could there be a competitive problem in a market where customers can constantly compare results and completely switch to a different vendor in a matter of minutes? Google’s acquisition of Admob and Apple’s acquisition of Quattro Wireless are signs that the market is heating up. This is the type of competition the FTC should encourage.

To compete beyond price, ad networks are developing innovative new ways to yield higher returns and make their ads more appealing to consumers: Apple iAd focuses on making ads more emotional, Quattro and Admob have built highly interactive ads, and Google Adsense uses keyword targeting to make ads more relevant.

Meanwhile new players, many of them venture-funded, appear in this market on an almost monthly basis. Does this seem like a market that needs help from the Federal Trade Commission right now?

This reminds me of the movie Minority Report, where Washington DC-based law enforcement officers arrest people to stop possible murders before they happen. Is the FTC concerned that some day one of the players involved in mobile advertising might become the leader in serving engaging ads that consumers love? Is the role of the FTC really to prevent future success?

BusinessWeek has posted a detailed review of the new BlackBerry Storm:

This new BlackBerry is hiding an important breakthrough. Developed in partnership with Verizon and Vodafone, the Storm is a true world phone.

Very nice! However, a few paragraphs later BusinessWeek reveals the Storm’s fatal flaw as a world phone:

The Storm also lacks Wi-Fi, which iPhone users may miss, though access to worldwide 3G data speeds partly makes up for that.

The lack of world wide 3G data speeds make up for that? Not unless you want to spend a fortune on roaming charges. Data roaming is absurdly expensive, and at 3G speeds you could easily rake up thousands of dollars on your next phone bill.

Having Wi-Fi is essential when travelling abroad. Without it, the Blackberry Storm could very well become the most expensive phone you’ll ever buy.