One thing we can learn from YouTube's entry into the mobile advertising business: As Henry and I discuss in the accompanying video, it's still really, really early in the mobile advertising business.

Why do we say that? Because we couldn't help but feel some nostalgia for the early days of the Web when we used our iPhone to check out the sample ad Google (GOOG) placed on YouTube for Mobile Monday.

What was it? Not some new-fangled, interactive, GPS-location-based, behaviorally-targeted, local coupon ad, or a video ad hovering over a YouTube video, or anything like that. Just a small DoubleClick banner ad for Mountain Dew. And, on a less-sophisticated phone we tested the site on, a text link.

The good news for Google: It's still really, really early in the mobile advertising business. We're not sure how many people will end up seeing this ad -- Google boasts that "millions of people" visit the site on their phones a day, but that seems high to us. But in any case, if Google is ever going to make a multi-billion-dollar market in mobile advertising, it's a good first step toward getting users comfortable seeing ads on their phones -- and toward developing smarter, higher-tech, higher-yield mobile ads.

See Also:
Google Still Dreaming Of $50 Billion Mobile Ad Market
More Ads Coming To iPhone Apps: AdMob Expands iPhone Ad Network

The government is out of Google's way: The FCC has just approved the HTC Dream, the first phone that will run Google's "GPhone" Android mobile operating system.

No hi-res product shots included in the FCC's documentation, but we're able to confirm that the Dream will be able to access T-Mobile's nascent 3G data network -- it's been approved to use the 1700 MHz band, the chunk of airwaves that T-Mobile uses for 3G service. And the phone includes a "jog ball," which we understand is the correct jargon for the tiny trackball used on BlackBerries.

Now T-Mobile can start selling the Dream pretty much as soon as it wants. We expect it to go on sale next quarter as promised -- specifically, before Nov. 10 -- that's the date HTC has requested the FCC keep Dream photos and user manuals confidential until.

In the accompanying video, Henry and I discuss how the GPhone could change the smartphone market, particularly for U.S. market leaders RIM and Apple and overseas leader Nokia.

We've had our hands on Apple's iPhone 3G for a month now, as we can easily declare that it's the best cellphone we've ever owned. And more good news: A software update Apple issued Monday night promises to squash some of the bugs we've noticed. But there's still plenty of room for improvement.

Rather than list features or go over the basics -- you can find those anywhere -- we thought we'd evaluate the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 2.0 operating system from three specific perspectives. Read our findings after the jump.

From Silicon Alley Insider, August 18, 2008:

Will new gadgets be able to use airspace between digital TV channels -- "white spaces," or "wi-fi on steroids," as Google has dubbed it -- for Internet access? We'll know more next month, when the FCC is expected to report its latest test results.

That's when we'll find out if gadgets submitted by companies like Philips Electronics pass the FCC's muster. These aren't gizmos designed for consumer use. Instead, the FCC is just looking to test the technology that will automatically detect which frequencies of wireless spectrum are being used by TV stations, wireless microphones, etc., so that a potential Internet device would steer clear of them.

And while "FCC engineers aren't talking about their conclusions" so far, the gadgets aren't exactly flying through their evaluations.

From Silicon Alley Insider, August 15, 2008:

So now we know that the first GPhone is indeed coming this fall. 

Will it be a hit? It's hard to tell much from the supposed spy photos we've seen floating around on the Web.

But someone who's actually seen the gadget -- similar, if not identical to the one in the photos -- tells us that both the hardware (from handset-maker HTC) and Google's Android software suffer from a similar problem: They're technically powerful but not as elegant as Apple's iPhone and OS X.

Specifically, the phone -- apparently a hot item to show off in Google's cafeterias these days -- is big and bulky, and not as sleek as the iPhone. And Android, while extremely powerful, has a less-elegant, less-user-friendly interface than the iPhone (AAPL)

Does this mean it won't sell well? Of course not. There's a lot more variables, like device and contract pricing, software and services, etc., that will help determine its commercial success.

Developers, meanwhile, should get some new software to play with soon: Our source says that Google (GOOG) will finally be publicly releasing an updated version of its software developers kit in the next few weeks. Google has been releasing editions of the Android developers kit to preferred developers for several weeks -- without updating the public edition -- which has ticked off many of its more vocal coders.

See Also:
Google's Android Mobile OS Still On Track For Q4 Launch
Is Google's Android Coming Apart At The Seams?

As consumers start to understand the ramifications of ISPs monkeying with their Web access, a blog-driven grassroots movement has turned Net Neutrality into a populist issue. Most major democratic Senate candidates have come out in support, and Barack Obama has assured voters it's something he'll actively pursue. That's one of the reasons techies have supported him.

Former Google executive and angel investor Chris Sacca notes the pro-Net Neutrality rhetoric is even starting to cross the aisle, as seen with this month's bi-partisan FCC decision that Comcast was unfairly routing traffic to customers. In the second part of our interview on Net Neutrality, Sacca and I discuss where the Net Neutrality battle lines are being drawn, and what voters can expect after November.

For the first part of my discussion with Sacca, click here.

From Silicon Alley Insider, Aug. 4, 2008:

Motorola's shareholders already love Sanjay Jha, the company's new cellphone division CEO: Shares are up 10.4% today to $9.73. So what's his plan to turn around Motorola's troubled gadget business?

Nothing big yet: Three hours into his new job, Jha said on a conference call that his first plans are a 90-day review of the business and hiring deputies to help with areas he's less familiar with.

As far as Motorola's cellphones themselves go, Jha says he might yank some pending projects, but doesn't expect to make major changes to the roadmap until the second half of next year. Few specifics there, either. He notes that Motorola will need to make up for lost share in the 3G market and work on its distribution network, and that it'll keep its newish strategy of using chipsets from multiple sources.

What we do know: Jha has a lot riding on Motorola's success. His base pay -- $1.2 million, with a bonus target "not less than" $2.4 million -- is nothing to sneeze at. But 95% of his compensation package is equity awards, of which 60% are options that'll pay out only if Motorola's stock increases. 

For more details from the conference call, click here.

From Silicon Alley Insider, August 4, 2008:

Verizon and AT&T can't build out their next-generation, fiberoptic networks fast enough: While they spend a fortune upgrading their pipes to offer faster Internet access and digital TV service, little by little, the cable industry is sucking their DSL subscribers away.

As cable and telcos report Q2 results, one trend is clear: Cable companies are taking the majority of new broadband subscribers. So far, 69% of 476,000 total Q2 net broadband subscriber additions have gone to two cable companies -- Comcast (CMCSA) and Cablevision (CVC). And just 31% have gone to five phone companies, including the two biggest -- AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ), whose results were both boosted by sign-ups to their new, faster, fiber-based services.

Why the shift? We think consumers are increasingly willing to pay a little more -- cable Internet is about $6 more a month than DSL, according to Pew -- for significantly faster download speeds, as bandwidth-intensive stuff like video streaming catches on. During its Q2 call, Comcast said that two-thirds of its new broadband subscribers were coming from DSL.

We've created a spreadsheet so you can watch the share shift happen live. We'll update it daily as companies report Q2 results; check here for the latest.

Several companies still haven't reported, such as Time Warner Cable (TWC), Charter (CHTR), and Qwest (Q). But Wall Street expects cable to continue its rout: Bernstein's Craig Moffett thinks that once it's all done, cable will have gotten 85%-90% of broadband net additions for the quarter.

From Silicon Alley Insider, July 29, 2008:

Alcatel-Lucent's (ALU) 2006 merger was supposed to create a trans-Atlantic telecom gear giant -- a big link-up in response to massive consolidation among its customers: telephone and wireless carriers. But so far, it's been a dud, and now the deal architects are stepping aside.

Alcatel-Lucent CEO Patricia Russo will leave the company by the end of the year and Chairman Serge Tchuruk will leave on Oct. 1, the company said today.

Since merging, the company has posted six straight quarters of losses, and its stock has dropped 57%, closing Monday at $5.76. WSJ: