It’s the dog days of summer, but that doesn’t appear to be slowing down the mobile world one bit. This week saw Cisco projecting 1 Terabyte (again, that’s TERAbyte) of data sent daily (that’s DAILY) during the Republican and Democratic conventions, the MMA throwing down the gauntlet on mobile ad spending, and the smartphone’s global domination.

Let’s hop in our DeLorean, floor it to 88mph, and travel back to…

Monday, August 27

Android, iOS growing 10 times faster than PCs did in the 1980s by Don Reisinger for CNET

Quotable
“Research firm Flurry Analytics today announced that iOS and Android adoption is ten times greater than PC adoption at that technology’s rapid-growth phase in the 1980s. The mobile platforms have amassed users twice as quickly as the Web during its go-go period in the 1990s, and three times faster than recent social networks.”

While this quote probably speaks for itself, it’s still a wonder to us why marketers aren’t scrambling to catch up with their customers and meet them on their preferred devices. (The MMA’s got something to say about that; see Wednesday).

Tuesday, August 28

1 Terabyte of Data Will Be Sent Daily During Conventions by Alex Fitzpatrick for Mashable

Quotable
“Thanks to all the e-mails, tweets, streaming video and mobile Internet usage at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, both events are estimated to see an astonishing one terabye (that’s 1,000 gigabytes) of data sent from each event.” 

Everybody loves a good infographic, and this one’s got some nerdy political data to boot. Whether or not the number of 48 port LAN switches at the conventions gets you all fired up into a partisan tizzy (that would be 65, fyi), this is definitely worth a quick once over. One Terabye a DAY, people!

Wednesday, August 29

MMA Challenges Conventional Thinking on Mobile Marketing With Groundbreaking Initiative by Michael Essany for Mobile Marketing Watch

Quotable
“Conducted with the assistance of the Marketing Evolution, [a commisioned] study concludes that the optimized level of spend on mobile advertising for U.S. marketers should be, on average, seven percent.”

The article goes on to report that the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) predicts this number will increase to at least 10% over the next four years. With their new “MXS” initiative (which stands for “Mobile’s X% Solution”), the MMA hopes to encourage marketers to redistribute their marketing budgets to see a higher ROI across the board.

Thursday, August 30

Smartphones outship feature phones for the first time: report by Chantal Tode for Mobile Marketer

Quotable
“Some of the trends impacting the fast growth in smartphones over the past year include a drop in price and the availability of a wider variety of models. Additionally, manufacturers are increasingly focusing on delivering multifunctional capabilities that enhance the user experience, making the devices attractive to consumers.”

According to an IHS iSuppli Wireless Communications Market Tracker Report (say that five times fast), smartphone shipments next year will account for 54% of the total mobile phone market, up from 46% in 2012. Big news for marketers, especially those who have been reluctant to up their ad spend on mobile marketing initiatives for 2013. Let’s be honest, how many of your friends who still own feature phones plan on sticking with them when their contracts expire? Case in point.

 Friday, August 31

Analytics are critical to mobile advertising’s future by Rimma Kats for Mobile Marketer

Quotable
“‘Currently developers are building better, more engaging mobile video players to be [VAST] compliant so the brand has a much better look into the effectiveness of their marketing spend,’ [Kevn Canty, sales director at Kargo, New York] said.

On the heels of the MMA encouraging marketers to up their mobile ad spend, Kats makes the salient point that taking a leap of faith isn’t in the modern marketer’s DNA. Mobile has historically been difficult to measure because it is so new – technologies are now emerging that help marketers quantify their mobile marketing efforts, recognize trends, and make decisions based on cold hard data. Only when mobile marketing measurement improves will we see a significant increase in mobile ad spending. (Side note, if you’re a marketer having trouble visualizing your mobile traffic data, be sure to check out Mobile Dashboard, Bluetrain’s newest free marketing tool!)

That was the week in mobile, we hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend! And be sure to throw in your own favorites from this past week in the comments thread below.