According to an article in the Wall Street Journal today, Blackberry-maker RIM is in the market for a mobile advertising acquisition of its own.  Those close to the matter indicate RIM has been in talks with Millennial Media, a leading independent ad-network, though it’s still speculation at this point.

According to those familiar with the negotiations, RIM has reportedly been in talks with Millennial over the past few months, but largely put it to rest after neither party could agree on a sale price.  Reports indicate Millennial has asked for between $400 million and $500 million, though RIM has backed down saying both Google and Apple overpaid for their respective acquisitions of AdMob and Quattro Wireless, and they don’t intend to do the same.

Millennial is unlikely to sell according to an interview with its CEO from early August with The Wall Street Journal.  Millennial Chief Executive Paul Palmieri said that the company hopes to make a public offering of shares rather than be acquired.  ”We are on the path of being an independent company,” he said.

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For months it has been rumored that Apple would soon deliver an Apple TV refresh as the Cupertino-based tech giant delves deeper into the burgeoning market for a fusion between digital and broadcast entertainment.

On Wednesday, Engadget reported that Apple is, indeed, still moving ahead on the aforementioned refresh, but the device will be re-branded “iTV” to keep consistency with other products in the iDevice line.

What’s expected for the re-introduction is a much smaller set-top box that will cost only $99 and deliver a multitude of new features.

Unfortunately, Engadget’s sources indicate that Apple TV will not be able to provide support for 1080i or 1080p HD playback.

Instead it will only push out 720p clips. The word — and cause for much internal debate, we’re told — is that this has something to do with the A4′s inability to crank on higher resolution content, but we don’t see how that’s possible considering the iPhone 3GS could play back full HD video.

According to Engadget, the “iTV” revival will likely come with its own set of dedicated applications and possibly even a dedicated “iTV App Store.”

It’s been reported recently that Baidu — the Chinese search company with an estimated 70% market share — is working on its own open source mobile OS to combat the competition from Android.  Most interesting about the development is that it’s being led by ex-Googlers.

During the censorship controversy between the Chinese government and Google, many Googlers left the company to join Baidu, and it looks like they’re already being put to good use.  Details on the mobile OS are scant, but reports indicate that it will definitely be open source and emulate Android in many ways.  Android has made significant progress within the Chinese market, even being widely distributed by many of China’s largest wireless carriers.

Baidu retains significant market share in terms of desktop search in the Chinese market, but when it comes to mobile search, Google and Baidu are neck and neck – with each hovering around 26% share.  With the revenue at stake in terms of mobile search, Baidu isn’t ready to sit idle while Google continues to make progress.  Creating a mobile OS of their own would help Baidu remain in its prominent position.  Stay tuned.

With LBS startups and the art of “checking in” still evolving as a brand new concept, some are already speculating that an entirely new breed of location-based social networking will replace it, effectively making the concept as we know it all but obsolete.

Though that may sound over the top, it’s exactly the opinion of Mark Cuban, who recently posted on his blog about a new company he’s just invested in that’s building the “next generation” of LBS social networking.  The idea is centered around facial recognition and real-time video imagery of specific locations, so instead of checking in, the next iteration of LBS apps would already know you’re there.

“I just invested in a company that takes video of an area and can tell you exactly how many people are in the capture area at any given time,” said Cuban in his post.  ”It’s great for traffic patterns, security, and much more.  We are posting cameras in certain environments where anonymity is required, and we don’t and won’t capture faces or anything that could identify an individual.  We will simply provide incredibly accurate traffic information and patterns.  A great application with great opportunity.”

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Rumors of a Verizon iPhone have existed since AT&T was announced as the exclusive carrier of the Apple smartphone better than three years ago.

But this week, the rumor mill slowed and the fact checking began via an intriguing report from Bloomberg News that cited two sources (supposedly) within Apple claiming that the iPhone will soon be available through Verizon.

If sources are to be believed, Verizon – the largest U.S. mobile-phone company – will roll out coverage for the iPhone next January at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Bloomberg indicated in its reports this week that Verizon Wireless is still working tirelessly on a high-speed fourth-generation network to accommodate the iPhone 4 and present a caliber of service not presently available through AT&T.

Apple is going to dramatically increase the number of devices it sells in the U.S. when exclusivity at AT&T ends.

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Apple is believed to be in the final stages of preparing a new retail application for the iPhone.

Functioning as a mobile version of the Apple retail store, the offering in question will enable users to view products, place orders, schedule Genius Bar appointments in store, and experience many of the same virtues native to an on-site visit at a brick-and-mortar location.

According to MacRumors, Apple’s vision for the app is an “all-in-one application” for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch that will “integrate retail store services with broader online shopping capabilities.”

MacRumors has heard from several sources that Apple is planning to launch a new iOS application tomorrow.

Some believe the application could debut as early as Monday evening, ahead of the Tuesday, June 15th start of preordering for the new iPhone 4.

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The tension between Apple and Google is no longer a rumor.

It’s for real.

The former friendly giants have found themselves at odds within the digital advertising space, a bustling marketplace that, according to Google, Apple is attempting to shut them out of.

When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, Apple and Google enjoyed a positive, constructive working relationship – the product of which was the juggernaut YouTube app for Apple’s groundbreaking smartphone. Fast forward three years, and Google and Apple are locking horns over Cupertino’s ambitious endeavors in mobile advertising via the new iAd platform.

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