Internet search giant Google quietly announced yesterday a major new development in the mobile space for Android and Sprint fans.

Sprint customers in the US can now pay for all Google Play purchases directly through their phone bill.

That was the big announcement from Google this week, underscoring how Sprint Nextel can now charge all Google Play digital content purchases to their wireless bill.

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Local ad spending is getting really comfortable in mobile territory. That’s the newest discovery by BIA/Kelsey, which shows that local advertising spending will experience a compound annual growth rate of 2.6 percent between 2011 and 2016.

During that time, revenues are projected to climb from $132 billion to well over $150 billion.

BIA/Kelsey expects spending to increasingly shift from traditional media and direct advertising to digital alternatives. Mobile and online will account for the largest increase in local ad spending, nearly doubling from $11.1 billion in 2011 to $21.8 billion in five years.

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With coffee in one hand and a mobile device in the other, this is how millions of Americans start their day every day.

And that’s exactly why Zumobi has partnered with java giant Starbucks for a more sophisticated mobile endeavor.

Zumobi today announced an extension to its partnership with Ology Inc., a social discovery and networking company, launching the site’s first app for Android devices.

And Starbucks is coming along for the ride.

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With Latin America becoming an even more important part of the mobile landscape with each passing year, today the Mobile Marketing Association announced the launch of MMA Mexico.

This is the newest of the 20 local MMA Councils that have been rolled out worldwide.

The organization says that MMA Mexico was created in direct response to the palpable need for industry support and guidance to create mobile success in Mexico.

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One of the biggest names in mobile gaming has purchased one of the new names in mobile gaming.

On Monday, word surfaced that Zynga purchased mobile games startup Wild Needle – the company behind Shoptown Hero for Apple’s mobile devices.

“We hear this was a talent-sized deal, which is in line with most Zynga acquisitions,” reports Tech Crunch.

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With cloud-based services all the rage in today’s small business community, Imogo Mobile Technologies Corp. is looking to cater to this direct need.

To that end, the company today unveiled the Imogo Private Cloud Portal Platform, which is being touted as “a complete, secure cloud-based business solution designed for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and accessed through the Internet.”

The Imogo Private Cloud Portal Platform provides fast and secure access to email, documents, voicemail, office phone, faxes and other services in one convenient bundled service.

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Word surfaced Thursday that consumer electronics giant Samsung has gobbled up another company.

This time, the freshly acquired property is cloud services outfit mSpot.

If you’re not familiar with the service, mSpot allows users to stream movies and music to mobile devices.

Despite offering a quality service, mSpot has not successfully emerged as quickly as it would have likely preferred. And for that reason, the Samsung acquisition makes sense for both players.

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