Not unlike the rest of the blogosphere and media of all types, the topics dominating conversation in the CoM this week are Twitter and the iPhone. Just last night CNN anchor, Rick Sanchez, asked his Sunday TV broadcast audience for patience, because his head was down as he updated his Twitter account. Sanchez went on to explain that he updates Twitter at various times during the program.

There is no doubt among us that the iPhone, or as some call it, the Jesus Phone, has had a significant impact on the mobile phone industry. Many have credited Nokia’s acquisition of the Symbian OS from their partners to a competitive response to the iPhone and its software stack. The mobile phone narrative before iPhone was dominated by the overwhelming global market share figures for Nokia and the focus was on the dance for #2 between Motorola and Samsung. No more.

Today’s narrative is all about loving or hating the iPhone and various iPhone killers, who often don’t even rise to the level of manslaughter much less killer. Every iPhone rumor is critiqued, anticipated and speculated. Apple has become a happening and all else in the mobile industry is somehow compared to it.

Likewise, every announcement that Twitter makes is reported, dissected and examined for it’s current and future impact on the communication network that has replaced blogging for many. Twitter has replaced Facebook as the social phenomenon crossing the chasm into the consciousness of mainstream media organizations, and through them, to the public.

This week’s Carnival of the Mobilists reflects the passion and obsession with these two mobile developments. And in addition, this week from the mobilejones.com point of view I’m adding microblogging from Twitter to the roster of writing about mobility. Let me know if you love it, hate it or don’t care below by leaving your comments. Now, on with the show.

This week’s Carnival leads off with the most recent and excellent quarterly report from Chetan Sharma on the performance of the US data market in his US Wireless Data Market Update. An always excellent resource, Sharma’s report keys in on how the iPhone is impacting non-texting data usage in the US. There’s plenty here to be excited about as the growth of data usage in the US means opportunity for developers and others in the value chain.

All Hail iPhone

From Igor Faletski at Mobscure we learn that Admob’s reliance on the separate “Mobile Web” and the iPhone’s “One Web” approaches may spell a threat to Admob’s survival. Faletski’s “The Uncertain Future of Admob” posits,

iPhone users are less likely to go to sites that use AdMob advertising, because they are unaware of existence of a separate “mobile web”.

In a counterpoint article, James Cooper of mjelly, presents his case in “Why better mobile browsers do not mean the end of mobile-specific websites.” Cooper provides plenty of screenshots to illustrate his point. And his basis of comparison? You guessed….the iPhone.

Kiran Bellubbi laments the possible hazards for Android in, “Google Android and the Perils of Software by Committee.” Bellubbi points to both Symbian and the iPhone and its software stack to make a case against Google’s OS strategy of partnerships. Interesting reading.

Twitter and more Twitter

Next Howard Rheingold from Smartmobs recounts the experience of a Twittering protester who was expelled from the anti-social media country, China, during the Olympics. In “Twitterer/streaming video broadcaster evicted from Olympics” Rheingold shares the post deportation report captured via Qik.

From the IMS company, Radvision, Tsahi Levent-Levi, delivers a communication transport death match featuring “SMS v. Mobile IM. ” Levent-Levi has a prespective on the winner, but I can’t but ask….what about Twitter?

From master mobile blogger and developer, C. Enrique Ortiz, “SMS is King, Heaven and Hell all at the Same Time.” Ortiz breaks down the cost of providing an SMS service from the developer’s point of view as he ponders the recent decision by the Twitter team to eliminate the service in the UK. Ortiz offers an alternative suggested approach and given the UK is the texting King of the world, Enrique is on target, as usual.

My offering for this week, also, highlights the use of Twitter in the yet to be produced GOP Unconventional site. “Conventions 2008 and GOP Unconventional” from mobilejones.com demonstrates how some are using Twitter to bypass Mainstream Media and how MSM is tapping into the Twitter enabled “news wire” for enriching their coverage of this year’s national political conventions, the DNC and RNC.

Sachendra Yadav writes more generally about mobile social networks and the communication they enable in “Understanding ‘User Needs’ a Mobile Social Network Can Satisfy.” Yadav advocates integration of the device’s phonebook application into the social network application, and outlines a list of requirements for the application.

Mobile Life Hacking
Handi Mobility provides a detailed tutorial in “Python S60: Syncing Contacts with a Webserver.” This very detailed tutorial provides all the code to create your own syncing application for S60 devices.

Also from the S60 platform, Dameon D. Welch-Abernathy in”JoikuSpot Now on Windows Mobile” announces the use of JoikuSpot for turning Wi-Fi transceiver in a Win Mobile device into a personal hotspot.

Martin Sauter helps international travelers stay connected to the Internet and celebrates the anniversary of his crowdsourced effort in “1st Anniversary of the Pre-paid Wireless Internet Wiki.” Now that’s cool.

That’s it for this first test of adding Twitter (microblogging) to the Carnival of Mobilists. I’m sure there’s a better way to display these and hope to put more time into that in the future. There’s an amazing roundup this week.

Be sure to check back next week when the Carnival heads home to Mobhappy.