Google is currently testing out text ads for its mobile search service. Yahoo announced a similar program earlier this month. Google hasn't made an announcement, but some users have reported seeing the ads and screen captures have been posted online. Google has rapidly been expanding its mobile offerings as of late. However the highly touted Google button announced by Motorola has yet to make an appearance.
[via The Raw Feed]
It may have been an inventory problem. There still aren't a huge number of users doing mobile searches on Google in the US. Even fewer that would be interested in clicking on an ad (since mobile browsing is usually a lot more specific than desktop, it's less likely to go off and do something with an advertisement). In any event it's good to see, because once mobile content can be easily monetized there will be an explosion of interesting stuff to look at.
Mobile portals like Cellufun have long looked for Google and Yahoo to provide ads for mobile -- it would certainly help us monetize our traffic.
I am very surprised this hasn't been in operation for ages already.