Yahoo has been on a mobile search tear lately.  New versions of its major mobile software… strategic partnerships left and right… just to name a few.  And while I know that Google has had mobile offerings and partnerships the whole time, I've still be left asking myself where Mountain View was during all of this.

Apparently they've been working on their own better mobile search.

The newly launched Google mobile search features a slew of upgrades and addition that the search company hopes will make its online offering even more compelling for mobile users:

• Customizable mobile gadgets (movie listings, news feeds, stock quotes, etc)
• Search location history (provided in a drop-down box of previous locations; once selected, provides relevant local results for search terms)
• Intelligent search results that anticipate the type of information you're looking for and adjust accordingly

These new features bring Google's mobile search more up to par with Yahoo's oneSearch offering.  Google has been the most popular mobile search for some time now.  But Yahoo's oneSearch is a formidable opponent.  Google now appears poised to better hold on to that number one spot for the time being.

In related news, Yahoo! has announced the availability of a suite of tools for publishers to help them "increase the discovery, distribution and monetization of their content on mobile phones."  The new services include four components:

• Yahoo! Mobile Ad Network:  gives publishers the ability to syndicate advertising with their content
• Yahoo! Mobile Content Engine:  helps publishers quickly and easily create mobile-friendly versions of their existing content and have them indexed by oneSearch
• Yahoo! Mobile Media Directory:  offers a place for publishers to upload their videos, ringtones, games, and other media to Yahoo's oneSearch
• Yahoo! Mobile Site Submit:  lets publishers provide detailed information about their mobile offerings so that the most relevant information is provided to consumers by oneSearch

Yahoo also announced a new partnership with MobiTV that will merge Yahoo advertising with MobiTV's mobile video technology.  Advertisers will be able to buy all varieties of Yahoo advertising through MobiTV's mobile video platform.  MobiTV offers streaming live and recorded video for mobile users and, through the partnership, Yahoo advertising will accompany those services.

Check out how these events have affected the Internet Marketing Monitor's Mobile War Board.

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