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In brief: This week we set the stage for a soon-to-be released Netsize report that reveals the business models and payments mechanisms necessary for app stores to achieve mass-market commercial success. Perfect timing to continue the Netsize Guide 2010 "Best Of" series with Patrick Mork, GetJar VP Marketing, and his sober look at the app store landscape.

With 75 app stores (and still counting) open for business it's clear that creating competitive differentiation is going to be critical in the next weeks. What will likely separate the leaders from the laggards? Choice? Ease of payment? Content discovery? Something else?

In brief: Steve Ives, Taptu CEO, recounts the key takeaways of the new report showing the growth of Mobile Touch Web sites outpaces the growth of apps in the Apple and Android app stores why commerce rocks on the Mobile Touch Web PLUS a look a the Virtual Roundtable and what mobile industry entrepreneurs, authorities and pundits think about the Mobile Touch Web and the potential impact on how we live, work and shop.

Taptu, the search and discovery engine that indexes touchscreen content, reports that the Mobile Touch Web – websites and destinations created specifically for access via touchscreen devices such as the Apple iPhone – has grown 35 percent since last quarter. Unlike other mobile Web content, this content stands out through finger-friendly layouts and light-weight pages that are faster to load over cellular networks. The report, which covers January 2010 thru April 2010, also shows Mobile Touch Web sites rose to 440,100 from 326,600 in January.

In brief: An exclusive interview with JumpTap CMO Paran Johar connects the dots in this week's announcement to support permission-based advertising with a new feature that lets consumers choose mobile display ads they will accept. PLUS a wider discussion of the value of

EDITOR'S NOTE: While many may have gone gaga over the iPad, this must-read article (via The New York Times) reminds us the real (and global) excitement is still about no-frills mobile phones and text messaging. In fact, I'm off to London tomorrow for a mobile advertising solution launch designed and commercialized to harness text and picture messaging in a two-way conversation between brands and people (aptly called Dialogue). Meantime, several sessions during the MMA Mobile Market Forum this week in Singapore also focus on the importance of messaging to deliver compelling mobile marketing. Connect the dots, mobile is becoming the universal technology (to borrow from the NYT piece). Eliza gives us a roundup of stats that drive this home. Good catch girl!

NOT JUST ADVERTISING: What do people want from mobile messaging services? According to research conducted by Dialogue Communications, people are warming up to the idea of receiving SMS-based appointment reminders. The website is thin on methodology (how many were asked what), but 67 percent of respondents said they would be happy to receive a wide range of reminders and alerts via their mobile phone. Source

Mobile advertising is the hot topic today. Apple will likely take the wraps off its mobile ad platform and may even confirm analyst suspicions that Apple will use the event to at least announce its intention to integrate an advertising platform into the iPhone SDK. As the battle lines are being drawn between Apple/Quattro and Google/AdMob, this post from John Furrier via Silicon Angle points out the only major and neutral ad network left is Millennial Media.