In brief: MSearchGroove proudly steps up to the plate and hosts the Carnival of the Mobilists for the first time.

The last weekend in August and I spent much of it at a two-day summer festival in Siegburg, Germany, where I’m based. I’ve been on a natural high with good friends, great food and a wonderful line-up of home-grown entertainment. But not all the excitement was at the local fairgrounds. The Mobilists have also come up with a mix of thought leadership and must-read posts that give us new perspectives on mobile and start our adrenalin flowing.

Andy Favell and the team at mobiThinking.com do us all a great service and compile a comprehensive list of mobile industry facts and figures. The first in this series focuses on the size of the mobile Web and the implications for marketers. What do the numbers tell us? Should investors/companies take advantage of the economic slowdown and move ahead while others are standing still? Read on, find out and tell us what you think.

Another round of important mobile stats comes from Jose Colucci at Mobile Strategy, who continues the countdown of the 12 Reasons Why Canadian Banks Should Really Offer Mobile Services. Jose expertly brings together figures that show significant growth and penetration (despite strict government regulation, a lack of competition and a sky-high mobile data plans and pricing).  The bottom line: over 70 percent of Canadians have wireless access. Is Canada an untapped market for banking services? Is there a first-mover advantage for financial institutions that get involved? Read on, find out and tell us what you think.

With all the buzz around app stores and the proliferation of mobile devices (beyond just phones), the timing couldn’t be better for this post from Antoine RJ Wright. In it he recounts Nokia’s size, scope and industry influence, and wonders if the Finnish giant has the resources and marketing muscle to sustain three brands/strategies: Ovi, Symbian and Maemo. Could Maemo be the “wild card” in Nokia’s hand? Read on, find out and tell us what you think.

Tsahi Levent-Levi at VoIP Survivor, a blog in RADVISION’s blogs network providing insights into the VoIP industry, connects the dots in recent analysis/commentary and examines the outlook for mobile VoIP. Will current interest among carriers create the conditions for a viable market? Or will it simply advance the shift to IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) – a technology that defines how to set up advanced services for 3G cellular networks – and put operators back in the driver’s seat? Hmmm…should Fring and Truphone watch their backs? Read on, find out and tell us what you think.

A refreshing new idea comes from Judy Breck at Golden Swamp. She uses the debut of  Half the Sky, a new book documenting the plight and progress of the world’s women, to start a long overdue discussion about the impact of mobile on women in the emerging markets. Must women such as Saima Muhammad, a Pakistani woman who routinely beaten by her husband until she started a successful embroidery business, continue to endure their terrible fates in silence? Or does personal mobility offer the promise of liberation and freedom from oppression? What is the outcome when the world’s women have access to the Internet in their pockets? Read on, find out and join in the conversation at Golden Swamp.

Meanwhile, Dennis Bournique at WAP Review uncovers disturbing inequities in the price of mobile data in the developed world. He successfully argues the case for a rethink based on his shocking observation that (currently) all prepaid data is “wildly overpriced.” So, what is fair price for mobile data on prepaid plans? Dennis does the math and provides us a reasonable model that makes money and sense for everyone. Read on, find out and give us your take.

Some eight operating systems are battling for market supremacy. Will there be only one? Digital evangelist Ian Wood (thankfully) moves us past the academic discussion and back to basics in a post that draws from his vast personal experience and road tests. His conclusion: look for consolidation that will see three OS providers emerge. Who will make the winner’s circle? Read on, find out and let us know what you think.

Kudos to C. Enrique Ortiz at About Mobility for asking the question: is Apple a control freak? He connects the dots in recent developments – such as the decision by Apple to reject both Google Voice and Riverturn’s VoiceCentral application – to communicate an uncomfortable truth. But it’s not about whether Apple is morphing into a monopolist; it’s about the larger impact on the ecosystem and the third-party developers that have made iPhone the success it is. What are the arguments (pro and com)? What’s at stake? Read on, find out and speak out!

Finally, MSearchGroove uses COM #189 to showcase Mobile Groove, its new, no-holds-barred podcast series. I join with series co-host Inma Martinez, a leading digital media strategist and advisor to venture capitalists who has been referred to as a “free radical” by Red Herring and Fast Company. Together we raise our goblet of rock and speak out on the rise and demise of Blyk, what went wrong at Spinvox and what we can expect from Microsoft moving forward. Read on, have fun and contact us with your ideas/input! (mobilegroove AT msearchgroove DOTcom)

Post of the week goes to Judy Breck at Golden Swamp for prompting us to see mobile as a tool (for change) rather than a technology. Access to the mobile Internet gives everyone – particularly women suffering in isolation – a voice, allowing them to connect with people and peers who can amplify their message and fight their cause. Thanks, Judy, for reminding us why mobile is amazing and why we must strive to bridge the digital divide.

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If you’re like me, then use the last days of August to catch up on your reading and check out the Carnival posts we unfortunately missed on MSearchGroove.

COM #186 at allaboutiphone.net (Topics include: what brands want from targeting; U.S. wireless data stats from Chetan Sharma; and a look at whether Europe risks losing its competitive edge in mobile. A highlight: an answer to the question – does Steve Jobs hate the App Store?)

COM #187 hosted by Jamie Wells at mobilestance.com (Topics include: five iPhone apps that could make publishers money; a discussion around the future of paid content; an in-depth look at what a mobile Web OS experience could offer; and an exclusive interview with Blyk.)

COM #188 at Golden Swamp (Topics include: how location adds context to content; a look at the cool new Layar Reality Browser2.0; an analysis of Nokia; and a new take on mobile education.)

Thanks to COM contributors and readers.

Look for the Carnival next week at WIPJam - and be sure to catch up with Caroline Lewko and the great WIPJam team at the next Jam Session on the World Tour: WIPJam@OSiM (Open Source in Mobile), September 16, in Amsterdam.