I see a lot of people getting all excited about .mobi domains because we are about to have an explosion of mobile web users in the next few years. Personally I think the domains to go after are the short .coms. 3-4 character .coms.
When you are on your phone and want to goto a site the headache is usually remembering the url and then having to punch it in. What would be betters for a website where you can download cool ring tones?
Voice recognition will sort that out and there is even research going on that will allow your thoughts to activate your mobile device and just by thinking a url will activate your mobile browser to search for it. Like having a chip implanted in your brain that links to the internet via your mobile. You will probably need a mobile no more as it will do away with the concept of having an external device. No more need for screens either as you will see everything in 3D inside your head.
The ONLY real benefit of .mobi is simply that...an assurance of a mobile optimized site...something .com can not offer. Sure, many will use m.anything.com or anything.com.mobile, or any of the hundreds of other potential alternatives to a mobile re-direct. But are you guaranteed you'll go to a mobile site? Umm..I'll answer that....Nope
Fred....your new avatar suits your post quite well. Pass it along so we can all enjoy....