It may be premature to say that mobile has revolutionized the way people consume entertainment and news, but it is certain that mobile has changed the way we communicate. It’s instant, portable, and personalized.

Next year will bring some big breakthroughs for traditional media in the mobile world. Already we are starting to see headlines that reveal some of mainstream media’s high-level investments in mobile content and distribution.

Last week, a new iPad only newspaper was announced. Apple and News Corp are partnering together to create The Daily, the first iPad-only news publication. The initial capital invested is $30 million. Who better than Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch to create a new age of journalism?

The new “paper” will have no website and… no paper. The only way you’ll be able to read it is by downloading The Daily iPad application, which will cost $0.99 per week. Technology website Mashable reports that Apple, “has been offering its engineering talent to help create a seamless delivery experience for the application, which should launch sometime in early 2011.” News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch has also reportedly hired 100 journalists to run the publication.

Will the radio industry have its own answer to the journalism-mobile mashup that is now being produced by Murdoch and Jobs? Is there an audio-mobile mashup on the way that uniquely leapfrogs past current technologies and consumer audio offerings? Do we have any reason to think that radio can deliver such a thing now?

Already, there has been some good innovation in the radio/mobile space. Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio with internet-only music and artist-branded channels is perhaps the most prominent poster child for a radio-mobile mashup.

There are also already some excellent iPhone and iPad apps available for consumers who are looking for audio entertainment.

Last.fm’s app allows you to create your own radio stations based on artist names, tags, or other Last.fm users. Pandora has had outstanding success and growth as a result of its mobile distribution. In fact, over 25% of Pandora’s audience originates on mobile. Other free Internet Radio apps include AOL Radio, RadioStreamitall.com, and NullRiver’s Tuner Internet Radio.

RadioTime also just released a new version of its TuneIn Radio app for the iPad. See more information on it here. TuneIn Radio turns your iPad into a radio with links to most of the world’s popular radio stations. The TuneIn Radio app also allows recording of audio.

The iPhone and iPad aren’t the only mobile or tablet outlets for radio. There have also been some strong Android Apps developed for radio stations and networks this year. ESPN, SiriusXM, iHeartRadio, and Pandora are a few that have grabbed headlines.

At the same time that Android is gaining serious momentum, Apple is raising the bar for new apps, and there has been recent news of Apple rejecting single station iPhone apps. (See story above.)

Android, Apple, Blackberry, or otherwise, the mobile space offers a growing lucrative distribution opportunity for radio. This is a time for innovators to pull ahead and capture a space that is largely uncultivated (minus the few above-mentioned entries). This is an opportunity to reinvent the way radio does mobile. Right now, radio does mobile through a one-way speaker into the car. Mobile media offers a whole new toolbox for creating a mobile brand experience for radio stations. Stay tuned for some big moves for radio into the mobile space in 2011.