When touting the mobile version of Apple’s Safari browser, included on the iPhone and iPod Touch, Steve Jobs is fond of saying: this isn’t the “baby” web, this is the real thing. For the first time on a mobile device, users can browse the full web just as they do on their desktops, says Jobs.

Of course, such a claim is disingenuous on a number of counts: Apple wasn’t the first to ship a full web browser on a mobile, and Safari on the iPhone doesn’t support Flash, negating access to most online video and lots of other multimedia content. However, there’s no disputing that Apple has raised the bar of what we should expect from a mobile browser, in terms of speed, usability and access.

Proving that competition is good, Opera announced a major upgrade to its Symbian, Windows Mobile and Linux-native “Opera Mobile” browser, which is currently utilized by handset manufacturers and mobile operators such HTC, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, T-Mobile, and others. The press release for Opera Mobile 9.5 boasts: “Faster speed, new interface and Opera Widgets bring users closer to a full desktop experience.”

Maybe it’s not as easy as Google thought to enter the mobile world.

Amid much fanfare last fall, Google announced the formation of the Open Handset Alliance and Android, it’s open-source mobile operating system. At the time, Google also announced the $10 million Android Developer Challenge to jump start application development.

We were skeptical then, we’re skeptical now.

Google, which is currently involved in the hush-hush bidding for the FCC’s 700 MHz spectrum auction, is delaying an update to the initial SDK (released in November) that turned out to be “rough around the edges.” The delay — from March 3 to April 14 — is due to Google making “significant” changes, according to Quang Nguyen at the Android Developers Blog.