The name isn’t the only similarity between the two recent purchases. Like Zingku, Jaiku is designed to appeal to mobile users. As Jaiku states in the acquisition FAQ:

Jaiku is an activity stream and presence sharing service that works from the Web and mobile phones. Jaiku, Ltd. was founded in February, 2006 by Jyri Engeström and Petteri Koponen from Finland. The service was released on the Web in July 2006. Jaiku is based in Helsinki.

Oh. It’s like Twitter, then? Your Jaiku activity stream can include text messages, photos, events, recommendation, etc. So perhaps it’s Facebook+Twitter? (In case you’re wondering, Jyri is pronounced a little like “Yuri,” with the ‘r’ rolled. Except we don’t have the Finnish vowel ‘y’ in English. Well, rather than launch into a Finnish linguistics lesson, let’s focus, shall we?)

As with most Google acquisitions, they’re not disclosing specific plans for the future, saying only that “Activity streams and mobile presence are important areas where we believe Google can add a lot of value for users. Jaiku’s technology and talented team are a great addition to Google’s current application and mobile teams.” Also becoming par-for-the-course in new acquisitions—Google has limited current sign ups. (You can audition try here, though.)

Unlike now-older-sibling Zingku, however, Jaiku doesn’t seem to have built-in merchant appeal. Perhaps Jaiku is destined to partner more with Blogger than AdWords.

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Google Operating System spotted the deal. “We’ve entered into an agreement to have Google acquire our Zingku service,” Zingku noted on their site.

Subsequent confirmation arrived at Google Operating System from the Big G itself:

Google confirms the acquisition: “It is true that we acquired certain assets and technology of Zingku. We believe these assets can help build products and features that will benefit our users, advertisers and publishers.”

The Zingku deal comes at an interesting time. It’s widely thought, albeit rumored, that Google has a mobile handset loaded with its services ready to roll out somewhere. If Google is still looking for pieces of the mobile puzzle, maybe that debut isn’t as close to reality as some think.

We still have the view we’ve expressed previously: the GPhone isn’t as important as the network infrastructure that will support it. If Google turns out to be the one to control or mostly control that, offering access at a nominal cost or even free with an ad-supported model, it will be truly disruptive for the wireless industry.

Of course, this is Google’s ninth birthday, so maybe Zingku is just a birthday present for the company. They probably have enough Lego bricks by now.