A recent video reviewing the year in the mobile industry got me thinking about mobile stocks, as some of the stats were just mind-blowing! For instance, would you have guessed that 5 billion apps were downloaded in 2010? Take a look:


Source: MobileFuture; animation by iStrategyLabs.

After watching, I looked for companies that would benefit from these trends continuing. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot find underappreciated home run stocks that provide the market's best returns. Here are the three stocks that looked most promising:

1. Neutral Tandem (Nasdaq: TNDM)
Neutral Tandem provides switching services to telecommunications firms. The "neutral" in its name refers to its market positioning. It provides a neutral service, allowing competing telecommunications firms to not have to rely on a competitor to route information in the most efficient manner. Shares have taken a hit this past year over patent litigation and concerns of increased competition from Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT) and other rivals.

Many investors believe Neutral Tandem is cheap. For deep dives on this stock, check out this blog post from CAPS member AAOI (Above Average Odds Investing), which contains an interview with Islamorada Investment Management's Cale Smith, or this blog post and research report from CAPS member BetapegLLC.

2. InterDigital (Nasdaq: IDCC)
Similar to Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), both hold patents on key wireless technology.  InterDigital has been raking in the dough from its wireless patents and is working on further enhancements that should lead to more growth for years. InterDigital is also currently sitting on $12.70 per share of cash and no debt. Shares have risen the past few months but still trade for a low cash adjusted P/E of just under 10. Definitely one to watch.

3. Motricity (Nasdaq: MOTR)
Motricity makes white label web portals for mobile providers. Its customers include the four largest U.S. customers. Besides competition from mobile providers using proprietary portals, the company also competes with third-party web portals such as Yahoo! Mobile in the U.S. or Rediff (Nasdaq: REDF) Mobile in India. As more and more users access the Internet through their phones, this is one business that is sure to grow.

This year
Is mobile set for another big year in 2011? We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, The Motley Fool has a brand new free report called "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2011." In it, we reveal the little company set to profit from the broadband Internet expansion. No, it's not Netflix -- this company is simply driving that trend for others to exploit. Click here to grab your free report today.