Google (NSDQ: GOOG), Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) and Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) all made mobile announcements today, releasing technology that helps to make it easier for consumers to access content on their mobile phones. The companies are all trying to drive adoption by solving some very basic barriers in the wireless industry—devices have small screens, unpredictable Internet access and inefficient ways to input text. In separate releases, Google said it will help users access online information when they lose a cell signal; Yahoo said it would make it easier for mobile users to get all of their information in one place; and Microsoft said Nokia (NYSE: NOK) will support its Silverlight technology to deliver video and other multimedia content to smartphones.

The announcements show that the Internet giants are getting increasingly serious about mobile as the next important screen for content. Here’s a summary of the news:

Google: Google said it is making Google Gears available for mobile, allowing users to connect to mobile Web applications even when they lose a data connection, according to its blog today. For instance, Google Gears allows users to read docs with Zoho Writer Mobile even when they are offline, or check your bank balance with Buxfer’s mobile web application even if they are on a plane. Google Gears is available now for Internet Explorer Mobile on Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices.

Yahoo: Yahoo launched a new application today called Yahoo onePlace that helps consumers manage all their bits of content on their phone. The app allows users to organize content through “smart” bookmarks, so they can call up information from news feeds, web sites, videos, images, emails, search queries, etc. Everything is automatically updated in the background. See our post from earlier here.

Microsoft: Nokia announced today that it will be supporting Microsoft’s Silverlight browser plug-in to deliver video and other multimedia content to its smartphones. Silverlight will be available for its Series 60 (S60) smartphones running Symbian OS, as well as for Series 40 devices and Nokia internet tablets. See our post from earlier here.