Avivah,
According to PCI, they have stopped approving and listing mobile point-of-sale terminals as of late last year citing “the rapid growth” of the mobile payment environment. Here’s a link to the letter they published on the subject in November.
https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/documents/statement_101129_pcissc.pdf
Your description that PCI “threw up their hands” seems accurate.
Regards,
James Wester
Editor
MobilePaymentsToday.com