The hot-button issues in mobile generating the most buzz at the moment include location-based services and marketing, the rise of mobile commerce and payments, as well as applications for smartphones and tablets.

Tablets, of course, are the device of the moment, with consumer adoption booming and plenty of iPad 2 competitors reaching the market?from Android-based tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom to Research In Motion?s BlackBerry PlayBook and Hewlett-Packard?s TouchPad. Brands and retailers are placing an increasing emphasis on applications for various smartphone and tablet platforms, but the trick is encouraging repeat usage and fitting apps into a marketer?s overall strategy.

?From all directions?app development platforms, apps themselves, marketers and thought leaders?[at CTIA Wireless 2011 in Orlando] I was hearing about the need for brands to think about usage and engagement measurement and metrics for app strategies,? said Melissa Parrish, New York-based analyst at Forrester Research.

?I agree that thinking needs to move beyond the application download numbers to see how and how often users are using those applications post-download,? she said.

?This is particularly important for marketers to understand how their branded application is really changing and deepening their relationship with their mobile consumer.?

Based on the buzz at International CTIA Wireless in Orlando, FL, 2011 is the year of mobile commerce, location-based advertising and apps for all types of devices.

App craze
Apps have been hot for some time now, but their importance has been amplified tremendously with the launch of the iPad and competing tablet devices.

With tablets, a whole new array of applications have been launched in an effort to gain loyalty, sell goods and for branding.

It is imperative for brands and retailers to market their applications to drive downloads. However, getting onto consumers? handsets?while definitely invaluable?is not the be-all-and-end-all.

Tracking how often consumers are using a particular application, and what actions they are taking once they do open an app, can provide key insight to help the marketer optimize the experience.

Monetization tactics for applications range from free/ad-supported and in-application transactions for virtual goods to pay-per-download, freemium and subscriptions.

In addition, Ms. Parrish said that mobile technologists who are looking for marketers? dollars are getting much more adept at addressing marketers? needs.

?Conversations are focusing on the question of business goals, brand presences, measurement and scale?where previously those conversations focused on technical themes, tactics and differentiators that may have been sexy but didn?t help marketers understand how to best reach the mobile consumer,? Ms. Parrish said.

Location, location, location
In 2011, many retailers are shifting their focus to delivering relevant, location-based offers to consumers on their mobile devices to drive them in-store.

Location-based services promise big returns through linking a user?s physical location with key consumer demographics.

Delivering highly relevant deals and incentives are key to getting consumers in-store.

Consumers want to see deals and they want to see local retailers and restaurants offering them an incentive to come to their locations.

?At CTIA, we felt some palpable buzz around T-Mobile and AT&T, and the whole mobile commerce and payments category seemed to be big,? said Dan Gilmartin, vice president of marketing at Where Inc., Boston. ?The thing that I loved is to hear more people talk about location-based advertising.

?We?ve been in the game for a while, and the market is really starting to catch up,? he said. ?We just landed a quarter-million ad buy yesterday.

?It is a different way to think about location?it is ?What is going on in this area that I can influence through advertising and drive an action??  in a very contextual way,? he said. ?We have a saying, ?Relevance equals location plus context.??

Mobile commerce and payments
Brands and retailers want to transact and sell products through the mobile channel.

A CTIA panel that included executives from JPMorgan Chase and Visa Inc. outlined various evolving mobile payments mechanisms that are having an impact, from SMS, the mobile Web and applications to carrier billing and near field communication.

A PayPal executive said that mobile payments are growing exponentially and provided his own company?s figures as proof during the keynote at International CTIA Wireless 2011?s Money Over Mobile pre-conference program.

PayPal?s mobile payment transaction volume has grown from $24 million in 2008 to $140 million in 2009 to $750 million last year. It is projected to top $2 billion this year and is expected to reach $7.5 billion in 2013.

Many merchants still have reservations about NFC and mobile payments that must be addressed to convince them to make the necessary upgrades to their point-of-sale systems, according to a  panel at CTIA Wireless 2011.

While the panelists all agreed that mobile payments are gaining momentum, panelists had differing views about what is necessary to take the ecosystem to the next level.

The fees must make sense for merchants to really make mobile payments a priority. In the case of contactless mobile payments, it may require retailers to upgrade their point-of-sale system with NFC/RFID technology.

As NFC continues to gain momentum, merchants and marketers should realize that it enables more than just contactless payments?it can be used to inspire consumer loyalty, according to a panel at CTIA Wireless 2011.

NFC is fundamentally changing the way we view payments, and that the various ecosystem players must find common ground from a technological standpoint, but more importantly, from a business perspective.

While there are key infrastructure pieces that still need to align, tremendous progress has been made, especially with more handset manufacturers embracing this technology, including Nokia and Samsung with the Google Nexus S.

Mobile content distribution
Another highly contentious area is mobile content distribution, where Amazon is making a big play.

?CTIA yielded little in the way of revolution,? said Josh Martin, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, Newton, MA. ?Instead, I thought the Amazon app store launch was the most significant event, even though it was not at CTIA.

?Amazon is really looking to redefine what we have come to expect from an app store and they will become a major player,? he said. ?We are forecasting they will reach at least 30 percent of Android U.S. downloads by the end of the year, skewing higher on paid and lower on free.?

Final Take
Ovum's Eden Zoller