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Top mobile movers and shakers of 2011

The year 2011 marked a period of much-needed growth for the mobile industry, with companies such as Google, Apple and Facebook really shaking things up.

Here are some noteworthy events that occurred in 2011 that have changed or will change the mobile industry as we know it. 

With consumers increasingly using their mobile phones to access Facebook, the social media giant is reportedly readying its first mobile advertising initiative.

Twitter recently introduced several new enhancements to the service, including ads for its mobile applications, a move that could have significant implications for marketers looking to reach a targeted audience with relevant offers via mobile.

As Apple continues on its quest to be the king of the applications world, Google is taking another route to the top ? the mobile Web. 

NEW YORK - A Gilt Groupe executive at the Mobile Shopping Fall conference said that the company is seeing that consumers are willing to transact on mobile, with a recent member buying a $24,000 vintage Rolex watch via the iPad.

Steve Jobs, the man who led Apple to a phenomenal comeback from a near-death experience and went on to change the way consumers live, work and play, passed away Oct. 5 after a long spell of illness.

While Apple?s decision to phase out the use of unique device identifier numbers may impact the ability of marketers to behaviorally and contextually target mobile users, it could be a good thing for privacy concerns.

Facebook?s decision to exit the daily deals business suggests that Google, Amazon and Groupon may face challenges in the mobile space as well.

NEW YORK ? Google is marking its territory in the mobile commerce space by partnering with Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint to unveil a new mobile wallet that not only lets consumers store all of their cards on one single device, but pay for goods and services via one tap.

Mobile payment volume on PayPal Mobile is expected to more than double by year?s end to cross $2 billion.

Dealing with open source software is the No. 1 challenge of developing applications for Android, creating a situation where due diligence is a must on the part of the developer.

Forced to respond to increasing competition on various fronts, Apple Inc. made a splash by introducing the iPad 2, iOS 4.3 and its partnership with Random House Inc. for ebook distribution.

Sources at Apple confirmed that the company will in fact be cutting its $1 million minimum iAd buy in half. So will more brands flock to the mobile ad network at the expense of competitors?

Apple's introduction of a subscription service for media companies that publish content-based apps in the App Store may be a godsend for publishers that have been suffering with monetization models since the rise of digital channels.