Retail giant Best Buy is placing an iPhone application at the center of its national Buy Back campaign that is intended to convince consumers to upgrade to latest and greatest consumer electronics products.

News about mobile payments, mcommerce strategies such as apps and mobile Web site conversion tips took over the headlines of Mobile Commerce Daily in the first quarter of 2011.

Near field communication has the potential to generate billions of dollars of incremental revenue from mobile marketing services alone, not even factoring in payments, which will be a watershed moment for mobile, according to Razorfish.

Global tablet revenues will exceed $49 billion worldwide by 2015, with North America, Asia-Pacific and Western Europe leading the way as the most valuable regions for tablet vendors, according to Strategy Analytics.

While mobile food ordering is still nascent, quick-service and fast-casual restaurant chains that have launched mobile applications with ordering capabilities have boosted the frequency and average size of customers’ orders.

Investment banking giants Goldman Sachs and Oppenheimer are among the first brands advertising within the new Bloomberg Businessweek application for Apple’s iPad.

The recently launched smartphone application from Whitbread’s Premier Inn has generated more than $1.6 million in total revenue in the three months since its January debut.

AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. has launched financial applications for Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphones to enhance its customer service and boost its lead-generation initiatives.

Omaha Steaks has launched a new mobile Web site to enhance its various marketing channels and make it easier for consumers to purchase its food products while on the go.

Texas-based restaurant chain la Madeleine claims that its overall takeout business has increased 6 percent, driven by opening up new customer touch points for placing orders across online, social media, a call center and mobile.