Two Google employees closely associated with its Google Wallet initiative have recently either left the company or moved on to other projects in a possible reflection of the challenges that Google is facing in the mobile payments space.

Last week NRF in New York hosted retail folk, but it seemed as if every show vendor was hawking technology solutions to help retailers track product lifecycle from factory to sale.

Can mobile business models and banking solutions from Africa be transported to main street North America, where there are approximately 60 million people unbanked or under-banked?

While Amazon erodes the viability of the physical store, the Amazon storefront is fast becoming confusing to navigate, and it is a slippery slope for authors.

In a season where every second tweet and Google+ post is a look-back or forward at the “mobile” year, it is sometimes difficult to navigate all the insights.

Now that I have your attention, there is an interesting parallel between Carrier IQ and Starbucks that explains a lot about the phantoms we battle in the mobile world.

A loving sign is when nouns become a verb and we “Google”, we “Skype”, we “Facebook”, we “TXT”.

Mobile phones are only used for an average of 18 months before dropping down toilets, falling on tables and general wear-and-tear drives the consumer back into the buyers’ market. For fashion- and trend-conscious consumers, this cycle is probably shorter.

Brand marketers and retailers compete for mind share. They woo their shoppers by price and brand affinity. These retailers segment shoppers into groups that have profiles, patterns and names.

Mobility is a treacherous business. Mobile phones are only used for an average of 18 months before dropping down toilets, falling off tables and general wear and tear drives the consumer back into the buyers’ market. For fashion- and trend-conscious consumers, this cycle is probably shorter.