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.

With the launch of Amazon’s new Android tablet, will the retailer’s signature one-click checkout meet portable desire and allow for an optimal commerce experience for the impulse shopper on the go?

While the recent introduction of the first Google Wallet app is not likely to have much of an impact on sales for the 2011 holiday shopping season, the longer-term benefits for merchants will include better loyalty conversion rates and an increase in qualified traffic.

Recent developments suggest that mobile payments at scale is getting closer, but with new players introducing their own services regularly, is there room for everyone and if not, which solutions are most likely to take the lead?