Each week until the conference, our editors will put together a short article spotlighting one of the speakers featured at the Internet Retailer Mobile Commerce Forum 2010 that contains a description of the session, an explanation of why they selected that speaker for that session, and a brief interview with the speaker about their session. Today's Spotlight Speaker is Josh Martin.

Smartphones are the key to the future of mobile commerce. The introduction of the iPhone three years ago moved smartphones into the mainstream, and since then consumers have enthusiastically adopted them. Apple alone has sold 34 million smartphones worldwide. And the pace of consumer uptake of smartphones shows no signs of slowing. This session will provide a detailed look at smartphones—what are their capabilities today, what are they likely to enable marketers to do in the not so distant future, what drawbacks do marketers need to keep in mind as they prepare smartphone strategies, and what's on the horizon—either to boost smartphones' capability or to replace smartphones with more powerful devices.

Josh Martin, a wireless media expert at consultants Strategy Analytics, has extensive experience with smartphones and other web-enabled devices. His areas of expertise include mobile apps, mobile content, mobile social networking, location-based services, mobile advertising, mobile messaging and others. Josh recently created the Mobile Media Index, which highlights mobile revenue of companies participating in mobile media. The index will gauge how the industry is growing and changing globally and regionally, while serving as a benchmark. He was previously with Yankee Group and IDC, where he covered emerging media distribution and connected devices.

"The discussion will center on how marketers can use emerging mobile technology to better reach and influence a more engaged audience. For example, in 2010 the location 'check-in' emerged as a means for not only finding an engaged audience but also better understanding their behavior through analytics. This discussion will look at more existing and future technologies that will enable such a world."