Increasingly, consumers, developers and brands are turning to the rewarded model as the solution that works. What makes the rewarded model so appealing is that it means advertising is inherently integrated into the users' content experience, and the value exchange proposition is completely transparent. With the momentum building behind the rewarded ad model, advertising is in a position to deliver benefits to the end-user, the advertiser and the publisher.....finally.

While preliminary and incomplete, some early metrics suggest that iPhone 6 users are using those bigger screens to interact more with advertising -- and even generate more ROI for advertisers.

The GSMA forecasts that global smartphone penetration in emerging markets is set to increase over the next several years, and these regions are vital for ongoing success among major brands with mobile reach. In order to remain globally relevant, companies such as Apple, Samsung, Facebook and Twitter as well as major consumer brands must evolve in order to appeal to mobile users in developing nations, especially if they are to capture and retain consumer attention. Facebook, which has historically pioneered connectivity strategies, has recently made further strides in targeting mobile consumers in developing nations through a new, experimental ad strategy.

With two weeks adjusting to the iPhone 6 Plus, it is hard to imagine downscaling. But bigger screens may just be a stopgap measure on our way to ubiquitous connectivity.

As one of the first forms of mass media, radio continues to be the top vehicle to reach local audiences for stations and advertisers. Through interactive radio, businesses can utilize the significant reach of radio while optimizing their ads with a digital component to better deliver ROI and bring in new customers.

The iPhone 6 Plus and the general jumbo-ification of mobile phones is just one more blatant symbol of the increased importance of these devices in our lives. Just like a well-equipped SUV, a phone like this seems to appeal to our sense of never having left home at all.

For the past three years, marketers have been introduced to the advantages of highly targeted mobile offers. But that will be nothing compared to what is coming. Apple Pay brings mobile convenience to the point of purchase, which is an enormous game-changer in the retail world. Its widespread use will allow retailers and brands to push offers the minute customers are checking out and redeem them digitally onsite, making offers highly trackable, immediate, and relevant.

The next great challenge for interface designers is the connected car audio system. Plagued with a limited interface and an overly ambitious agenda of features, these things feel like early-issue digital cameras or programmable calculators circa 1983.

I can't say that the Cook and co. really sold me on the credit card obsolescence, for a phone the size of my thigh or a less ugly smartwatch. But they did convince me the company is thinking harder about how distant this new world will be from the mass-mediated century that preceded it.

There seem to be two distinct types of user technologies in the marketplace right now. Uber only knows stuff about me when I need it. Beaconized platforms have far greater potential, but are harder to build. Beacons know more about me than I do, within the context of my location and circumstance. The barriers with Beaconization are higher -- and in the end, people can simply choose to shut out the noise if it gets too loud.