Shoppers at department stores including Macy's and Bloomingdale's will be among the first to use Apple Pay -- Apple's new payment service -- which rolls out next month at a select group of national retailers. Perhaps it's not surprising that those two were rated among the most digitally savvy department stores in a new ranking by research firm L2.

Marketers say they still can't measure the things they most value in mobile and cross-platform campaigns. At least one commissioned Forrester survey finds that the common narrative around mobile -- difficulty determining ROI -- is an operating principle among the buyers.

When CEO Tim Cook capped off the marathon Apple keynote on Tuesday by bringing out Bono and U2 for a live number, it already felt over the top. The main surprise wasn't U2's appearance itself, but the giveaway of the band's latest album -- "Songs of Innocence" -- to half a billion iTunes users. It has become clear over the last couple of days that the direct marketing blitz hasn't gone down well with many customers, leaving them confused, angered or annoyed.

SUV culture wins. After years of touting the superiority of elegant and diminutive, Apple embraces the expanding American media waistline. And it looks as if Americans are ready to fill those bigger plates with more and richer content. Get ready for all-you-can-eat.

Among its trio of high-profile product announcements Tuesday, the Apple Watch may have delivered the biggest "Wow" factor, judging from the crowd reaction at the presentation as well as the response online. Unlike the iPhone 6 or Apple Pay, it's trending on Twitter.

Amazon's move to slash the price of its Fire phone from $200 to 99 cents less than three months after launch is so dramatic as to be almost comic. It also begs the obvious question: Why didn't the company just price at under a buck to begin with? If nothing else, though, the move makes plain Amazon's razor-razorblades business model for the Fire phone -- offer the e-commerce-tailored device essentially for free in order to sell more stuff from its virtual aisles.

Moms are a leading indicator of emerging mobile behaviors. Few segments are busier multitaskers on the move. But a deep dive into their mobile behaviors also suggests just how radically we have moved away from 20th-century mass media.

Although auto marketers were among the first to embrace content and advertising on smartphone screens and the auto remains one of the top-spending mobile ad categories, that doesn't mean auto brands have mastered the medium that plays a growing role in the car-shopping process. A new study from digital think tank L2 highlights the industry's efforts to adapt to the shifting mobile landscape and car shoppers' mobile habits.

Ikea's spot-on satire of our tech fetish is a great launch of their new "book book" catalog. Don't be fooled. Ikea's "book book" is as tech savvy as they come. This is called having it both ways.

Much of the speculation over Apple's Sept. 9 press event has centered on rumors that the tech giant will introduce a larger-screen iPhone and a wearable device. Last week, "Wired" also tossed out the tidbit that the next-generation iPhone will come equipped with a near-field communication (NFC) chip to power mobile payments.