The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which wrapped up this week in Las Vegas, saw the introduction of a slew of tablets, suggesting that 2011 will at be the year of the tablet. But amidst the high-flying talk of “iPad killers,” device manufacturers also rolled out an impressive slate of new smartphones, many prepped for the wireless carriers’ new, faster 4G networks.

The complete article is only available to eMarketer Total Access clients. To learn more about becoming an eMarketer client, click here.

At least Microsoft got the software right this time. Whether the embattled technology giant will be able to carve out more market share for the new Windows Phone 7 (WP7), unveiled yesterday (full video of the introduction available here), all boils down to marketing.

Let’s face it: Microsoft’s recent forays into the mobile space have been rocky at best. The Kin twins, introduced in April to great fanfare but generally poor reviews, lasted less than two months before being pulled from the market, their ambitions done in by flawed execution and high pricing for both the phones and the accompanying data plans.

Before that, the only major mobile news from Microsoft frankly wasn’t all that major. In October 2009, it launched Windows Mobile 6.5, a mild rework of the aging Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system designed to tide over Windows fans for a full year until WP7 was ready. Not surprisingly, it failed to make much of an impression, in no small part because it built on a platform that no one really loved in the first place.

A complete reboot was in order. Much as Microsoft did with Bing, it has aimed for a clean slate with WP7. Microsoft is adopting what it regards as a hybrid version of the Apple and Android approach: There will be multiple manufacturer partners but a single standardized OS regardless of the manufacturer. According to Microsoft, this will provide the best of both worlds—the unified experience of Apple’s iOS platform combined with the scale of Android.

The Twitter traffic during yesterday’s launch event with AT&T and early hands-on assessments have been positive if not downright enthusiastic, with Microsoft earning praise for taking a fresh, non-app-focused approached to the smartphone. There will be apps of course, but the primary user interface on the home screen will be customizable “tiles” designed to get users quickly to key functions and content.

Having virtually sat out the last few mobile device development cycles and because of its recent setbacks, Microsoft has a lot a ground to make up in the mobile space. But it can draw on some key strengths, namely integration with its Office suite and the Xbox gaming platform.

Office software still has a strong hold in the enterprise space, and that represents a distinct competitive advantage over any of the other smartphone platforms. And as I noted in my recent “Mobile Content: Games, Music and Video Take to the Cloud” report (full version available here to eMarketer Total Access clients only), gaming represents a significant growth opportunity for both paid and ad-supported content. But the bottom line is that making up all that lost ground will be tough, and Microsoft finds itself in the unenviable position of playing David vs Apple and Google’s Goliath.

Marketing will be a vital ingredient in WP7′s success or failure. Simply put, Microsoft has to convince consumers and business users why WP7 is worth their attention. Working with Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, Microsoft has fashioned a new ad campaign that represents a complete reversal from message used to market the Kin. As Mashable described it, “Rather than the phone being the center of your life, your life is the center of the phone. ” In classic Crispin, Porter fashion, the ads are distinctive, quirky and somewhat oblique, which is to say that the general public may need a more pointed message to get them to sit up and take notice.

And that’s where the carriers and Microsoft’s hybrid approach come in. Android has seen such strong growth this year in large part because of aggressive marketing support from the carriers. Assuming that Microsoft has the table stakes to play effectively in the smartphone game, a similar level of support will be crucial to WP7′s success.

The iPhone has been slowly losing its dominance in the minds of marketers as Google’s Android operating system gained share over the past year or so. The complication of creating apps for multiple operation systems has been an issue for marketers for some time, but as Android becomes a major player in the app world marketers may also have to start thinking about the way those apps are monetized and how that fits in with the norms of different user groups.

There is evidence across several studies that Android users are somewhat less willing to pay for apps than their iPhone-loving counterparts. AdMob found in February that while 50% of iPhone owners worldwide purchased at least one paid app each month, just 21% of Android users did the same. Credit Suisse reported that less than 70% of Android users had paid for apps in the month prior to being surveyed, compared with nearly 80% of iPhone owners.

According to a May 2010 report from Distimo, an analytics tool for mobile developers, the Android Market is the only store with a majority of free apps.

That could mean Android users are simply responding to supply—a large base of free apps means less need to purchase them. Credit Suisse also found that Android users spent slightly more on average than iPhone owners did on mobile applications, suggesting that they are willing to open their wallets as well.

But the rise of an operating system whose owners are used to relying on free apps could mean a user base that is more open than average to receiving the advertising support necessary to support those apps. In-app advertising and app sponsorships tend to be especially effective forms of mobile marketing, and are also found less annoying or intrusive by mobile users. An expanding base of Android users may mean not only a larger audience of smartphone owners, but also a growing share of that audience receptive to marketing messages that support their app habit.

I admit I wasn’t expecting to be bowled over by the arrival of Hulu Plus. But even considering my low expectations, the official unveiling of the service leaves me underwhelmed. The service will carry a price tag of $9.99 per month, for which subscribers will have access to multiple seasons of older TV shows no longer on the air, as well as all episodes from the current seasons of many shows on the participating networks (NBC, Fox and Disney/ABC).

Hulu CEO Jason Kilar told PaidContent that Hulu Plus will be “incremental and complementary.” Maybe. But even if this service delivers the extra bit of revenue Hulu needs to achieve its holy grail of becoming cash-flow-positive this year, the company won’t hit a home run until it shifts the cost/value proposition in favor of the latter.

Here are some specific steps that would help:

• Either lower the total fee to somewhere on the order of $7.99 or offer a “lite” version for, say, $4.99 per month.
• Reduce the ad load in the paid service. The Wall Street Journal reported today that Hulu Plus will run “as many ads as the free version of Hulu.” As a consumer, if I’m paying $10 a month for content, the first thing I expect is to see fewer ads than in the free version of the same service. In fact, I’d go further and argue that a $10 subscription should guarantee NO ads, a la HBO.
• Go deeper in offering content depth and exclusivity. I realize there are contractual obligations that preclude the level of access that consumers would like to have, but $10 should net something more than a deeper catalogue of back episodes of shows that are mostly available on the free service. One attractive possibility might be a live broadcast of a season premiere or season finale, or at least a shorter delay between broadcast and streaming for select content (say, 2 hours instead of 24).
• Hurry up and line up other content providers, starting with CBS. I expected CBS to be part of the Hulu Plus launch announcement, but so far the network is MIA from the service. The only media companies supplying content to Hulu Plus are the joint venture partners: NBC, Fox and Disney.
• I realize getting Viacom on board will be a stretch, but I hear incessant grumbling about the absence of Comedy Central from the Hulu lineup.
• Hulu on the iPad/iPhone has been a long time coming, but support for other devices and operating systems (Android, PS3, Xbox 360) needs to happen ASAP to build critical mass. Hulu’s “guided tour” of Plus suggests the service will be available on PS3 in July, while the rumor mill suggests it will be available on Xbox in early 2011.

I know this is an invitation-only “soft” launch and some of the things that I (and probably millions of other consumers) would like to see will happen over time. Still, I can’t help feeling a sense of disappointment, and I suspect I’m not alone.

Whether Hulu Plus can successfully monetize the 58.9 million people who watch full-length TV shows online in the US is anyone’s guess. Online video viewing in general is shifting to longer form content (and with it, online video advertising dollars), and Netflix has proven that viewers are more than willing to pay a subscription fee for an excellent online video service—actually, an excellent ad-free online video service. The question is whether Hulu Plus’s video archive will be “excellent” enough to overcome customer qualms with advertisements and sustain long-term growth. So far I’m not convinced.

“It’s so thin!” exclaimed one of my colleagues as I unboxed the new iPhone 4 yesterday – 24% thinner than the iPhone 3GS, in fact. Yes, thin is in with Apple’s latest magical device, and the overall effect is fairly dramatic.

In terms of design, Apple is to electronics as Audi is to cars. Like Audi’s most recent models, this latest iPhone goes in a slightly blockier design direction than its predecessors. I wasn’t wowed by it straight out of the box, but it feels better in your hand, which is good for those few occasions when you’ll actually use it as a phone. Changing an icon like the first iPhone and 3GS is a challenging proposition, so Apple deserves some credit for going in a different direction, especially when that decision results in greater utility for the end user.

Still, the aesthetics of the case are unlikely to stand in the way of anyone wanting the iPhone 4, especially when the screen resolution is so much clearer. Thankfully, my particular model seems to have been spared some of the screen defects that others have noted. Looking at the home screen next to that of the iPhone 3G makes me feel like my vision had just improved – all of sudden the screen isn’t so blurry anymore.

Leaving aside the specs of the much-discussed retina display and the much-dissected glass used for the screen, this major step forward will make the iPhone 4 a far better platform for not only consuming media but also producing it. Even the photos I shot on the iPhone 3G’s 2.0 megapixel camera look sharper and brighter on the iPhone 4. How long will it be until we see a music video or feature-length film shot entirely on the iPhone? Answer: probably not long.

Along with the improvements to the display, the feature set and performance upgrades are the real story here. With newfound slimness comes far greater speed. My aging iPhone 3G seemed positively sluggish by comparison. And in my limited trial, the enhancements, such as unified in-box, app switching and multitasking, all worked as advertised (I didn’t have a chance to get any FaceTime).

So, what does this mean for marketers? Mark my words, iPhone usage will skyrocket. The epic pre-order snafus will do little or nothing to dampen consumer enthusiasm, and I frankly don’t see tiered data pricing as a significant near-term impediment for sales or usage either, although network issues with AT&T are sure to crop up. But fortunately for those in-market smartphone buyers who want to opt for another carrier, there is a bumper crop of highly capable devices. For example, Verizon and Motorola just yesterday launched the new bigger and badder Droid X, and the battle between Apple and Android is only going to get more intense. It’s entertaining to watch, but the key takeaway for marketers is that it will drive more consumers to smartphones and the mobile Web, and in turn, make mobile a more viable marketing platform.