Over this next year, we're going to see massive growth in the mobile application space. With smartphone adoption growing like wildfire, that's not really something anyone can deny. Here are four areas which I think are currently big opportunities.

Payments - I put this one first because I think NFC is going to be that influential over the next year. As more NFC enabled phones are sold and more retail stores accept it as a form of payment, users are going to be clamoring for an "electronic wallet." The most creative implementations of this will likely have some type of integration with the major LBS players (Foursquare, Facebook Places, etc.) that rewards users for actually driving sales, as opposed to simply checking in, and making their transactions social.

Deals - All everyone talks about is Groupon and there are already hundreds of copycat services already out there - how is this a growth opportunity Adam?? It's a growth opportunity because the most compelling implementation of the coupon/deal/group buying phenomenon is undeniably a mobile one. To me, there is nothing more exciting than being able to open an app, see all the restaurants that are within 1 square mile of me, select the restaurant with the most compelling deal, and complete the purchase directly on my phone. There are enough deal sites (and therefore enough deals) out there where this should be built by now, but it's not. Maybe Yipit or another one of these deal aggregation sites will wise up and realize that their real opportunity is in mobile. If not, somebody else should.

News and Media - I was pumped when I heard that Rupert Murdoch was releasing an iPad only newspaper called "The Daily." I think there's massive opportunity for media companies to create news experiences - rather than simply newspapers and magazines - around the mobile smartphone (even "The Daily" is still iPad focused). NYTimes - wake up! Don't simply retrofit your print publication to an iPhone app - make your iphone app truly harness the capabilities of the device and the nature with which we use it.

Mobile Analytics - Ok, so this isn't a mobile app. But, nailing this on the head is crucial for the success of all future mobile apps. Right now, there's no solution for a company to compare traffic sources for different mobile applications (or on different platforms). The default reporting you get from ad networks and the different application marketplaces is VERY generic. In order for developers to be able to market their applications effectively, they're going to need to have more detailed stats around traffic data. Anyone whose tried to market an application on Admob right now can speak to how truly frustrating this is. So, I see it as a massive opportunity in the mobile space (with massive ancillary opportunities for the mobile application space).

What are some other exciting mobile application opportunities for 2010? Tell me in the comments section.