The latest agreement between IBM and WAC (Wholesale Applications Community) to produce a cloud-based “white label” mobile app store revolves around the powerful prospects mobile apps possess. The storefront enables mobile operators such as China Mobile, MTS, Orange, Smart, Telefonica and mobile operator AT&T to upload apps in the cloud. The resulting data, such as buying patterns and trends, translates into benefits store owners can extend to customers, for things like discounts.  The deal is a good omen considering that WAS has over 12,000 apps that will instantly transfer to the white label store.

“The intersection of cloud computing, IBM’s expertise in building rich portals with integrated commerce, merchandising and promotions, combined with WAC’s extensive set of global applications creates a tremendous opportunity for mobile operators to expand and grow their business,” said Scott Stainken, general manager, IBM global telecommunications industry.

It is interesting to see where the IBM & WAC partnership is headed, as current trends indicate that app marketplaces are still developing. At the Mobile World Congress 2011 event in Barcelona this week, we saw some varied plans around mobile app marketplaces.  BlackBerry launched its latest creation, the Playbook tablet, along with a series of interesting apps. The most delicious is eXpresso for Starbucks Coffee featuring a graphical beverage creator and a Barista.

Xpresso simulates the selection boxes on a real Starbucks(R) cup, simply touch on the familiar boxes for your personalized choices. Juicy raspberries and rich espresso shots entice you to tap. Ordering has never been easier, nor faster.

Of course, your drink is personal and it should be treated as such. Give it a name, whatever you like, something exotic perhaps to indicate that it couldn’t be anyone else’s. Our creation of a Mayan Mocha is but one example.

Other apps from BlackBerry’s growing market include the Aura Weather app  and the Scrapbook app, the latter allowing users to add media into their virtual scrapbook using four-finger multi-touch control in a visually stunning graphical environment.

For the iOS camp, Springpad released a new app adding one-touch button voice memos, the option to sync files to the web, and log in using other services like Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter, which is handy if you don’t want to remember credentials for yet another online account. The files can be shared in social media environments, on Facebook and Twitter, a major request from users.

After having been available only for iOS devices, Bizzy is now serving Android users. The app gives enables users to quickly search with the help of the device’s GPS capabilities for highly recommended nightclubs, restaurants, shops, and destinations wherever they are, complete with reviews from the other Bizzy users that recommended them.

‘Serious’ apps were also presented at the MWC 2011 event, such as Route 66’s navigation apps for the Android platform: the ROUTE 66 Maps + Navigation app, and the ROUTE 66 Drive & Walk app, both with “Follow Me” augmented reality navigation feature.

Apps are starting to reach a benchmark peak in 2011, as analysts foresee $15 billion in revenue for the apps market.  Thanks to the 17 billion + downloads, the industry looks promising for all parties involved. The latest figures come from Google’s Chrome Store, prior to the launch of the Android Market Webstore with an in-app payment support.

Until recently, Apple was cited as the leader in the app market, Apple having gathered $250 million from apps alone in the second half of 2010, but recent reports show that Microsoft’s app store has grown the most in the last month: in January 2011, it grew by 30 percent, compared to the next-fastest, Android at 18 percent.