MEF claims credit for 2009′s trends

Rating: Some of its 2010 predictions are a tad obscure

Inevitably at this time of year, predictions for 2010 are two a penny. But the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) takes the genre one step further. Not content with saying what will happen next,  it claims the glory for 2009′s triumphs.

Apparently for 2009, the MEF predicted that, “the proliferation of touch screen devices would drive discoverability and content usage which is self-evident with seemingly every OEM producing a touch-screen device.” That wasn’t too hard, was it?

How about this?  “MEF predicted that mobile applications would emerge as a content category in their own right and with more than 24 application stores now launched and several billion apps downloaded, this has clearly been realised.” Hmm. Loads of app stores, that wasn’t too difficult, either.

Well, let’s see if the MEF gets its predictions right for 2010. This is a good one.  “Books will emerge as a new and popular content category for smartphones.” That’s a bit like saying videoconferencing will finally take off.

This prediction has more promise. “The emerging risk of illicit charging by in-app billing will be met by firm regulatory action.” It would be better if GoMo News knew what that means.

Other predictions are far more plausible. Take this … “The growth of applications on the Android platform will close the gap on Apple’s App Store.” Sounds very likely.

This one is a bit more controversial … “Technology innovation will continue, with content developers experimenting with 3D mobile video viewers and augmented reality for mobile.” Looking forward to that.

The best prediction is this … “Media publishers will start to experiment with micro-payments, subscription service models and alternative payment methods which challenge the operators’ dominance, with Rupert Murdoch’s decision to charge for online media content highlighting an already fierce debate.”

That’s great but it is builds on a basic reality. Previously, the operators couldn’t be bothered with micro-payments in the past. Now that every extra cent of revenue is valued,  suddenly micro-payment is not a dirty word.

It’s Henry Ford all over again. If you make a single buck on an app but sell one million of them, you’ve made a million dollars.

Tony is based in Surrey and is a veteran comms journalist. Tony also writes on the UK market… contact him here tony@mobileinsight.co.uk