On one hand, MEF claimed the global economy is facing unprecedented challenges. On the other, the $25 billion global industry has already weathered and prospered through hard times as well as good and 2009 will be a year in which almost a decade of investments begin to deliver returns.
Here, MEF shares its predictions for the top trends in mobile entertainment in 2009: The iPhone effect, where mobile applications have emerged as a new category in content and the mobile internet will finally come of age; Greater value and transparency for consumers will help sustain demand for mobile entertainment; There will be some delay in the proliferation of mobile advertising.
Also: Telco companies will act as enablers for the entertainment industry with services such as billing, authentication and zero tariff data driving take up; Services that operate at a multi-platform level will begin to dominate the market; The rise of ring back tones; Social networking will become an important driver of mobile entertainment consumption; 2009 will be the year that mobile video really takes off; Emerging economies will become an increasingly important driver for mobile entertainment uptake worldwide; The proliferation of touch screen devices will drive discoverability and content usage.