The mobile internet will finally come of age this year, mobile video will take off, and the industry will see greater pricing transparency for consumers, but mobile advertising still will not become mainstream, according to predictions from the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), which recently released its top 10 list of mobile entertainment trends for 2009.

The list, compiled from member feedback about the industry's biggest challenges and hurdles, points to the fact that this year promises to be an important and interesting year for mobile entertainment. On one hand, MEF said, the global economy is facing unprecedented challenges, reports MarketingCharts.

On the other, the $25B global industry has held steady through both good and bad times and 2009 will be a year in which almost a decade of investments begin to deliver returns.MEF's top 10 mobile entertainment trends for 2009:

1. The 'iPhone effect:' Mobile applications have emerged as a new content category and the mobile internet will finally come of age.
2. Greater value and transparency for consumers will help sustain demand in 2009.
3. There will be some delay in the proliferation of mobile advertising
4. Telcos will begin to act as enablers for the entertainment industry with services such as billing, authentication and zero-tariff data driving adoption.
5. Services that operate at a multi-platform level are on their way to becoming dominant
6. There will be a rise in ringback tones.
7. Social networking will become an important driver of mobile entertainment consumption.
8. Mobile video will really take off in 2009.
9. Emerging world economies will become an increasingly important driver for global mobile entertainment.
10. The proliferation of touch-screen devices will continue to drive discoverability and content usage.