Predictions for 2010

More than just a new year, 2010 heralds a new decade, an empty canvas that mobile technology promises to define: Smartphone penetration is rising, application development is booming and content providers are translating all of their signature properties to the mobile platform. And while the global economy is still in turmoil, venture capital is returning to the mobile segment in force, topped off by a series of mergers and acquisitions that closed out 2009 in style. No doubt, at least a few entrepreneurs rang in 2010 by lighting Cuban cigars with $100 bills, drunk not just on champagne but also on the possibilities of the mobile ecosystem they're helping redefine.

A new year also means it's time to once again dust off the crystal ball and gaze into the future. Looking back at my 2009 predictions, some were dead-on (Amazon.com expanded its mobile commerce aspirations by acquiring barcode solutions provider Snaptell, exactly as anticipated), some were in the ballpark (Apple made notable improvements to the App Store, but stopped short of the full-scale overhaul I expected) and some were totally off-target (mobile messaging economics remain basically unchanged, although the recent Verizon Wireless/4INFO scuffle signals that tensions remain). There's no such thing as a sure thing, but here are five trends likely to shape the mobile content landscape in the year ahead. Place your bets.

Click here for FierceMobileContent's 2010 Predictions

--Jason