We are 6 days in to New Year and now are the time to give you the top 10 mobile trends; yes it is 2012 predictions time. Everyone wants to know what is coming for 2012 being it mobile security, NFC etc, so please read on and let us know what you think.

There are many new products coming this year, but MEF the people behind the global community for mobile content and commerce, have given us their top 10 mobile trends and forecast for 2012.

Taking the number 1 slot is all about NFC (Near Field Communication), this year will see increased investment into this technology and many new trials to boot, but apparently this year will not see a huge impact to make a significant commercial difference.

What about mobile security then? Number 2 is all about regulators worldwide, and how it can come up against the in-app billing facing security challenges, and how new regulations will emerge. Android OS for one has seen major security flaws, even though the platform is very strong now and getting much better, will in-app billing continue to face issues? Personally 2012 will be a good year for improvements.

Everyone talks about privacy on their mobile phones/smartphones etc, so it makes sense to put “Privacy” in at number 3. We all know that smartphones and any other mobile device that are connected are becoming more widespread with this issue, privacy is complex and there is always someone trying to breach this, and this can cause total chaos in this sector, 2012 will have to be a strong year if things such as NFC and in-app billing opens up on more devices and more countries.

The two names such as Nokia and Microsoft Alliance comes in at four, MEF explains that the smartphone landscape will indeed evolve into something known as the three-horse-race, they explain that this will be accelerated by local focus in high growth markets.

What is happening with HTML 5? Number 5: Many operators will come up against capacity challenges, and the push or should we say ‘Surge’ for HTML5 usage and of course consequent stimulus to audio/visual content, needs to be worked on more this year.

SMS predictions for 2012 flies in at number 6, we have already spoke today about the death of SMS, Facebook, IM, Twitter and alike are killing standard text message. Something needs to be done to keeps its lifespan, content owners, brands and retailers will look upon ideas to save SMS in their mobile toolkit, new ways to engage customers and commerce will happen this year.

Mobile gaming is in at number 7, games will become more powerful this year, and 2012 is the year when gaming on mobile devices will be more like the console experience. This is a challenge but can be achieved, to play games on the move with the quality of the PS3 or Xbox 360 can be seen on the PS Vita, time to move onto smartphones is the next step forward. Skyrim on Android or iOS anyone?

That’s the top 7 mobile trends & 2012 predictions so far, so what about 8, 9 and 10? These are filled in with ‘Mobile Payments’, ‘Apps and multi-screen’ and Geo-social, respective.

Mobile payments (Number 8) such as carrier wallets and even screen-based payments will make its move in 2012, where we can start to see supersede PSMS in Atlantic markets. Apps and multi-screen technology (Number 9) will move into the likes of cars and the living-room in houses soon enough, apps are maturing and 2012 is very strong to incorporate more into our lifestyles.

Last but not least is number 10, and 2012 needs to look more into “Location-based social commerce”, replacing social networking with Geo-social platform to focus more on mobile innovation by retailers and brands.