Don't believe the grey-hairs when they tell you that advertising on mobile is still in 'experimental' phase - that's just another shoulder-shrugging response to the great unanswered question: Will ad-funded content work in 2008?

Mediacells forecasts that the iPhone will catalyse take-up of these type of devices and drop the notion of phones doing so much more than voice and text into the consumer mindset.

In February, the biggest global phone congress, 3GSM Barcelona, will announce a fleet of new devices and applications, which will focus heavily on mobile advertising and how to create new conversations with individuals.

Media owners will be able to communicate mobile media propositions to a larger audience as mobile phone operators reduce complexity of tariffing e.g. no hidden costs. Consequently, they will begin to integrate mobile propositions to traditional media properties and upsell mobile services in a more integrated context.

Search giants, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, will sell more agressively into the mobile space in 2008 and it will be seen as the year when mobile advertising becomes a more natural fit with media buyer and planners inventories.

The Mediacells research informs us that although revenues will continue to be less significant than even classified display advertising in 2008, now is the time to enter the arena.