It may be traditional for annual predictions to go up sooner than the end of January, but Ellen of Ilium Software (makers of JAMM Essentials like eWallet and ListPro) has just put a list out that makes extremely interesting reading. What’s in Ellen’s crystal ball?

Here’s a highlight:

Like they did with the iPod apps, I believe that Apple will choose which third-party programs they want to deliver through iTunes, and control the pricing. iPhone apps – especially games – will be popular, but developers dreaming of huge profits and revenues will end up disappointed.

Hmm, what do you think? I think Ellen is definitely onto something in a lot of her predictions. On the other hand, I think the general suckiness of PIE will keep mobile Web-based apps from really taking off. I also really hope (and I think Ellen does, too!) that she’s wrong about customer service — the market is changing, but a lot of developers seem so committed to keeping up their terrific service that I hope they will find a way.

I’ll throw in a prediction of my own: Google’s Android operating system will become the Linux of the mobile world, beloved by geeks and totally confusing to the world at large. Like, doesn’t the iPhone do everything you could ever need?

What do you all see coming in the next year?

via MobilitySite