Smartphones dominating mobile ad consumption

Android and iPhone are dominating mobile ad consumption

Apple's iOS and Google's Android are dominating mobile ad comsumption, according to advertising vendor AdMob.

The company said in its latest monthly report that the platforms accounted for 42 per cent of all mobile ad requests in May, and that smartphones brought 46 per cent of its total ad load.

The figures reflect a dramatic surge in the use of smartphone devices over the past two years.

AdMob noted that smartphones accounted for just 22 per cent of mobile traffic in May 2008, and that Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices accounted for 1.3 per cent of all ads. Android handsets had yet to hit the market.

The Apple platform is particularly strong in North America and western Europe, where iOS devices claimed 54 per cent and 73 per cent market share respectively.

Android handsets held a 33 per cent share in North America and a 16 per cent share in western Europe.

AdMob credited the large numbers in part to heavy application use for both platforms. The report noted that Apple and Android recorded shares in advertising consumption far larger than their overall market shares.

By contrast, the Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile platforms all claimed advertising shares smaller than their shares of the total market.