iPhone lead in ad revenue generation slipping away

Android users are seeing almost as many adverts as iPhone users, in Europe at least, and that is despite Apple customers seeing more than a billion adverts in January from independent ad network InMobi alone.

Android is gaining ground fast, with InMobi reporting that it delivered nearly 750 million adverts to European Android users during the first month of 2011. That puts Android's share up by almost 8 per cent on the previous month, with the total number of adverts delivered to Android handsets doubling since October.

January's ad impressions for Europe, as delivered by InMobi

InMobi, which is sharing its statistics, styles itself the "world's largest independent ad network" – which just means it didn't get bought by Google, Apple or Opera*. But despite not being the biggest player, the company still delivered 3.6 billion adverts to European mobile users, 90 per cent of whom are using smartphones, between October and January. That's not just 'cos InMobi is doing well, but mainly because the whole industry is expanding fast.

In Europe that's thanks to the growth in smartphones, with 60 per cent of adverts viewed on one of the more-capable platforms. But in the rest of the world, cheaper devices still dominate, especially as the feature phones become more adept at displaying advertisements, if little else. ®

* Which bought AdMob, Quattro and Ad Marvel respectively.