Ad requests from Apple’s iPhone have topped requests from Nokia devices in Europe for the first time during the June quarter, according to ad network InMobi, making the iPhone the top platform in mobile ad consumption. In a research report issued by the firm, InMobi said that Apple edged out Nokia for the top manufacturer, but that Android as a whole is still the #1 platform for total ad consumption.
Many U.S. readers may not realize that Nokia was until quite recently the top smartphone maker in the world, and is still the top mobile handset manufacturer. Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android platform have swiftly surpassed Nokia in recent months in the smartphone market, a trend accelerated by Nokia dumping its own Symbian OS in favor of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. The firm is still developing the first Windows Phone 7 devices it plans to begin releasing later in 2011.
As always, there are multiple metrics that various portions of the industry keep a watch on. Share is broken into such categories as manufacturers, platforms, ad requests, data consumption, and of course Apple owns most of the industry’s hardware profits for those who look at that.
Today’s news from InMobi is indicative of only that company’s own mobile ad network, but the firm called the newest data an inflection point that marked a changing of the guard for top device market,
“The Q2 2011 results show another major inflection point for mobile advertising in Europe,” InMobi’s Rob Jonas, VP of Europe and Middle East operations, wrote, according to VentureBeat. “Smart devices, driven by iPad, iPhone, and Android devices, are now defining the mobile experience for the majority of Europeans.”
The firm said that devices made by both companies topped two billion ad requests in the June quarter, but that Apple’s iPhone had a 90 million ad request lead over Nokia.
In addition to overcoming Nokia to be top device maker, Apple’s iPhone platform also ate into Android’s share lead as a platform. Apple gained 3.3 points to own 19.5% of all mobile ad requests, while Android fell five points to have a 24.9% share. The firm also noted that Research In Motion gained 6.1 points for a 15.7% share.
Perhaps most importantly (for industry watchers), total mobile ad requests spiked 21% during the quarter, as smartphones have exploded in popularity.
InMobi charts, as republished by VentureBeat
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