Verizon Wireless’s iPhone 4 helped boost ad impressions for Apple’s iOS to 31 percent through March from 27 percent in February.
iOS’ gain helped trim Google’s Android ad share lead from 51 percent to 48 percent for the same period, according to the latest mobile ad impression figures from Millennial Media. This should be no surprise; 14 of the current top 20 devices run Android.
Apple accounted for 32 percent of the top 15 manufacturers impression share in March, a 14 percent boost from February. .Apple iOS grew ad share 11 percent month-over-month, thanks to the uptick in sales for the Verizon iPhone, which accounted for 8.2 percent of iPhone impressions in March.
Overall, the iPhone saw ad impressions rise 17 percent month-over-month, underscoring how a device paired with a major carrier can rev ad impressions in a short period of time.
While Android is still the overwhelming mobile ad platform purveyor, iOS apps still dominant app revenue with 47 percent share compared to Android’s 36 percent plot.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in March that Apple iOS developers earned $3 billion from selling their programs in Apple’s iTunes App Store.
Jeff Huber, Google’s new senior vice president for local and commerce, said on the company’s first quarter earnings call April 14 that more than 3 billion applications were downloaded from Google’s Android Market since its launch in 2008.
He did not specify what percentage of those were paid apps; it’s clear Apple iOS is still the chief revenue driver for mobile apps developers.
Interestingly, Millennial said ad impressions for connected devices such as Apple’s iPad, iPod touch, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and the Motorola Xoom comprise 17 percent of device impression share, up 21 percent from February.
Connected device share should overtake feature phone ad impression share, which is 19 percent, next month. Smartphones accounted for the remaining 64 percent share for March.