Fortune - Device. Breaking the tie from last quarter, Android is now way out in front of iOS and the other smartphone vendors in terms of impressions measured by one agency.
Google's (GOOG) Android saw some strong numbers today as Millennial Media reported its advertising share makeup. As far as apps are concerned, Android carried 55% of impressions for the month. Apple's iOS was second with almost 40%. Android's impression share was less dominant but still significantly higher than the previous month's tie with iOS, below: During the previous month, iOS and Android were in a dead heat: However, Apple did still have the top device in the iPhone and two of the top three with the iPod touch scoring high numbers. It will be interesting to see how these figures change when the Verizon iPhone is thrown into the mix. More findings: · Apple ad requests grew 12% from Q3 to Q4 and since January, Apple has increased 14%. iPad requests in particular increased 280% from Q3 to Q4. Two more interesting charts: Q3 2010 - top 5 manufacters. Nokia, Samsung and LG were under pressure in Q3 as RIM and Apple entered the top five manufacturers by units shipped.
Emerging manufacturers such as Alcatel and ZTE also put pressure on more established players in the third quarter, which saw Apple enter the top five for the first time. CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood said: ‘Manufacturers such as Alcatel, Huawei and ZTE are nibbling around the edges. Who would have thought the established manufacturers would be picked off by RIM and Apple – and now Alcatel – in unit shipments?’ RIM shipped 12.1 million handsets during the second quarter ended 31 August 2010, up 45% on the same period last year.
Its Q3 revenue was $4.6bn, up 31% from $3.53bn in the same quarter of last year. Around 4.5 million subscriber accounts were added in the quarter. Its rival HTC shipped 5.8 million smartphones, making it the fifth biggest smartphone manufacturer globally. ‘LG could pick up some interesting opportunities. Nokia reported a 14% drop in profit to £563m. Apple Leads Smartphone Race, while Android Attracts Most Recent Customers. The race for the lead in U.S. smartphone operating system (OS) consumer market share is tighter than it has ever been.
According to November data from The Nielsen Company, the popularity of the Android OS among those who purchased a smartphone in the last six months (40%) makes it the leading OS among recent acquirers. But despite its surge among recent acquirers, when it comes to overall consumer market share, Android OS (25.8%) is still behind Apple iOS (28.6%). RIM Blackberry’s position is less clear: Its share (26.1%) puts it within the margin of error of both Apple iOS and Android. In other words, RIM remains statistically tied with both Apple for first and Android for third. Apple’s clear lead over Android notwithstanding, this race might still be too close to call. This much is clear, however: All three smartphone OS leaders – Apple iOS, RIM Blackberry and Android – are benefitting from strong demand for smartphones.