Mobile advertising is a booming business, and Google, armed with its $750 million purchase of AdMob, clearly wants a piece of that pie. One angle Google has been pushing late is the combination of local and mobile, whether that be through Places, Offers, Sites, and soon, Google Wallet. Jason Spero, Google’s head of mobile for the Americas sat down with us to give us a little more insight to how the search giant is looking to capitalize on advertising, local and mobile.

One of the major factors Google is looking at when it comes to developing its own mobile offerings and products is consumer behavior, says Spero. He says one in three interactions on a mobile phone has local intent, and because of this, Google is incorporating this behavior into its own mobile products for businesses. “Part of this strategy is giving users the build a mobile property that works on a phone or tablet,” explains Spero.

Included in this strategy is the mobile version of Google Sites, which the company just launched as a way for small businesses to create a simple mobile landing page for free. Via these lightweight mobile sites, users post information and even include click-to-call features. After a week of availability, over 3,500 mobile landing pages had been created by small businesses.

One interesting feature that Mobile Sites offers is the ability to actually sell products via the landing page with Google Checkout as a payments platform. Spero says that’s a reflection of the Google belief that m-commerce is going to be critical on phones. But it’s not has simple has just clicking the buy button. It’s also integrating comparison shopping on the phone, click-to-call functionality, and online search for stores. “Ultimately, the experience that a user wants on their phone is delivering all those pieces to the puzzle,” he adds.

Another way Google is investing in m-commerce, says Spero, is though its Google Wallet initiative, which will allow consumers to pay for items via an NFC chip in a phone and an NFC reader at the merchant’s checkout.

In terms of local advertising, Spero says that Google is exploring ways of using ad formats to move customers in the physical world, or via a transaction. Click-to-call ads are a particular focus for Google, and Spero says that these ads perform well on phones because the natural path for a consumer is to want to engage the phone and get more info from a merchant or service. The key in these advertisements on mobile phones is a ‘call to action’ element, which can work for a retailer, florist, insurance company and many other smaller businesses. So far, he says that over 500,000 Google customers are running click-to-call campaigns on a mobile phone. In terms of other forms of mobile advertising, Spero says that because of traffic to the web on mobile phones is exploding, display environment growth is ‘astounding.’

Of course geo-targeting is also a key component of mobile advertising, and integrating the location of a user could to improve targeting and perhaps CTRs. Spero says the demand for geo-targeted ads from advertisers on the local, regional and national level is huge, and that basically businesses in all these categories are competing. Today, Google can target advertising by state, and digital metro area, but soon the search giant wants to be able to target by city of zipcode (Google is only using a visitor’s local information if the user gives permission).

It’s clear from talking to Spero that Google wants to be a one-stop shop for businesses, both large and small, to engage with mobile. Whether that be through offers (which Spero doesn’t consider advertising), payments, mobile ads, mobile sites, mobile analytics and more, Google wants to be the go-to destination. The vision, as he explains, is for Google to be able to help these businesses manage everything, through the killer combination of local, mobile, commerce and advertising.

But quantity of products doesn’t necessarily come hand in hand with quality, and Google will have to make sure that these offering across segments not only work together, but also provide value for businesses (and consumers).

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Coke is adding life to smartphone wallpapers. The cola giant has teamed with the Google-owned AdMob for a “Live Wallpaper” — an animated homescreen background that responds to touch and phone movement. In this case, the live wallpaper is playing on a motif in Coke’s holiday ads. The brand’s annual holiday commercial features Santa in his workshop surrounded by snowglobes showing various winter cityscapes. Santa tilts the globes together to reunite couples and families.

Now, Android users who download the live wallpaper app can mimic the action in the commercial. Tilt your phone and you’ll send a man and a shopping cart on the screen careening to and fro. Shake the phone and the scene starts snowing, like a snow globe. (See demo above.)

To get the word out, Coke will promote the app via a mobile display ad campaign on the AdMob network, which Google bought earlier this year. Coke had been working with AdMob long before that, however. Showing the evolution of mobile advertising, the two excitedly announced the ability to play video over a phone — now a common feature — back in 2007. A Google rep says the app has been downloaded more than 100,000 times so far.

Greg Sterling, principal at Sterling Market Intelligence, says the exposure is a big win for Coke, though the brand will have to toe the line between making a big splash and irritating customers. “I don’t know whether Coke can ‘push’ anything to the user through the wallpaper,” says Sterling. “It would have to be careful not to do anything too aggressive or risk annoying the user.”

While aligning with Google give Coke access to Android’s roughly 17% of the smartphone market, the campaign is unlikely to be repeated on other platforms. “I’m not sure about BlackBerry, but iPhone probably wouldn’t do this homescreen takeover,” says Sterling.

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The animated live wallpaper app features a snow globe. The Google Mobile Ads Blog offers more details. “Coke’s live wallpaper takes the user into this snowglobe experience.”

“You can visit scenes from the video and tilt your phone to move the characters, just like Santa. Shaking your phone twirls the snow around, turning your Android phone into the snowglobe Santa interacts with in the holiday commercial!”

Coke said it will be promoting the wallpaper app via mobile display advertising campaign on the AdMob network.

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Continue reading: Omar Hamoui, AdMob CEO, Quits Google For Good [AdMobs CEO Decides to Call It Quits, We’ll Never Know Whether He Was Fired or Simply Left]

Comment | View latest news in Internet Highlights | Mobile/Cell Phones | TFTS Home.

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2. Apple to Disallow Google’s AdMob in iOS 4? [Updated iOS Terms May Lock Google Ads Out of the iPhone] by Jeff Baker
3. Echofon: FTC Has An Agenda Against Google [AdMob Competitor Interviewed By FTC Says US Gov Is Out To Get Google] by Kevin Schram
4. Tomorrow We’ll Know The Results Of The Google-AdMob Deal [Insiders Report That Tomorrow FTC Will Deliver Decision On Google-AdMob Deal, Other Mobile Ad Companies Not Worried] by Kevin Schram

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Continue reading: Button Sequence Bypasses Lock Screen On iPhone [Apple iPhone Lock Screen Can Be Unlocked Without Password Using Special Button Sequence]

Comment | View latest news in Mobile/Cell Phones | Portable Technology | TFTS Home.

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4. Apple to Disallow Google’s AdMob in iOS 4? [Updated iOS Terms May Lock Google Ads Out of the iPhone] by Jeff Baker

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Originally posted at Relevant Results

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Google’s Android phone may be making inroads with consumers, but if Apple is going to prevent AdMob from selling targeted ads on its devices, it hardly seems necessary for the company to continue documenting Apple’s impressive sales figures. That said, it’s still interesting to see where the two companies are shaping up in the mobile market.

AdMob serves ads for more than 23,000 mobile sites and apps. But recently Apple announced only “independent” mobile ad networks could collect data
on Apple users and target advertising on its products. Considering that AdMob was purchased by Google for $750 million, the company’s prospects on the device in the near future look rather bleak. 

Which also helps explain why AdMob might take a break from compiling this reports. Aside from the fact that AdMob is now firmly commited to Google’s ad business, creating analytic snapshots of your industry is only good if you can sell inventory across the gamut.

AdMob’s status in the mobile market explains why the company might not want to do the reports, but it also makes reading the numbers a little more interesting.

AdMob’s report shows that mobile traffic around the world has grown at least 4 times since May of 2008.But in this case, it also clearly lines up where Apple and Google are growing in mobile. Smartphones now comprise almost half of mobile ad impressions. Two
years ago they comprised 22% of total mobile ad impressions. Now
they’re up to 46 percent in May 2010. 90% of worldwide smartphone requests were generated by iOS, Android and Symbian.

24% of mobile traffic came over wifi in 2010. That’s set to explode as more people start using smartphones (and part of the reason that telecoms are no longer offering all you can eat data plans).

iPhone is going strong outside of America. The strongest growths in sales of the devices in 2010 came in Western Europe, Oceania and Asia. Meanwhile, Android is developing a base in Asia. China is the second largest market for Google’s smartphone with 13% of users. Of all Google handsets, the Android is the most popular, with 21% of users.

In a head to head comparison, iOS devices outpace Android devices two to one in America. Worldwide, the divide gets bigger, with 3.5 iOS devices to every Android phone.

Predictably, iOS also outperforms Android in the apps department. Twice as many iPhone users regularly download apps compared to Android users. Meanwhile, half of iPhone users download apps every month, compared to 21% of Android owners.

However, the amount spent on apps is pretty comparable. iPod touch users spend about $11.39 monthly on apps, versus the $8.18 spent on iPhones and $8.36 on Android phones.

iPhone users also have a slightly higher opinion of their phones. 91% would recommend their device to others, compared to 84% of Android owners.

(full-sized below)

Yes – this information is from Google. They’re basing it on information gathered from the Android Market. But considering it’s from the horse’s mouth, take it as you would take Apple’s iPhone sales numbers. As you can see above, 50% of users now use Android 2.1, with the other half mostly divided between Android 1.5 and 1.6.

Other market share studies from places like AdMob (that aren’t that old) recently showed that Android 2.1, 1.6 and 1.5 all shared a third of Android users. Is Android 2.1 rapidly gaining market share? Remember that the Motorola Droid – the most popular Android device in the US – was recently given Android 2.1, so that could account for the big migration towards Android 2.1.

Google themselves seemed concerned about fragmentation, as they’ve limited new Android updates to once a year. Andy Rubin, Android chief, said that Android 2.2 “Froyo” would be the version that ended fragmentation – but that stands to be a tall order as Android 2.x contains some hardware intensive features (like those pesky live wallpapers).

Is Android Fragmentation a problem? We’ll let you debate that in blog comments and message boards across the net – but if Google is to be believed, the Android userbase seems to be adapting to Android 2.1, right on schedule.

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1. Android, BlackBerry OS See Growth, iPhone OS Is Stagnant [Latest ComScore Market Share Report Shows RIM, Google Gain, Apple Even, Microsoft Loses]
2. iPhone OS Market Share Much Bigger Than Android Still [Analysts Claim iPhone OS' Smartphone Market Share Is Over Three Times That Of Android's]
3. Helpful Chart Guides You Through Android Fragmentation [New Chart Displays Android Phones And What Version Of The OS They're Running]
4. Android Market Has 30,000 Apps [Android Apps Market Seeing Tons of Growth, Outnumbered by iTunes Five To One]
5. Android Takes Second Place from iPhone in US Market [Google's Android Kicks iPhone OS from Number 2 Spot and Takes Over in US Market Share]

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“Most iPhone developers understand the importance of App Store rank in driving organic app installs,” says AdMob’s Vicky H. “High position in the App Store means that users will be able to discover your app while browsing top apps either in category or in the store overall. This discoverability is the best way to grow a user base for your app quickly.”

Vicky talks about Fluent Mobile, the developer of the Fluent News Reader app, which partnered with AdMob on a marketing strategy, which kept them in the Top 10 of the free News category for over 8 months.

If you are a mobile app developer, you might want to check the post out and learn more about it.

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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is reported by the Wall Street Journal to start an Apple investigation in order to see whether the Cupertino-based company is harming competition with its recent business practices and policies in the mobile environment.

As you already know on top of the fact that Apple has closed its iOS doors to Adobe’s Flash, the company has also made sure that its mobile platform will no longer support mobile ads coming from AdMob which is owned by archenemy Google. We talked about that new section 3.3.9 before but it looks like we’re not the only ones to focus on it.

The FTC was busy hunting down Google for their recent AdMob acquisition and the Commission is certainly used to thorough investigations. And this whole Apple thing will probably turn into a very long and very debated investigation. Apple will certainly have enough people to support its claims and actions in the mobile business but many of its competitors will probably find ways to voice their issues with Steve Jobs’ ways of doing business when it comes to mobile devices.

And, ironically, it’s Apple that helped the FTC decide to let Google proceed with its AdMob purchase earlier this year, but now that Cupertino is under the same FTC scrutiny I doubt Google will come to the rescue.

Whether we like it or not, Apple is turning into a bigger and bigger player in the mobile business and the FTC’s upcoming conclusions on Apple’s recent decisions might have a deep impact on the future of Apple’s iPhone-related business.

What do you say, consumers? Are you for or against Apple?

Looking to get up to speed concerning the iPhone 4? See iPhone 4 – All You Need to Know about the Next Gen Apple iPhone.

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3. Apple iAd Mobile Advertising Platform Unveiled at iPhone OS 4.0 Event [Apple Ready to Take on Google in the Mobile Advertising Business as Steve Jobs Unveils iAd details]
4. Adobe: Apple Blocking Flash For Corporate Gain [Adobe Product Manager Claims iPhone, iPad Are Without Flash Because Flash Apps Could Replace Paid Apps]
5. New iPhone Browser Maker, Opera, Chooses Apple Over Adobe? [Opera Says It Has to Support Flash But Seems to Share Steve Jobs’ Thoughts on Flash]

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Earlier this week, Steve Jobs estimated that Apple’s iAd network would handle 48% of all mobile advertising in the second half of 2010. That number may seem high, but it looks like Jobs is pulling out all the stops to make sure that developers choose iAd.

Today the company unveiled new terms of service that would prohibit competitors like Google from delivering ads on its mobile products. This is an anti-competitive slippery slope that could get Apple into trouble pretty quickly.

Apple’s new terms of service indicate that only “independent” mobile ad networks will be permitted to collect data
on Apple users and use it target advertising on its products.

AdMob, of course, is not pleased. The company’s CEO, Omar Hamoui writes on the AdMob
blog:

“This change threatens to decrease – or even eliminate – revenue that
helps to support tens of thousands of developers. The terms hurt both
large and small developers by severely limiting their choice of how best
to make money. And because advertising funds a huge number of free and
low cost apps, these terms are bad for consumers as well.”

I wrote earlier this week that AdMob’s CEO had criticisms of Apple’s mobile advertising boasts. Hamoui today is emphasizing the negative impact that a single ad purveyor could have on the mobile ad market. He writes:

“Let’s be clear. This change is not in the best interests of users or
developers. In the history of tehnology 
and innovation, it’s clear that competition delivers the best outcome.
Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the
long run, stall technological progress.”

AdMob is going to speak to Apple about this latest change. Clearly, it’s bad for AdMob’s mobile ad business. But it’s also ironic that Apple is working to limit its mobile competition with AdMob considering that Google is the company that got stuck in an
anti-trust investigation for the first half of the year after purchasing AdMob.

Just a few days ago Apple updated their iOS 4 Terms and Conditions that effectively locked their main competitor, AdMob, from display advertisements and collecting user data on the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch altogether. Not longer after, AdMob responded and expressed their displease with the new Terms and Conditions stating that Apple is taking direct shots not only at AdMob but also at their parent company, Google.

When Apple first released these updated terms, many criticized them for taking away competition and making it so that mobile app developers could pretty much only use iAd for advertisements. However, there wasn’t much talk over whether or not Apple was breaking the law with their news Terms and Conditions. However, it seems that they may be.

Recent reports have surfaced over at the Financial Times that US regulators are planning to investigate Apple’s new iAd advertising platform with talks of an antitrust matter becoming rampant. The reason for this being (as stated above) the fact that the new Terms and Conditions featured in iOS 4 had locked Google out of their App Store and entire iOS platform in general.

If you’ll remember, this isn’t the first time rumors of Apple having trouble with the FTC have surfaced as back in May, Apple came under fire when they made it so that you could only use a specific programming language to make iPhone apps. Additionally, you should also remember that Google was under fire when they were first going to purchase AdMob. It wasn’t until Apple announced their acquisation of competing wireless ad network Quattro Wireless that the FTC gave Google the go ahead to purchase AdMob.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m very skeptical over this whole thing. If Apple is really doing what all of these rumors are saying and is intentionally shutting out the competition (Google) then the FTC definitely needs to step in and check things out.

Looking to get up to speed concerning the iPhone 4? See iPhone 4 – All You Need to Know about the Next Gen Apple iPhone.

Related Reading on TFTS:

1. AdMob Responds to Apple; Not Happy with iOS4 Terms & Conditions [AdMob Says He’s Thinking About Consumers, We Partly Disagree]
2. Apple to Disallow Google’s AdMob in iOS 4? [Updated iOS Terms May Lock Google Ads Out of the iPhone]
3. Apple Could Be Targeted By Antitrust Suit [US Federal Trade Commission Investing Apple Regarding The Programming Language Controversy]
4. WWDC 2010: iPhone 4 Getting Renamed to iOS4 [iPhone OS 4 Is Now iOS4, Offers Unified E-Mail And Multitasking]
5. WWDC 2010: iPhone 4 with iOS4 Comes with Bing Support; We Told You So! [Apple Not Ditching Google Search Yet, but Ready for an Affair with Microsoft’s Bing]

Not reading this in a feedreader? If so this has been taken from the original post as seen here: WWDC 2010: iPhone 4 with iOS4 Comes with Bing Support; We Told You So! [Apple Not Ditching Google Search Yet, but Ready for an Affair with Microsoft’s Bing].

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In case you didn’t know: AdMob was recently acquired by Google, and so Hamoui isn’t an impartial observer in this matter.  But he wrote, “Apple proposed new developer terms on Monday that, if enforced as written, would prohibit app developers from using AdMob and Google’s advertising solutions on the iPhone.”

Hamoui then continued, “This change threatens to decrease – or even eliminate – revenue that helps to support tens of thousands of developers.  The terms hurt both large and small developers by severely limiting their choice of how best to make money.  And because advertising funds a huge number of free and low cost apps, these terms are bad for consumers as well.”

This situation will be worth keeping an eye on, since the government is thought to be investigating Apple’s potentially anticompetitive stance.

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Originally posted at Relevant Results

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AdMob’s CEO went on to reply to Apple’s iOS new terms and conditions saying basically that these new rules and regulations are going to hurt developers and consumers. I guess he failed to also add that the change is going to hurt AdMob on the long run as the iOS platform will remain closed to Google.

Section 3.3.9 of the new terms and conditions agreement basically says that Google will never be able to offer ads on Apple’s mobile platform despite the recent AdMob acquisition.

Omar Hamoui, founder and CEO of AdMob took the time to answer Apple on the company’s official blog. Here’s a very relevant excerpt:

Apple proposed new developer terms on Monday that, if enforced as written, would prohibit app developers from using AdMob and Google’s advertising solutions on the iPhone. These advertising related terms both target companies with competitive mobile technologies (such as Google), as well as any company whose primary business is not serving mobile ads. This change threatens to decrease – or even eliminate – revenue that helps to support tens of thousands of developers. The terms hurt both large and small developers by severely limiting their choice of how best to make money. And because advertising funds a huge number of free and low cost apps, these terms are bad for consumers as well.

Let’s be clear. This change is not in the best interests of users or developers. In the history of technology and innovation, it’s clear that competition delivers the best outcome. Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress.
We tend to agree with him as we’re witnessing Apple impose, yet again, weird rules and regulations. Section 3.3.9 will probably apply only to Google, won’t it?

On the other hand we can also understand where Apple is coming from given that the company doesn’t want to see Google, its main rival in the smartphone business right now, make money off the iPhone and the iPad while also building a more and more robust Android platform.

Let’s hear it from developers and consumers! Do you think Apple’s new rule regarding mobile advertising will have a huge impact on your business? Do you expect less free apps out there?

Looking to get up to speed concerning the iPhone 4? See iPhone 4 – All You Need to Know about the Next Gen Apple iPhone.

Related Reading on TFTS:

1. Apple to Disallow Google’s AdMob in iOS 4? [Updated iOS Terms May Lock Google Ads Out of the iPhone]
2. AdMob-Google Sale To Be Blocked [Insiders Say That US FTC Will Recommend Government Antitrust Suit Against Google-AdMob Deal]
3. iOS4 Coming To All June 24th [iOS4 Gets Pegged With a June 24th Official Release Date]
4. WWDC 2010: iPhone 4 Getting Renamed to iOS4 [iPhone OS 4 Is Now iOS4, Offers Unified E-Mail And Multitasking]
5. WWDC 2010: iPhone 4 with iOS4 Comes with Bing Support; We Told You So! [Apple Not Ditching Google Search Yet, but Ready for an Affair with Microsoft’s Bing]

Not reading this in a feedreader? If so this has been taken from the original post as seen here: WWDC 2010: iPhone 4 with iOS4 Comes with Bing Support; We Told You So! [Apple Not Ditching Google Search Yet, but Ready for an Affair with Microsoft’s Bing].

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If you’re not familiar with iAd, it’s essentially an advertising network that allows iPhone app developers to monetize their mobile applications even easier than before. Apple is touting the service as one of the best advertisement networks out there as it will let consumers view interactive advertisements, something that hasn’t effectively been done ever before.

Despite launching their own ad service, Apple has said in the past that they would continue to allow other ad networks to co-exist making for some healthy (and much needed) competition. However, reports are surfacing that say Apple may have a hidden agenda, one that will effectively lock out Google from their iPhone ecosystem.

These reports focus on the recently released iOS 4 terms which give us a bit of insight into Apple’s future plans in terms of advertising on their mobile platforms. More importantly, on the below section:

3.3.9 You and Your Applications may not collect, use, or disclose to any third party, user or device data without prior user consent, and then only under the following conditions:

- The collection, use or disclosure is necessary in order to provide a service or function that is directly relevant to the use of the Application. For example, without Apple’s prior written consent, You may not use third party analytics software in Your Application to collect and send device data to a third party for aggregation, processing, or analysis.

- The collection, use or disclosure is for the purpose of serving advertising to Your Application; is provided to an independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads (for example, an advertising service provider owned by or affiliated with a developer or distributor of mobile devices, mobile operating systems or development environments other than Apple would not qualify as independent); and the disclosure is limited to UDID, user location data, and other data specifically designated by Apple as available for advertising purposes.

Upon reading through it you’ll notice that says Apple will only allow data collection for independent ad providers, ones that are not affiliated or owned with a developer of mobile operating systems, devices or development environments. Considering Google is a provider of all of the above and also the owner of the premiere online ad network, this leads one ot believe that Apple is setting their sights directly on Google.

If this is the case, it’s most likely a shot at Google for directly competition against Apple in the mobile industry with their Android mobile operating system and their own handset, the Nexus One.

Related Reading on TFTS:

1. AdMob-Google Sale To Be Blocked [Insiders Say That US FTC Will Recommend Government Antitrust Suit Against Google-AdMob Deal]
2. Google Rumored to be Paying $100 Million to Apple for Google Search on the iPhone [Will Apple Ditch Google Search in Favor of Its Own Search Engine?]
3. Tomorrow We’ll Know The Results Of The Google-AdMob Deal [Insiders Report That Tomorrow FTC Will Deliver Decision On Google-AdMob Deal, Other Mobile Ad Companies Not Worried]
4. Google News Mobile Updated, More Akin To Google News Desktop [Google News for iPhone, Android & Palm Pre Revamped, Available in 70 Editions]
5. Google Earth iPhone App Updated [Updated Google Earth App Offers Custom Maps, Improved Performance, Enhanced Multi-Language Support]

Not reading this in a feedreader? If so this has been taken from the original post as seen here: Google Earth iPhone App Updated [Updated Google Earth App Offers Custom Maps, Improved Performance, Enhanced Multi-Language Support].

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According to the Nielsen report, Android is currently at a 9% market share where as the iPhone OS (newly renamed to iOS) is at 28% market share. RIM is leading the pack with its BlackBerry OS with a 35% market share. Sitting in between Android and iPhone OS is Microsoft Windows Mobile at 19%. However, there have been previous reports that the Android has overtaken the iPhone OS. So there’s a bit of confusion regarding exactly how things stand right now.

Related Reading on TFTS:

1. Android Takes Second Place from iPhone in US Market [Google's Android Kicks iPhone OS from Number 2 Spot and Takes Over in US Market Share]
2. Android, BlackBerry OS See Growth, iPhone OS Is Stagnant [Latest ComScore Market Share Report Shows RIM, Google Gain, Apple Even, Microsoft Loses]
3. iPhone and Android Dominate Smartphone Market (according to web traffic) [Web Ad Firm AdMob Finds Most Smartphone Web Surfers Surf on iPhone or Android]
4. Almost 10k Android Apps Added In March [Android Market Continues To Grow, Android vs iPhone Gets More Interesting All The Time]
5. Digg iPhone & Android Apps Now Available to Download [App Store & Android Market to Offer Free Digg Applications to iPhone & Android Users; Did You Digg Us Today?]

Not reading this in a feedreader? If so this has been taken from the original post as seen here: Digg iPhone & Android Apps Now Available to Download [App Store & Android Market to Offer Free Digg Applications to iPhone & Android Users; Did You Digg Us Today?].

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Originally posted at Relevant Results

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"We are extremely pleased with today’s decision from the Federal Trade Commission to clear Google’s acquisition of AdMob, said Omar Hamoui, AdMob Founder and CEO.
 
"Over the past six months we’ve received a great deal of support from across the mobile industry – and we deeply appreciate it. Our focus is now on working with the team at Google team to quickly close the deal."

The FTC said the deal raised serious antitrust issues, but its concerns were over shadowed by Apple’s plan to launch its own competing mobile ad network. The FTC went on to say a number of firms appear to be developing or acquiring smartphone platforms to better compete against Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android, and these firms would have a strong incentive to drive competition among mobile advertising networks.

"As a result of Apple’s entry (into the market), AdMob’s success to date on the iPhone platform is unlikely to be an accurate predictor of AdMob’s competitive significance going forward, whether AdMob is owned by Google or not," the Commission’s statement explains.
 

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Related posts on TFTS:

1. AdMob: Android Passes iPhone In Mobile Web Traffic [AdMob Reports That Android Makes Up 46% Of Mobile Web Traffic, Passing iPhone OS, Motorola Droid Still Most Popular]
2. iPhone and Android Dominate Smartphone Market (according to web traffic) [Web Ad Firm AdMob Finds Most Smartphone Web Surfers Surf on iPhone or Android]
3. Apple Alleges HTC Infringed 20 iPhone Patents but Takes a Hit at Google? [HTC Gets Sued for Alleged iPhone Infringement; Android vs iPhone Battle Gets Underway]
4. iPhone LTE in the Making According to Apple Job Post [Apple Hiring for Future iPhone 4G; iPhone 5G to Actually be the First 4G-enabled iPhone?]
5. Apple iPhone vs Google Nexus One: iPhone Wins First Round [Or Why Shouldn’t You Buy a Nexus One Android Smartphone Now]
6. RIM Makes the Top 5 Worldwide Phone Sellers & Apple Becomes First U.S. Handset Manufacturer [RIM Becomes Fourth Phone Maker in the World While Apple Becomes Biggest U.S. Cellphone Maker; Both Beat Motorola]

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(more…)

Related posts on TFTS:

1. Android, BlackBerry OS See Growth, iPhone OS Is Stagnant [Latest ComScore Market Share Report Shows RIM, Google Gain, Apple Even, Microsoft Loses]
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Google’s overwhelming dominance in search is proving to be a hindrance in other areas of its business. Like mobile, where the search giant’s $750 million purchase of AdMob is rumored to get blocked by the Federal Trade Commission sometime this week.

Despite the fact that Google has not proven itself to dominate in any sector other than search, the company’s reputation seems to precede its success in mobile. But blocking the Google-AdMob deal would be preemptive regulation at its worst. The mobile ad market is still anyone’s game.

Google put a fire under the fledgling mobile ad industry with its AdMob purchase last year. Since then, Apple spent $275 million to purchase Quatro Wireless. And that landgrab was considered a counterpoint to Google’s supposed mobile dominance as recently as last week. 

But now it looks like the FTC is having none of Google and AdMob. According to AllThingsD:

“The federal government is looking for a way to discipline Google in
some way, because of larger concerns about its search power on the
Web,” said one source. “And this is where it looks like it will try to
show that concern.”

But that makes no sense. The mobile ad market is estimated to be worth under $1 billion this year. Together, Google and Apple spent more on their acquisitions than the entire mobile ad market is worth right now. Why? Because mobile is set to explode. And it could grow in any number of directions.

Meanwhile, in the months that Google’s mobile ad deal has been poured over by regulators, Apple has debuted the proprietary ad network iAd, where minimum annual ad buys are estimated to be in the ballpark of $1 million.

Considering the options available to mobile advertisers right now — from geolocation to interactive and banner advertising — the mobiel ad market is definitely still up for grabs.

AdMob may be the frontrunner in the mobile ad game, but there is no proof that together with Google it will dominate or — more importantly — prevent other businesses from thriving in the mobile market. Crippling Google’s mobile acquisition because the company has a track record in search is simply misplaced aggression. And what for? Cutting Google out of mobile is just likely to give Apple more room to takeover in mobile. That hardly sounds like a solution to prevent a mobile ad monopoly.

Image: IntoMobile

In addition to the million plus devices sold, users have also downloaded over 12 million apps from the App Store and over 1.5 million eBooks.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement: "One million iPads in 28 days–that’s less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with the iPhone. Demand continues to exceed supply and we’re working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more customers."

Clearly the success of the iPhone played a huge role in the demand for the iPad. Competition for the device is just around the corner though, and it will be interesting to see how the demand keeps up as devices from others penetrate the market.

Google, which is widely being considered among Apples’ chief competitors at this point, is making move after move to position itself as a prime rival. Some of the acquisitions from the company that are likely to contribute to this include: Agnilux, LabPixies, Plink, and most recently 3D desktop maker BumpTop. Apple is making its own acquisitions as well. A couple recent ones include: Siri and Intrinsity.

Apple of course launched its iAds product recently, based on its acquisition of Quattro Wireless, after losing out to Google on AdMob. Google’s AdMob acquisition is not looking good however, as reports suggest the FTC may reject it.

Apple’s announcement says that developers have created over 5,000 new apps for the iPad, which take advantage of the device’s multi-touch user interface, large screen, and graphics, though the device will of course run other App Store apps.

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6. 100,000 Motorola Droid Smartphones Sold in First Weekend [Motorola to Sell 1 Million Android Handsets in Q4 2009?]

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AdMob released its monthly Mobile Metrics report today, which finds that Android and iPhone users download a similar number of apps every month and spend a similar amount of time using the apps. However, while Only 21% of Android users purchase at least 1 paid app per month, 50% of iPhone users do, 35% of iPod touch users, and 24% of webOS users. In other words, if you want to reach Android users through an app, you may have better luck if that app is free.

According to the report, iPod touch users download an average of 12 apps a month, 37% more apps than iPhone and Android users. iPod touch users also spent 100 minutes a day using apps, 25% more time than iPhone and Android users.

73% of Android users are male, compared to 58% of webOS users, 57% of iPhone users and 54% iPod touch users. The iPhone, iPod touch and webOS have similar gender distributions, with just over half of the users on all devices being male.

In addition, iPod touch users skew considerably younger relative to other platforms and devices, according to AdMob. Based on the company’s survey, 78% of iPod touch users are below the age of 25, compared to 25% of iPhone users and 24% of Android and webOS users.

The iPad will be out before long, and that means users will have access to apps that iPhone users and iPod Touch users do. 16% of iPhone users said they intend to purchase an iPad, compared to 11% of webOS users and only 6% of Android users. Of course, Google is working on its own new devices that would more directly compete with the iPad.

AdMob finds that 91% of iPhone users and 88% of iPod touch users would recommend their device, compared to 84% of Android users and 69% of webOS users. webOS users are 3.4x more likely to not recommend their device relative to iPhone OS users.
 
Which platform do you use? Would you recommend it? Tell us.

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs presents the new Apple iPad.

When in 2007 Apple launched the iPhone not only reinvented the phone but it also introduced a revolutionary user experience that has changed definitively the way to browse the Web with a mobile device then before.
In that same period, I remember browsing the Web with a Nokia or Windows Mobile phone was an arduous undertaking: webpages was unreadable on small screens on portable devices, slow to render in mobile browsers and all available options that allowed users to fit pages to screen (for increasing readability) was ridiculously worse than the problem they was trying to fix.

With the iPhone, Apple has changed the rules of use and enjoyment of online contents with smartphones by creating an user experience that allows users to see everything at a size that’s readable and has forced its competitors to a rapid run-up to copy that model. The big success of the iPhone has also imposed, for the first time, to internet companies, online newspapers and bloggers to pay a big attention to mobile version of their websites: according to AdMob December 2009 Mobile Metrics report, iPhone OS dominates the market of smartphones generated traffic with a share of 51%.

This scenario led to a change of perspective in designing websites for mobile phones: it is not the devices that needs to adapt to the page layout, but is the page structure that needs to be designed for the specific device. The large diffusion of websites optimized for iPhone is the most concrete example of this trend characterized by one-column layout, simpler navigation bars with biggest tabs and links that perfectly fit with the iPhone’s touch interface (read also this post: Best Practices To Develop Perfect Websites for iPhone and Mobile Devices).

What could happen in the next months with the launch of iPad? Without doubt, the large screen lets users browse standard web pages in a easier way than on iPhone, so there will not be particular problems to see every website. That will change is probably the way to interact with web pages by exploiting the potential of multi-touch interface as has already happened for iPhone and iPod Touch games (take a look at Gameloft N.O.V.A. presentation on iPad during the Apple Keynote) and this will significantly influence and innovate the structure of web pages and their features.

And what about the lack of Flash on the iPad (link on iPhone and iPod Touch)? I think the Apple’s choice drastically limits the access to many websites but it could be, hopefully, a big opportunity to accelerate the slow process to switch to the HTML 5.

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In a note released this morning, Doug Anmuth indicated that Google might sell 5 or 6 million units in 2010, generating incremental revenue of between $2.6 billion and $3.2 billion.  Which would appear to make for a pretty great debut; it should go without saying that tons of companies would kill for those numbers.

Indeed, to put the data into perspective, John Paczkowski pointed out, "Motorola’s (MOT) 2010 global smartphone shipments are expected to be somewhere around 13 million units."  Also, 6 million Nexus Ones sold in a year works out to about 16,400 finding new homes every day.

Still, to look at even bigger picture, Barclays predicted in September that at least 7 million iPhones will sell in just the first quarter of 2010.  Plus there’s little hope that Google will make much of a profit off the Nexus One, however many units it sells.

At least it’ll be an interesting story to watch.  Google’s already gone in an unusual direction by promoting the Nexus One on its typically-spartan homepage.

Related Articles:

> Google Unveils Nexus One "Super Phone"

> AdMob Determines Android Is Growing Faster Than Ever

> Google Phone Excitement Builds Ahead Of Jan. 5 Event

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Google made huge waves in the mobile industry when it acquired mobile ad network AdMob for $750 million. Now Apple, which is increasingly in direct competition with Google, has countered its new rival.

According to All Things Digital, Apple has entered into an agreement to acquire Quattro Wireless, a mobile ad platform similar to AdMob but smaller in scale. The announcement may come as soon as tomorrow.

We can’t say we’re surprised by the move: our sources have told us that Apple was in the running for AdMob, but Google snatched it away with a higher bid. Apple couldn’t allow its rival to the sole possessor of mobile ad technology, and thus acquiring a smaller but growing mobile advertising network was the next logical move. We’ll bring you more details as we learn more.

Tags: acquisition, apple, business, Mobile 2.0, Quattro Wireless, social media, trending

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Originally posted at Relevant Results

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In a joint letter to the FTC, Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) said Google is simply buying its way to dominance in the mobile advertising market, reducing competition to the detriment of consumers.

"The mobile sector is the next frontier of the digital revolution. Without vigorous competition and strong privacy guarantees this vital and growing segment of the online economy will be stifled," wrote John M. Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog and CDD Executive Director Jeffery A. Chester.

"Consumers will face higher prices, less innovation and fewer choices. The FTC should conduct the appropriate investigation, block the proposed Google/AdMob deal, and also address the privacy issues."

Last week Google said the FTC had made a second request for additional information about the deal, a signal the commission is closely examining the proposal.

In addition to the anti-trust issues, the letter from the two non-partisan, non-profit groups, said a combined Google/AdMob raises privacy concerns. Both AdMob and Google gather large amounts of data about consumers’ online behavior, including their location.

"Permitting the expansion of mobile advertising through the combination of these two market leaders without requiring privacy guarantees poses a serious threat to consumers," the letter said.

Related Articles:

> Google Provides An Update On The AdMob Acquistion

> Mobile Advertising Guidelines Get An Update

> Best Buy Now Installing Google Mobile Apps On Smartphones

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Is Google simply buying its way into the mobile advertising market via its $750 million acquisition of AdMob? That’s what two consumer groups allege in a letter sent to the FTC today, as the organization continues to review the deal.

Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) write: “Consumers will face higher prices, less innovation and fewer choices. The FTC should conduct the appropriate investigation, block the proposed Google/AdMob deal, and also address the privacy issues.”

The groups are concerned both about what they perceive as ongoing anti-competitive behavior from Google, as well as the vast amount of data that the AdMob deal makes them privy to. As an example, they write, “Data about competing smartphone users and applications, gathered through the Google/AdMob advertising network, could give Google information about its competitors that would be advantageous in marketing its new smartphone [Nexus One], as well models using its Android operating system.”

It’s no secret that data is at the heart of what Google does, and where it’s going. Look no further than two recently announced early stage projects — Google Public DNS and SPDY (a potential alternative to HTTP) — to see how far these ambitions reach.

Is Google’s plan then to capitalize on all of that data to both serve better ads and design better products (ala mobile)? It would seem so. Is that anti-competitive or just good business? I lean towards the latter for now, but how the FTC handles the AdMob deal could be a good barometer of how Google’s able to extend its reach in the future within the limits of regulators.

Read the full letter below:

Ltr Ftc Final

Tags: admob, android, Google, Mobile 2.0

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When Google formally announced their plans to acquire mobile ad network AdMob for $750 million, they didn’t expect any regulatory interference to impede upon the processing of the deal. Unfortunately they were wrong.

Today Google has released a statement on their Public Policy Blog admitting that they’ve been in ongoing talks with the FTC for weeks. This week the FTC even went so far as to make a “second request” for more detailed information on the deal.

The bottom line is that deal isn’t done, nor is it a sure thing, though Google still anticipates it to be completed eventually.

Google writes:

“This week we received what’s called a “second request,” which means that the FTC is asking for more information so that they can continue to review the deal.

While this means we won’t be closing right away, we’re confident that the FTC will conclude that the rapidly growing mobile advertising space will remain highly competitive after this deal closes. And we’ll be working closely and cooperatively with them as they continue their review.”

Tags: admob, FTC, Google

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Originally posted at Relevant Results

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Two separate reports – one from AdMob, the other from Impress – show that Apple’s iPhone is not only huge at home in the US, it’s also conquering foreign markets, especially Japan.

The AdMob Mobile Metrics report for November 2009 highlights the international growth of iPhone and iPod touch users, showing huge percentage jumps in Japan, France, Australia, China, and other countries since the beginning of the year. Of course, most iPhone and iPod Touch users – 50% of them – are still located in the US, but Apple’s mobile devices are growing much faster internationally.

This is especially true in Japan. Impress’ numbers show that iPhone now holds 46.1 percent of the smartphone market in Japan; an enormous number considering that once upon a time, iPhone sales were rather slow in that country. As for the competition, Sharp’s still doing well with their W-ZERO3, but the way things are going, the iPhone and the iPod Touch will soon get lonely at the top of the Japanese smartphone food chain.

Check out the entire report from AdMob here, and a translated report from Impress here.

Tags: apple, iphone, japan

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According to data from AdMob, a mobile advertising company, 75% of mobile phone web surfing was done from a iPhone or Android, with the remaining 25% coming from BlackBerry, Window Mobile and Palm users. 50% of the mobile web surfing done worldwide is done, on an Apple iPhone.

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Read the rest of iPhone and Android Dominate Smartphone Market (according to web traffic) [Web Ad Firm AdMob Finds Most Smartphone Web Surfers Surf on iPhone or Android]

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Mobile advertising company AdMob (which was just acquired by Google) has just released its mobile metrics report for October 2009. Although mobile usage as a whole is up, both RIM — maker of the BlackBerry — and the Android platform have seen particularly solid increases in the last six months.

Although the Android-based Droid from Motorola hit the market in November, and thus wasn’t included in this month’s report, AdMob reports that already the Droid represents 24% of all Android requests worldwide. I guess 250,000 new device owners has an impact!

Android Gains

AdMob says that since April, they’ve seen requests from Android devices increase 5.8 times. Additionally, Android now represents 20% of the smartphone market in the US. Two of the new Motorola phones, the Motorola Cliq on T-Mobile and the Motorola Droid on Verizon have shown lots of growth. As mentioned, the Droid accounted for 24% of all Android requests in the AdMob network as of November 18.

iPhone Still King

Android’s gains are impressive, but the iPhone still leads AdMob’s smartphone request figures in the United States and worldwide. AdMob estimates that smartphone traffic share is at 44% of all traffic and that Apple represents 50% of those requests.

The iPhone is without a doubt the single most popular smartphone, but the fact that the OS is limited to two devices (if you count the iPod touch) will always put a limit on its potential growth.

Tags: admob, android, droid, iphone, mobile analytics, smartphones

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Video ads on the iPhone are about to get a lot more like video ads on the Web: highly interactive and hard to just skip over. AdMob, the company that Google just announced it was buying for $750 million, has launched an interactive video format for ads running on the Apple device.

Much like some of the more complex campaigns you now see on sites like YouTube and MySpace, the ads let users watch video and perform a number of actions, like view additional videos, learn more about the ad, or respond directly, like by buying an app.

The ads load before an app starts. In the example provided by AdMob, the game Tap Tap Revenge is preceded by an ad for Madden ’10 by Electronic Arts. According to the company, the ads are optimized based on your connection, so you’ll likely get a higher quality streaming ad if you’re on 3G as opposed to EDGE.

Overall, it’s certainly not the least invasive ad format we’ve seen, though it follows trends we’re seeing on the Web with ads becoming bigger and harder to avoid. On the other hand, at least they’re adding interactive components that make the ads more engaging than a straight up commercial.

Tags: admob, advertising, Google, iphone, Mobile 2.0

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"For the first time, mobile video is truly interactive as we’ve included customizable in-player action buttons enabling consumers to engage with Web content and more video content without leaving the video player," says AdMob VP Product Ali Diab. The in-player action buttons enable users to browse web sites, view additional videos, etc. while the video is playing.

As AdWords Senior Product Specialist Frederick Vallaeys discussed in a recent interview with WebProNews, you can expect to see a lot of new interesting mobile advertising trends in the coming year or so, particularly as a result from Google’s acquisition of AdMob.

Other iPhone units offered by AdMob include Multi-Panel Banner, Scrolling Canvas, and Search. The company says the new video ad unit will be sold primarily as an interstitial that will automatically play as an application loads.

"AdMob’s new Interactive Video Ad Unit brings together consumers’ love of watching videos on their mobile device with advertisers’ goal of providing an interactive, social experience for consumers," said AdMob CEO Omar Hamoui. "We are excited to create new ways for advertisers to engage with consumers on their mobile devices and for the developers behind the most popular and engaging iPhone applications to effectively monetize."

The first ads will begin running this week in select (but unnamed) applications across AdMob’s iPhone ad network. This network has reached over 20 million iPhones and iPod Touch devices around the world this year so far. A video demonstrating the new video ad unit can be viewed here.

Related Articles:

> Google Buys Mobile Ad Firm For $750 Million In Stock

> Usage of Mobile Web and Apps Doubles in 2 Years

> That’s a Lot of Mobile Advertising!

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"For the first time, mobile video is truly interactive as we’ve included customizable in-player action buttons enabling consumers to engage with Web content and more video content without leaving the video player," says AdMob VP Product Ali Diab. The in-player action buttons enable users to browse web sites, view additional videos, etc. while the video is playing.

Other iPhone units offered by AdMob include Multi-Panel Banner, Scrolling Canvas, and Search. The company says the new video ad unit will be sold primarily as an interstitial that will automatically play as an application loads.

"AdMob’s new Interactive Video Ad Unit brings together consumers’ love of watching videos on their mobile device with advertisers’ goal of providing an interactive, social experience for consumers," said AdMob CEO Omar Hamoui. "We are excited to create new ways for advertisers to engage with consumers on their mobile devices and for the developers behind the most popular and engaging iPhone applications to effectively monetize."

The first ads will begin running this week in select (but unnamed) applications across AdMob’s iPhone ad network. This network has reached over 20 million iPhones and iPod Touch devices around the world this year so far. A video demonstrating the new video ad unit can be viewed here.

Related Articles:

> Google Buys Mobile Ad Firm For $750 Million In Stock

> Usage of Mobile Web and Apps Doubles in 2 Years

> That’s a Lot of Mobile Advertising!

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"While we don’t have any specific features to announce right now, Gizmo5′s engineers will be joining the Google Voice team to continue improving the Google Voice and Gizmo5 experience," Google says. "Current Gizmo5 users will still be able to use the service, though we will be suspending new signups for the time being, and existing users will no longer be able to sign up for a call-in number."

"We’ve acquired a number of small companies over the past five years, and the people and technology that have come to Google from other places have contributed in many ways, large and small, to all kinds of Google products," the company adds. "Since the GrandCentral team joined Google in 2007, they’ve done incredible things with Google’s technology and resources to launch and improve Google Voice."

In a previous report, Doug Caverly of WebProNews noted that Gizmo5 is a good fit for Google. For one, Gizmo5 is free, and Google offers a great deal of free services as it is. It is also available in nine languages, and Google is frequently expanding its reach in this regard with most of its products.

A couple weeks ago Google announced that Google Voice users can now use their own existing mobile numbers. They no longer have to have a separate Google number. This should be a great way to attract new users. However, at this point, Google Voice is still only available on an invitation basis.
 

Related Articles:

> Report Indicates Google Bought Gizmo5

> You Don’t Need a Google Number to Use Google Voice

> AT&T Goes On The Offensive Against Google Voice

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Merger Monday is back in the tech space. Just hours after Electronic Arts announced it was buying social gaming outfit Playfish for up to $400 million, Google has announced that it’s buying mobile ad network AdMob for $750 million in stock.

In a statement, Google’s Susan Wojcicki, Vice President of Product Management, says, “Mobile advertising has enormous potential as a marketing medium and while this industry is still in the early stages of development, AdMob has already made exceptional progress in a very short time. AdMob is the quintessential Silicon Valley startup — generating impressive year on year revenue growth — and we’re excited to welcome this talented team to Google.”

Since its inception, AdMob has served more than 125 billion mobile ads (according to the counter on its homepage) across a variety of platforms including iPhone and Android. Clearly, this is a space that’s red hot right now, and while Google already has launched a number of products into it, this deal greatly accelerates the effort.

Google attempts to illustrate the synergies on a website it has setup specifically about the deal, as well as in the image below:

While one of the biggest deals we’ve seen come out of the Web space in some time, it’s not completely unexpected. When Google reported earnings last month, we noted that the company now has $22 billion in cash, and CEO Eric Schmidt said his company feels “confident about investing heavily in our future.” That’s certainly the case here, as Google has just made a very big bet on mobile ads.

Tags: admob, advertising, Google, Mobile 2.0

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Originally posted at Relevant Results

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AdMob released its Mobile Metrics report for September, which highlights the rapid growth in usage of mobile web sites and apps on new devices in the past year.

In September of 2008, the Motorola RAZR was the top device in the US and the iPhone was the only touchscreen device in the top 10. This year, things have changed a bit. The lost of the top 10 devices includes five with touchscreens, six with Wi-Fi capabilities, and six with application stores.

"These devices are responsible for a much higher percentage of mobile usage than their share of handsets sold," says AdMob. "However feature phones like the Samsung R450 and Motorola RAZR V3 still represent 60 percent of ad requests in the US.  The strong mobile Web usage on these feature phones is likely driven by unlimited data plans."

Other highlights from the report include:

- In September 2007 AdMob had 1.6 billion ad requests, in September 2008 5.1 billion, and in September 2009 10.2 billion.

- Nearly every region of the world experienced immense growth in the past two years, with North America, Asia, Western Europe, Oceania and Latin America seeing a six-fold increase in traffic since September 2007.

- Worldwide iPhone and iPod touch traffic increased 19 times from September 2008 to September 2009 in the AdMob network.

- In September 2009 42 percent of requests in the US were made from Wi-Fi capable devices. 18 percent of actual US requests were made over a Wi-Fi connection in September 2009 compared to only 5 percent in September 2008.

- Devices running on the Android Operating System (OS) accounted for 17 percent of smartphone traffic in AdMob’s network in the US in September 2009, up from 13 percent in August 2009. The HTC Dream (G1) was the number three device and the HTC Magic was the number 10 device in September 2009 in the US. As with the iPhone OS, much of the Android traffic in AdMob’s network came from applications.

AdMob’s data is based on usage of handsets and smartphone devices during the month of September in their network of over 15,000 mobile sites and apps. AdMob’s market share is calculated by the percentage of requests received from a particular handset. The company deems this a measure relative of mobile web and application usage.

Related Articles:

> App Store Gets Twice the Downloads of Android Market

> That’s a Lot of Mobile Advertising!

> What’s Your Favorite iPhone App?

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AdMob, a company that specializes in mobile advertising, has released another monthly report, showing the state of mobile operating systems, as seen through the lense of the AdMob network.

According to the report [PDF link], the market share of iPhone OS, Android, and webOS has grown significantly compared to the data from February. On the other hand, Symbian OS, Windows Mobile, RIM OS, and Palm OS (the operating system running on older Palm devices), has fallen. Let’s take a look at what these numbers really mean.

AdMob’s numbers claim that the iPhone OS is now by far the most popular mobile operating system with 40% market share, compared to 33% in February. Palm’s webOS, which didn’t exist in February, has gained a respectable 4%, and Android’s market share has grown from 2% to 7%. The market share of Symbian OS has dropped from 43% to 34%, showing that Symbian is losing ground to these new competitors quite fast.

Of course, the numbers cannot be taken at face value. As the Sillicon Alley Insider points out, they’re just representing the state of affairs within the AdMob ad network; in reality, Apple’s smartphone market share is much lower (Gartner estimates it at 13.3%).

It’s easy to “debunk” AdMob’s numbers; if you take into account the fact that about 250 million phones are running Symbian OS, and only around 21 million iPhones have been sold so far (you can add around 20 million iPod Touch devices to that number, but it’s irrelevant here because AdMob did not include iPod Touch in this analysis), you can easily see that there’s absolutely no way that iPhone OS can hold 40% of the smartphone OS market.

However, this is not what AdMob’s numbers are showing, and anyone that writes that iPhone holds 40% of the smartphone market is reading them wrong. The numbers do not represent handset sales or unique devices in the market, rather they represent the relative mobile usage (…) from the sites and apps in (AdMob’s) network. In other words, even if you disregard the fact that AdMob’s numbers may be slanted towards the iPhone, they might mean that people are simply using the iPhone for browsing the web a lot more than they use, for example, Windows Mobile devices.

And that’s exactly what we can learn from this data. Within one ad network, people have been accessing web content on the iPhone, Android, and Palm Pre a lot more than they did 6 months ago. On the other hand, they’ve been doing it a lot less on all other mobile operating systems, especially Symbian which was once on top. AdMob’s numbers show a trend: old smartphones are out, new smartphones, which are much better for browsing the web, are in. We’ll see if Nokia and Microsoft manage to regain some of their former glory with the new versions of their mobile operating systems, but for now, they’re losing ground, fast.

Tags: android, blackberry, iphone, mobile OS, Symbian, webOS

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