Millenial says Android now larger than iOS in ads

Android devices have finally overtaken iPhones in mobile ad share, Millennial Media found in its results for December. After a virtual draw the month before, Android has moved up to 46 percent of ad traffic and pushed the iPhone down to 32 percent. Google's platform grew rapidly for all of last year and jumped from virtually no presence at the start of 2010 by a large 3,130 percent to reach where it is today.

The sheer quantity of Android devices on the network also helped eliminate the platform's historic weakness in generating mobile ad revenue. Google's OS had 55 percent of the revenue in the fall, adding an extra 13 percent compared to the summer, where Apple could claim 39 percent.

Millennial didn't say whether Android still held the lead in overall devices, though this was less likely given its still small share of MP3 players and tablets. Apple is the device leader and has nearly 21 percent after factoring in the iPad and iPod touch. Unusually, four of the most popular Android devices of 2010 only just appeared on the list, including the Desire and its Nexus One sibiling as well as the Droid Incredible and the Evo 4G. HTC moved up to the third spot as a result.

A breakdown of the carrier mix helped reinforce Verizon's heavy dependence on Android and showed it as the single largest carrier, at 21 percent, where AT&T had just eight percent even with its disproportionately larger ad share.

Whether or not the results will maintain themselves in early 2011 isn't as evident. The launch of the HTC Thunderbolt and Motorola Atrix 4G to carry its sales, although it has historically fared poorly on AT&T even with the presence of high-end phones like the Samsung Captivate.

By Electronista Staff