Smartphones now generate 35% of mobile ad requests

Smartphones now account for close to three times more mobile web usage than their relative market share, according to mobile advertising marketplace AdMob's April 2009 Mobile Metrics Report. While research firm Gartner reports  global smartphone sales represented 13.5 percent of total mobile device sales in the first quarter of 2009, 35 percent of AdMob's worldwide ad requests last month originated via smartphone users. Apple's iPhone operating system--which accounted for 10.8 percent of worldwide smartphone OS market share in Q1, according to Gartner--generated 43 percent of mobile web requests in April, and Google's Android, despite accounting for less than 1 percent of OS market share, yielded 3 percent of mobile web requests. However, the Symbian OS, which claimed 41.2 percent of the global smartphone market in Q1, generated just 36 percent of mobile web usage during the quarter.

Together, the iPhone and iPod touch accounted for 26.2 percent of total worldwide ad requests in April, followed by Nokia at 25.9 percent. The iPhone generated 20 percent of AdMob's U.S. ad requests in April, followed by the iPod touch at 14.8 percent--the Samsung R450 trailed in third place at 5.2 percent. In addition, 24 percent of U.S. ad requests were made over WiFi networks, led by the iPhone and followed by the iPod touch, Sony PSP, Android G1 and HTC Dash.

For more on AdMob's April 2009 report:
- read this release

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