Smartphones now yield half of AdMob's U.S. ad requests

Smartphones accounted for 48 percent of all mobile web and application advertising requests across AdMob's U.S. network in November 2009--up from 31 percent a year earlier--according to the firm's latest Mobile Metrics Report. AdMob adds that WiFi usage has also surged over the last year, with 24 percent of U.S. requests coming in over a WiFi network last month, compared to eight percent a year earlier. The report credits the growth in part to a new class of WiFi-enabled devices distinct from mobile phones, including Apple's iPod touch, the Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DSi. Fifty-five percent of ad requests in the U.S. now come from devices with WiFi capability, up from 19 percent a year earlier--in addition, 36 percent of iPhone traffic in the U.S. originated over WiFi, substantially higher than other WiFi-capable devices.  

AdMob also notes that the number of unique iPhone and iPod touch users outside the U.S. grew rapidly over 2009--as of November, 50 percent of unique users were located outside of the U.S., up from 39 percent in January 2009. Apple devices experienced the strongest percentage growth in Japan, France, and Australia. Android also exploded in 2009: Six months ago, the HTC Dream generated 92 percent of all of AdMob's Android traffic, and in November, the same device represented only 37 percent of requests worldwide, with the Motorola Droid (22 percent), HTC Magic (21 percent) and HTC Hero (9 percent) all making strides in recent months. In all, Android generated 27 percent of smartphone requests last month, up from 20 percent in October 2009.  

For more on AdMob's November Mobile Metrics Report:
- read this release

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