Mobile ad network InMobi has released its Mobile Insights Report: Global Edition January 2011. The report, based on a reach to over 200m consumers through 31.5bn monthly mobile ad impressions, reveals that consumers around the world are rapidly transitioning to smart mobile devices as a primary means of consuming digital content.
The total number of mobile advertising impressions grew by 31 per cent globally (between October 2010 and January 2011), driven by the skyrocketing number of smartphone impressions, which increased by 5.8bn during the period.
The Android platform experienced the most aggressive growth in the smartphone category, with a significant market increase from 4.8 per cent to 13.5 per cent. The Android platform now hosts 3bn monthly impressions. iOS also continues to grow, but at a much slower rate, with share gains of 1.7 percentage points, compared to Android’s 8.7 points.
“2011 has initiated a massive global consumer transition to high-quality smart devices,” notes James Lamberti, InMobi’s VP global research & marketing. “This trend will define the next phase of mobile advertising growth for InMobi, with smartphone impressions becoming the majority of our inventory globally, not just in the US and Europe.”
InMobis Operating System rankings for January 2011 are as follows: 
- Nokia – 6.4bn impressions (20.2 per cent share)
- Symbian – 5.8bn (18.2 per cent)
- iOS – 5bn (15.9 per cent)
- Android – 4.3bn (13.5 per cent)
- RIM – 1.4bn (4.3 per cent)
- Others – 8.8bn (27.9 per cent)
In Europe, mobile advertising continued to grow, with the total number of available ad impressions growing by 31 per cent between October 2010 and January 2011. Smartphone affinity in the region is apparent, with 60 per cent of all ad impressions occurring on a smartphone, much higher than the global average of 44 per cent. Here, there is a significant opportunity for advertisers to make an impact with an engaging mobile ad experience, says InMobi.
The iPhone continues to be the single most dominant device in the European market, with a 30.7 per cent share of all impressions, down from 31.9 per cent in October 2010. Android is coming up fast on 20.7 per cent, a big increase on its 12.9 per cent share in October, with Symbian in third place on 11.4 per cent, down from 12.7 per cent in October.
“Android growth in Europe has been phenomenal in the past 90 days,” says Rob Jonas, VP and managing director, Europe & Middle East at InMobi. “With consumer adoption of smart devices surging for both Android and iOS, mobile advertising is transitioning rapidly into the next phase of growth and monetisation, signaling a new era for the ecosystem in Europe.”
InMobi has created a full report on global behaviour for the period October 2010 to January 2011. You can download it here.
