AdMob March 2010 Metrics Report Examines Growing Diversity of Android Devices

11 Devices Account for 96 Percent of Android OS Traffic in March 2010, Up From Two Devices in September 2009

SAN MATEO, Calif. – AdMob, one of the world’s largest mobile advertising networks, takes a closer look at Android Operating System (OS) traffic in its March 2010 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report. The report finds the diversity of devices in the Android ecosystem is increasing, driven by the launch of new devices from different manufacturers with various form factors, capabilities, and OS versions over the past seven months. In contrast, the iPhone OS runs on devices from a single manufacturer, a single form factor (until the launch of the iPad in April), and all devices have the ability to upgrade OS versions.

In March 2010, there were 34 Android devices from 12 manufacturers available to consumers.* In AdMob’s network in March 2010, 11 devices accounted for 96 percent of Android traffic, up from two devices in September 2009. The three primary versions of the Android OS all drove significant traffic in March 2010 – Android 1.5 (38 percent), Android 2.0/2.1 (35 percent) and Android 1.6 (26 percent). Motorola and HTC were the leading Android device manufacturers with 44 percent and 43 percent of respective traffic.

Highlights from the March 2010 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report include:

Motorola Droid was the leading Android handset in March 2010 generating 32 percent of Android traffic, while the Google Nexus One drove only two percent of Android traffic.
At least 54 percent of Android traffic came from devices with a QWERTY keyboard.
Three devices – the iPhone 3GS (39 percent), second generation iPod touch (25 percent) and iPhone 3G (20 percent) – generated 84 percent of total iPhone OS traffic.
iPhone 3GS traffic share has increased from 30 percent in September 2009 to 39 percent in March 2010. The 1st Generation iPhone only generated 2 percent of iPhone OS requests in March 2010.
Total worldwide traffic in AdMob’s network increased 18 percent month-over-month.
AdMob stores and analyzes handset and operator data from every ad request in its network of more than 18,000 mobile Web sites and iPhone, Android, webOS, and Flash Lite applications to optimize ad serving. Each month, the AdMob Mobile Metrics Report aggregates this data to provide insights into major trends in the mobile ecosystem. The AdMob share is calculated by the percentage of requests received from a particular handset; it is a measure of relative mobile Web and application usage and does not represent handset sales. See additional detail on the methodology of the report at http://metrics.admob.com/2009/10/placing-admob-metrics-in-context/.

Visit AdMob’s Metrics Report blog (http://metrics.admob.com) to access the full March 2010 report, view past reports, or sign up to get an email notification when future reports become available.

*Numbers based on comments from Jeff Huber in Google’s Q1 2010 Earnings Call.

About AdMob

AdMob is one of the world’s largest mobile advertising networks, serving billions of mobile banner and text ads a month across a wide range of leading mobile Web sites and applications. AdMob helps advertisers connect with a relevant audience of consumers on mobile devices and gives publishers the ability to effectively monetize their mobile traffic. Incorporated in April 2006, AdMob provides the tools, data, and business models fueling the explosive growth of mobile media in more than 160 countries and territories worldwide.

AdMob has been named one of the most innovative companies in advertising and marketing in 2009 by Fast Company magazine, a 2008 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, and one of Wired.com’s 2008 Companies to Watch. AdMob works with thousands of advertisers and publishers, including Adidas, CBS News, Gap, Lonely Planet, MovieTickets.com, MySpace, P&G, Tapulous, and Universal Pictures. To learn more about AdMob, visit www.admob.com.