Mobile ads in North America are reaching an inflection point. In the second quarter of 2011, 78 percent of total mobile ad impressions on ad network InMobi were on smartphones (as opposed to older feature phones), up from 67 percent in the first quarter, according to a new report it is putting out. “We expect 90% of ads by end of Q4 on a smart platform,” says VP of global research and marketing James Lamberti. And half of those ads will be inside apps.
Total mobile ad impressions in the U.S. grew 40 percent, driven by the 65 percent growth in smartphone ads. Globally, the percentage of smartphone ads was much smaller, only 38 percent, up from 32 percent in the first quarter.
InMobi, which served 18.7 billion mobile ads in North America in the second quarter, also reports on the breakdown by OS. Android leads with 33.2 percent, but it lost share to iOS which grew to 29.3 percent (RIM has 13.9 percent, also down). In January, Android had 37 percent share and iOS had 23 percent.
