Report says Android ended 2011 with 47% of ad impressions

Mobile ad firm Millennial Media said that as the ball dropped in Times Square to close out 2011, Android flavored devices had 47% of ad impressions. Apple finished second with a 33% share of ad impressions. That was a reversal from 2010 when Apple closed out the year with a 41% share of mobile ad impressions vs. 30% for Google.

Ad impressions on Android handsets rose a scintillating 504% in 2011. 13 of the top 20 handsets on Millennial's platform were Android powered phones. Despite the strong 2011 figures, Android was on track to do even better with the open source OS accounting for more than 50% of ad impressions and iOS under 30% until Apple launched the Apple iPhone 4S in October and sold 37 million of them in the three month period ending in December.

For the second year in a row, Apple was the top OEM on Millenial's network, accounting for 26% of ad impressions for 2011. Samsung, which announced it had sold 20 million units of the Samsung Galaxy S II, was second with a 16.8% share of ad impressions in 2011. The number one share for a single phone was the 15% belonging to the Apple iPhone 4S. With less than a 6% share, RIM's BlackBerryCurve finished second. Some of the Android flavored models on Millennial's platform included the OG Motorola DROID, LG Optimus, HTC Evo, Samsung Galaxy S and the Motorola DROID X.

What about those ad impressions on tablets? Well, to no one's surprise, the Apple iPad led the way with Samsung second. The Korean based manufacturer finished with more than half the impressions received by the iPad. Only available since November, the Amazon Kindle Fire's ad impression share grew at a daily average of 19% which was better than the performance of the first Apple iPad following its launch.

source: MillennialMedia via eWeek