AdMob’s December 2009 Metrics Report Highlights Changing Mobile Device Manufacturer Fortunes in 2009

Apple and Nokia Leading Manufacturers in Different Regions

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--AdMob, one of the world's largest and fastest growing mobile advertising networks, focused its December 2009 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report on regional changes in manufacturer and smartphone Operating System (OS) share. The report found that Apple and the iPhone OS leads in Western Europe, North America, Latin American and Oceania behind strength of millions of iPhones and iPod touches sold this year and heavy application usage. Nokia and the Symbian OS continues to lead in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe with its vast portfolio of devices.

The December 2009 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report breaks down, by region, trended manufacturer share across all mobile devices, smartphone OS share, and the top handsets and smartphones in the AdMob network. Regional highlights from the report include:

• Africa: Nokia’s share remained fairly steady in 2009, generating more than 50 percent of requests throughout the year. In Q4, Samsung and Sony Ericsson devices generated 18 percent and nine percent of requests, respectively. Symbian was the dominant smartphone OS generating 87 percent of smartphone requests and accounting for nine of the top 10 smartphones in Q4 2009.
• Asia: Nokia continues to be the leading manufacturer in Asia by a wide margin with 53 percent of requests in Q4 2009. After launching in several countries in Asia in 2009, the iPhone had a strong Q4 and doubled its share of smartphone requests to 27 percent.
• Eastern Europe: Nokia’s share decreased slightly throughout the year to 35 percent in Q4 2009. Apple, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung devices generated 23 percent, 12 percent and nine percent of requests, respectively. Eight of the top 10 smartphones in the region were Nokia devices, including the 6300, N70, and N95.
• Latin America: Several device manufacturers had significant share in Q4 2009, Apple led with 39 percent, Nokia had 15 percent and Sony Ericsson had 11 percent of device requests. The Sony PlayStation Portable was the number three device in December 2009. Although it only generated eight percent of smartphone requests, RIM had three of the top 10 smartphones in the region.
• North America: In Q4 2009, Apple lead with 40 percent followed by Samsung with 17 percent and Motorola with 11 percent. The iPhone generated 54 percent of smartphone requests in Q4 2009. Android share grew throughout the year reaching 27 percent in Q4 2009, by far the highest penetration in any region.
• Oceania: Apple’s share increased dramatically throughout 2009 and its devices are responsible for the vast majority of requests in the region. The top 10 smartphones in Q4 2009 included the Apple iPhone, HTC Magic, HTC Hero, BlackBerry 9000 and six different Nokia models.
• Western Europe: Apple made strong gains in manufacturer share in 2009. In Q4 2009 the Apple iPhone and iPod touch generated more than half of total requests from the region at the expense of Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. Android had a strong Q4 2009 and generated eight percent share of smartphone requests, second only to North America in penetration.

Regional data is influenced by the geographic distribution of requests within each region. To see the top countries by request in the AdMob network review page 12 of the December 2009 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report.

AdMob stores and analyzes handset and operator data from every ad request in its network of more than 15,000 mobile Web sites and iPhone, Android, and webOS 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 site (http://metrics.admob.com) to access the full December 2009 report, view past reports, or sign up to get an email notification when future reports become available.

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.