According to an AdMob report released on April 27, the Motorola Droid (launched last November; see Droid Launch) is the most popular smartphone on Google’s Android platform.
AdMob calculated the amount of ad traffic sent from different smartphones in March to see which Android phones generated the most activity, wrote JR Raphael of PC World (April 27). “AdMob measures the number of ad impressions served by applications and mobile websites using its platform.
“That means it’s counting the number of times its little ads show up on apps (free, ad-supported apps, to be precise) as well as the number of times they pop up on smartphone-specific versions of Web pages.”
AdMob found that the Motorola Droid accounted for nearly a third (32 percent) of all the company’s Android-oriented traffic during the month of March. “No other handset even came close,” wrote Raphael. The HTC Hero came in second (19 percent), while the HTC Dream (a.k.a. T-Mobile G1) and HTC Magic (a.k.a. myTouch 3G) tied for third (11 percent each).
The Motorola Cliq was next (10 percent), followed by the Samsung Moment (6 percent), the Samsung Behold 2 (2 percent) and the Nexus One (also 2 percent). Bear in mind that the Nexus One has only been available since Jan. 5 (see Nexus One Launch).
Raphael says what’s most interesting about the AdMob report is that it shows the increasing dispersion of popular handsets within the “Android ecosystem.” Seven months ago, he adds, two handsets (the HTC Dream and the HTC Magic) were responsible for almost all of AdMob’s Android-based traffic. “Now that same traffic is divided among nearly a dozen different options.”
The growing list of Android smartphones is what Raphael calls “the key to (its) inevitable mobile market dominance.” While other mobile platforms offer consumers one basic form of hardware, “Android devices come in all shapes, sizes and flavors.” There’s virtually something for every different type of user.
“Case in point: keyboards,” he writes. “Turns out more than half of AdMob’s March Android traffic came from devices with physical QWERTY keyboards – namely the Motorola Droid, Motorola Cliq and T-Mobile G1. The physical QWERTY keyboard is one reason why I personally prefer using the Droid over newer and more technically impressive handsets such as the HTC Incredible.
“It’s all about the options.”
- newsletter@iQmetrix.com
* To read more Android/AdMob News, check out the following articles from iQmetrix News & Views:
Profitable in 2010: Google Nexus One
Android Users Mostly Male: Survey
Verizon to Launch New Android Phone, the Devour
Google Launches First Branded Phone, Nexus One, Jan. 5
Google Acquires Mobile Ad Startup AdMob
Verizon to Release Motorola Droid Nov. 6