Still represents good uptake, says ad firm

A relatively small number of iPhone and iPod touch owners are actually using the latest firmware, says AdMob. The advertising firm notes that in tracking ad requests made between September 15th and the 22nd, only 23 percent of devices were observed using iPhone 3.1. The figure is nevertheless described as representing a "significant uptake" compared to other firmware releases. The v3.1 update was only launched on September 9th.

A majority of devices, 51 percent, continue to use the v3.0 firmware that arrived at the same time as the iPhone 3GS. 19 percent have remained with v2.2.1, while 7 percent are using v2.2 or still earlier releases. AdMob notes that the likelihood of a person upgrading to new software is directly tied to whether they have an iPhone or iPod touch. Whereas 91 percent of iPhone ad requests come from v3.0 or v3.1 devices, the percentage shrinks to just 35 percent for Touches.

The discrepancy is blamed on Apple's policy towards the Touch, which requires that owners pay a fee for every major firmware upgrade. The extra cost could disappear in the near future, as the accounting rules blamed for the policy have been changed.

by MacNN Staff