Independents also gain ground

Apple's iAd should end the year with about 21 percent of the US mobile advertising market, according to an IDC estimate. Google is expected to fall to 21 percent, down from 27 percent in 2009 when including results from AdMob, which the company only formally acquired in May. Yahoo is forecast to drop from 12 to 9 percent, while Microsoft should slide from 10 to 7, and Nokia from 5 to 2.

iAd is a recent arrival, having debuted in July after Apple's earlier acquisition of Quattro Wireless. The latter had only a 9 percent share of the market in 2009, making the predicted leap all the more significant. An Apple spokeswoman notes that the number of clients signing up for iAd has doubled since June; Unilever, one of the first clients, says it has been "extremely happy" with campaign results. Over 20 percent of the people tapping on Unilever iAds are claimed to be tapping a second time.

In spite of iAd's success, expansion may be happening slower than Apple has been pushing for. During June's WWDC event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that the service would take nearly half of US mobile ad spending in the second half of the year. It faces growing competition from independent rivals, however, such as Jumptap, which may take an estimated 13 percent of the US market this year, up from 10 percent in 2009. Millennial Media could rise from 9 to 11 percent.

New entrants into the market include Ericsson and InMobi. Another factor impacting iAd may be a lack of features. CBS' director of mobile strategy and business development, Philippe Browning, notes for example that iAd does not allow targeting spots at specific devices. Browning says he chose AdMob over iAd when he realized he couldn't direct ads exclusively towards iPad owners.

by MacNN Staff