Apple is not the only choice for Asia-Pacific advertisers seeking to hawk their wares on the mobile platform.
A study by mobile ad network InMobi found that Nokia is a strong contender manufacturing nine of the top ten selling handsets in the region as its focus on low-cost devices for emerging markets bears fruit.
Combined ad impressions for the nine units hit 57% between July and October 2010, however Apple remains the market leader for an individual device, with an 8.2% share of ad views.
The view by operating system is less rosy for Nokia, with Symbian’s share plummeting from 61.2% in July to 41.3% by end October
Nokia’s significant slide could be attributed to the growth of smartphones in the Asia Pacific, said James Lamberti, VP of global research and marketing at InMobi.
“The rapid growth of media consumption via smartphones signifies an important shift in the Asian mobile advertising community. While consumers are already using their mobile devices as the primary screen in these emerging markets, the opportunity for marketers as adoption of smartphone technology increases will transform the global media landscape.”
Android and iOS together gained a 9.3 point share in 90 days, at the expense of Nokia.
The overall Asian mobile ads market grew by just under 1 billion ad impressions in 90 days (8.7%), out of which 719 million were attributed to smartphones.
InMobi predicts iOS will “continue taking impression share” from a region where Nokia operating systems have historically held pole position.