The iPhone 4S is helping Apple’s iOS operating system to catch up with Android, at least in the short term. The latest data from NPD Research shows that 43% of the smartphones sold in October and November run iOS, versus 47% for Android. Android had 60% of the market in the third quarter, according to NPD, while estimates from ComScore put Android at just 47% for the three months ending in November. Together, the data point to a possible loss of market share for Android smartphones. But the trend could change again in the months ahead since Apple is not expected to launch a new smartphone during the first quarter of 2012, while a number of new Android phones will hit the market.
In one positive sign for Google, ad impressions viewed on Android devices surpassed those viewed on Apple devices for the first time last month. Just over half of mobile ad impressions (51.6%) were served up on Android devices last month, versus 46.5% for iOS. The data comes from Chitika, a data analytics company and mobile ad agency founded by the former principals of Lycos, one of the early Internet search engines.
From an advertiser’s perspective, Android still has some catching up to do. The open operating system may now be serving more impressions than iOS, but the latest data available shows iOS click through rate at 2.3%, versus just 1.1% for Android.
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