Stats: Android Growth Continues; Passes iOS in Usage

Android has grown into a hugely popular platform, according to usage tracked by ad network Millennial Media. Figures for December show that Android has leveraged an astounding 3130 percent growth in 2010 to grab 46 percent impression share in December. This knocks iOS back to second place with a 32 percent share. RIM placed a distant third to the big guys, with only half the iOS share in December.

This network serves up millions of ad impressions and while it's important to realize this is just one source, the figures have historically been meaningful. The impression share statistic clearly demonstrates that Android phones are multiplying in the consumer space, and being used on the web in great numbers.

Ad impressions are important to the mobile business world, but revenue generation even more so as it's all about the money. In the fourth quarter of last year Android generated a respectable 55 percent of all ad revenues, while iOS accounted for 39 percent. These two platforms are grabbing almost all of the ad revenue pie, something not likely to change anytime soon. It will be interesting to see if the two platforms see a shift with the iPhone 4 coming to Verizon, as that is expected to generate a lot of sales for the iOS platform.