Amazon Kindle Fire lights up mobile ad network
The growth of Amazon's new tablet over the past month has slightly outshone that of the first iPad in 2010, according to the number of ad impressions seen on Millennial Media's mobile network.
Amazon's Kindle Fire was one of the hottest devices tracked by ad network Millennial Media in November though it didn't debut until halfway through the month.
Millennial Media's November Mobile Mix report found that the number of ad impressions on the Fire grew at an average daily rate of 19 percent, slightly outshining the growth of the first iPad in early 2010.
"We're not just seeing millions of impressions, we're seeing a monthly run rate of hundreds of millions of impressions," said the report of the Fire.
The Kindle Fire is also facing tougher competition than the iPad did almost two years ago. But Millennial Media believes the tablet's $199 price and Amazon's digital entertainment library have combined to capture a large number of consumers at such an early stage.
Looking at other device makers, Apple held onto its comfortable lead last month among the top 15 manufacturers with a 25 percent share of all ad impressions (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch combined). The iPhone also proved to be the most popular mobile phone among the top 20 with a 13.5 percent share.
Samsung reclaimed second place with 17.5 percent of all ad impressions. The company saw four of its phones on the top 20 list, however, demand for the Galaxy Tab also boosted its standing. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion took third place with a 14.5 percent share followed by HTC with 12.6 percent.
Eyeing the various mobile operating systems, Android held onto its lead on the ad network with 50 percent of all impressions, though that was a six-point drop from October. Apple's iOS inched up a bit, grabbing a 30 percent share compared with 28 percent in October.
RIM's share also grew last month, reaching 17 percent from 13 percent the prior month. That left Nokia's Symbian and Microsoft's Windows Phone with their usual 1 percent each.
Smartphones continued to prove popular in the midst of other mobile devices. For November, smartphones won 70 percent of all ad impressions compared with 14 percent for feature phones and 16 percent for other connected devices, such as tablets.