Android flexes strength in ad space

Google's Android™ continues to prove itself to be a marketing darling, as a study from mobile ad network Millennial Media finds the mobile operating system is dominating the competition in terms of advertising activity.

The study estimates that Android accounted for 54 percent of ad impression share in August 2011. This is a 48 percent increase from July 2011 and represents nearly twice as much as that of Apple -- the runner up in the market.

For the first time, the study accounts for all connected devices, including smartphones, tablet computers and gaming systems. The inclusion of smartphones undoubtedly benefits Android, which has experienced meteoric growth in the space in recent years. Tablets have helped Google's cause as well, though Android tablets still trail Apple's iPad® by a wide margin.

The study also finds significant growth for Windows® Phone 7. Though Microsoft's mobile OS only accounted for 1 percent of the ad impression share in August 2011, it did experience 48 percent month-over-month growth, Millennium Media states.

Microsoft is gearing up to become a more competitive player in this space with the upcoming release of its Windows 8 operating system. The software, in a new direction for Microsoft, is designed for both tablets and traditional PCs.