iOS ad share continues to grow, accounts for almost two-thirds of market

Apple's iOS mobile platform continues to make a strong showing in the mobile advertising space, accounting for almost two-thirds of ad impressions despite not having anything near that in terms of installed user base.

Mobile ad firm Velti just released its most recent look at the mobile ad industry, finding that Apple's iOS platform grew its share of of the market from 59 to 64 percent between May 2012 and May 2013, reports TechCrunch. This was due in large part to the continued success of the iPhone, especially the iPhone 5, which contributed 7.9 percent to Apple's share.

Meanwhile, Google's Android platform saw its share of mobile advertising shrink from 41 to 36 percent over the same period. Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch were the top three devices for mobile ad impressions in Velti's study, while Samsung's Android-based Galaxy S devices were a distant fourth, contributing only 2.7 percent of all impressions.

The report also found that advertisers are interested in moving toward bigger ads across all platforms. On the iPhone in particular, smaller ads decreased in popularity over the past year, while full-screen ad units rose 4.7 percent from last year.

The study also looked at which carriers were hosting the most ad impressions on their networks. AT&T, the original carrier for Apple's iPhone, remained in first place with 46 percent of all mobile impressions, but that figure was down significantly from the 53 percent share it held last May. Verizon, however, saw its share jump more than 10 percent, from 23 to 34 percent, while Sprint saw its share drop from 23 to 19 percent.