While the iPhone OS was the leading smartphone platform on Millenial’s network, with 33 percent of smartphone share (ahead of BlackBerry’s 31 percent), Samsung was the top device maker, thanks to the predominance of featurephones. The company also said the US mobile web audience grew to 64.8 million users, and that its ad network reached nearly 80 percent of them.

The report also features a section on mobile app analytics, provided by Mobclix, which says that the iPhone App Store is the biggest on the block, with 115,000 apps, and also leads in downloads, with 100 million per month. Android Market is a distant second, with 20 million per month, and BlackBerry App World even further back in third, delivering 300,000 downloads per month.

Millienial adds that traffic to advertisers’ sites represented almost half of the mobile campaign destinations on its network in October, while app downloads accounted for about 30 percent. Source

The bottom line: Mobile web use – and the market for mobile ads – continues to grow. But don’t overlook smartphones, which still account for a huge chunk of the mobile web market.

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THE MOTOROLA DROID SOLD 250,000 UNITS IN ITS FIRST WEEK, according to GigaOM and based on a report from mobile analytics company Flurry. The new Android device, available only on Verizon Wireless in the US, has been well received by commentators, and now, apparently, by the market as well. Flurry says that the sales are more than four times those of T-Mobile’s MyTouch 3G in its first week of sales in August, but of course pale in comparison to the 1.6 million iPhone 3GS devices sold in its first week. Source

The bottom line: Is Motorola clawing its way back from the precipice? Could be – since software has long been its Achilles heel, turning to Android could turn out to be a smart choice, and one that saves the company.

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MORE THAN 3 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE UK HAVE REDEEMED A MOBILE COUPON, says Juniper Research in a new report. The analyst firm says that mobile coupons enjoy a redemption rate six times higher than traditional paper coupons, again highlighting the viability of mobile marketing to deliver results for advertisers and brands. Source

The bottom line: Mobile coupons seem like a no-brainer, if only because people are less likely to forget to bring their phone to a shop than a paper coupon! But combined with opt-in campaigns and any number of targeting techniques, they represent a valuable resource for retailers.

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THE NUMBER OF MOBILE SOCIAL NETWORKING USERS IN LATIN AMERICA AND AFRICA WILL INCREASE TENFOLD BY 2015, says a new report from analyst firm Frost & Sullivan and mobile social networking provider Colibria. F&S says the market will amount to 527 million users and be worth $2.4 billion in six years, reflecting the increased popularity of the services, but also the prevalence of mobile as an Internet channel in emerging markets. Source

The bottom line: It’s easy to predict the growth of mobile social networks, but anybody eyeing the space has to keep in mind how people in emerging markets use their mobiles and access the internet primarily through them.

While MSG prepares to unveil a string of new projects and media solutions for our growing roster of clients, I am wrapping up my own presentations for two exciting industry events. First on the agenda: a half-day session on Tuesday (September 29th) with Deutsche Telekom executives to discuss the challenges and opportunities of converged services and the implications this has for the consumer portal experience.

My contribution to this exclusive thought leadership event, organized by Amdocs Interactive, will look at the trend to hyper-connectedness and our increasing requirements for personalized and relevant content experiences.

I will be joined by esteemed friend and colleague Andreas Constantinou, Research Director of VisionMobile, a market analysis and strategic advisory firm. Andreas’ thoughts on the new mobile services and applications value chain – and the impact of the likes of Google, Nokia and Apple – is beyond thought-provoking.

I look forward to capturing his ideas in the opening chapter of  the Netsize Guide 2010, the must-read mobile industry almanac I write (for the third consecutive year!) on behalf of Netsize, a mobile commerce and communications enabler. More details on the Guide in future posts. In the meantime, I encourage companies across the ecosystems to contact me directly with case studies and great ideas.

After that it’s off to Edinburgh to speak at the 2009 118tracker Information Innovation Conference & Awards aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. Where is the value in location? My presentation — the outcome of a new collaboration with Matthew Snyder, Founder & CEO of ADObjects, a strategic cross-media consultancy – offers some surprising answers.

We also draw from some exciting new services (such as AmbiSense’s innovative destination guide solutions for mobile phones, GeoVector’s new directional search and pointing app and Colibria’s Network Address Book, an offer that builds on our increasing interest in context-aware social address books – a requirement that sits at the core of Vodafone’s path-breaking  360 offer. A special highlight of the presentation: Mobile advertising innovation and vision from Russell Buckley, esteemed colleague and AdMob Vice President, Global Alliances.

If you can’t make the events, be sure to check back for in-depth analysis of the companies and services I mentioned. A special thanks to Anthony Stiso at DEUSA Enterprises LLC, who heads up communications  for GeoVector, and Cristina Whittington, Colibria Account Manager at Nelson Bostock Communications, for their prompt attention to my briefing requests.

Reminder: If you want to catch-up or meet-up, then contact me at peggy@msearchgroove or DM me @peggyanne.