Apple is likely to end the year in a dead heat with Google for mobile ad sales, according to an estimate by research firm IDC. Each company is predicted to have a 21 percent share of the market—a far cry from Steve Jobs' assertion that Apple would control 50 percent by the end of the year, but enough to influence a drop in both Microsoft and Google's shares.
IDC predicts that the total mobile ad market will more than double in size by the end of 2010 to $500 million per year. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Apple's introduction of iAd has spurred a rush into the mobile ad market with Google, Microsoft, and Apple buying companies and upgrading their systems to adapt.
As the market continues to balloon, all three companies are struggling to get a handle on it. IDC projects that Microsoft's share of mobile ads will drop to 7 percent from 10, and Google's from 27 percent to 21, putting it even with Apple. They'll be facing stiff competition not only from each other, but from some scrappier startups like Jumptap, which holds 13 percent, and Millenial Media with 11 percent.
Source: ars technica
