webOS picking up steam in moble Web 17

by Robert Werlinger Wed, 30 Sep 2009 6:31 pm EDT

It looks like webOS is making some marked gains into the mobile Web -- going from 0% to 4% in just under 5 months, which is substantial when considering Android grew roughly the same amount over roughly the same time frame, and Nokia's Symbian OS losing nearly 10% of it's market share.

The Pre is also showing up in the top 10 handsets and smartphones in North America, ranking 7th and 4th, respectively.

The biggest player in the mobile Web is still Apple, of course, commanding 40% market share. With that statistic in mind, note that AdMob's statistics don't account for the iPod touch.

With new handsets announced, and new markets being opened up by Palm, it will be interesting to see if this pattern of rapid growth in the mobile Web by webOS will continue. I have a sneaking suspicion that it will.

Thanks to everybody who sent this in! [GIGAOM via Admob]

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17 Comments

Posted by Horpto_G on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 6:47 pm EDT

Whoo! Good news for webos

Posted by ToddK on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 1:18 pm EDT

moble? Headline alert!

Posted by yellow on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 6:53 pm EDT

Does the iphone tweak make websites recognize Pre's as iphones?

Posted by percyg77 on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 7:23 pm EDT

yes.

Posted by KBLOM on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 8:22 pm EDT

iPhone tweak? What iPhone tweak are you talking about? If you're referring to the iTunes sync, then no. Websites know what phone it is based on the agent data from the browser.

Here's an example. Go to http://www.irongeek.com/browserinfo.php on your Pre. You'll see that it knows it's a Pre, the platform is webOS, and it even knows your screen resolution is 320x480 among other things. This information is available to every website you visit.

Posted by sacherjj#AC on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:36 am EDT

The tweak they are talking about is changing header information on HTTP requests to tell the website that you are an iPhone, so you get an iPhone website that the Pre can use, rather than full or crappy mobile.

Posted by wburleson on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 7:28 pm EDT

And there is only one type of phone for now using WebOS -- the Pre. Just think how high they would be if they had three phones!!

Posted by SharonW on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 7:32 pm EDT

Also of note, is that webOS grabbed 9% share in North America (pg.5).

http://metrics.admob.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/AdMob-Mobile-Metrics...

Posted by Young HoV 718 on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 7:33 pm EDT

poor android its already about to be beat by webos

Posted by pyrognome on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 7:53 pm EDT

android will do better once more phones are released with the stack. Not to sure how many ppl wanna buy a phone from a company that loves pink.

don't forget the hero.

Posted by Katharine on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 8:09 pm EDT

PreCentral, you are doing an excellent job of covering the Pre. Keep up the good work - glad to hear about the Pre's gains!

Posted by jbern8 on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 8:28 pm EDT

Don't forget, the pre was only out for 2 months at that point, not six months.

Posted by drizek on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 8:48 pm EDT

This is not an accurate measure of market share. It is biased towards phones with browsers that don't suck. This is why BB and WinMo do so badly here. and the iPhone/Pre have inflated numbers.

Still, it is a good sign, and the trends can't be argued with.

Posted by Samsara on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 9:23 pm EDT

http://www.businessinsider.com/no-apples-iphone-is-not-40-of-the-smartph...

"Why is it not a valid source of information about the smartphone market? Because Apple's share of AdMob's mobile ad business is highly exaggerated by the fact that AdMob has a very popular ad product that's only for the iPhone and iPod touch. In other words, a large portion of AdMob's business is completely inaccessible to BlackBerry phones, Nokia phones, etc."