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Microsoft, ComScore, Jumptap: News briefs

Microsoft outperforms AdMob for in-app advertising
Microsoft recently conducted a two-week case study pitting Microsoft Advertising against Google?s AdMob to show which platform helped developers make more money with their apps.

The Microsoft Advertising Ad SDK for Windows Phone 7 helps developers maximize in-app advertising revenue through a real-time bidded ad exchange  that enables multiple ad networks to bid on mobile inventory at the moment when an ad is being served.

?As more Window Phone smartphone devices make their way into the hands of consumers, it will be important for marketers to think seriously about leveraging ad supported mobile apps across all types of smartphones to reach and engage their target audience,? said Jamie Wells, director, global trade marketing, at Microsoft.

Two app developers rotated use of the Microsoft Advertising SDK and Google?s AdMob Windows Phone 7 Ad SDK during a two week period in June.

The Paper Toss app, developed by Herm Mogilevsky, and the ?Krashlander? developed by Jeff Weber made nearly 2.33 million total ad requests, split between Microsoft and Google.

The Microsoft SDK, however, drove a 71 percent higher yield. As a result, it produced a greater overall gross revenue earnings and fill rate. Microsoft Advertising?s effective cost per thousand impressions was $0.78 while AdMob?s was $0.46.

Mobile map use grows 39pc in past 12 months: ComScore
With smartphone adoption growing, the number of mobile users accessing maps has grown 39 percent in the last year, according to new research from ComScore.

The number of mobile users accessing maps on their mobile device during the three months ended May 2011 totaled 48 million, an increase of 39 percent from the previous year.  The number of smartphone map app users reached 38.2 million in May, an increase of 75 percent from the previous year.

?The main take away from this study is the increasingly important role mobile is playing in consumers? daily lives as both an information access point and a convenience tool,? said Sarah Radwanick, a mobile analyst at ComScore.

During the same period, there was a 2 percent dip in map visitation via desktop on a larger audience of 93.8 million visitors. The leveling off of desktop map usage reflects the growing use of maps via mobile when consumers are on the go and need them. 

Map usage via mobile applications was the primary access point for smartphone owners, up 98 percent in the past year for a total of 26 million. Browser map access grew at a rate of 49 percent for a total of 14 million.

Among all mobile phone map users, 88.9 percent accessed maps from a vehicle, 16.9 percent did so while running, walking or biking and 13.6 while using public transit. Graphical maps with turn-by-turn directions were most popular, and were used by 64 percent of mobile map users.

Mobile auto site traffic growing faster than online: Jumptap
Traffic to mobile automotive sites is increasing at a greater rate than online sites, per new data from Jumptap. The report shows that visitors to mobile auto sites have grown 463 percent year over year while visitors to online auto sites grew 30 percent during the same period.

The rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets as a visual and research tool is affecting how consumers research and shop for cars, per Jumptap. The research shows that 69 percent of visitors accessing mobile auto sites are using smartphones. Mobile auto site visitors were also more likely to own a tablet than the overall mobile population.

Edmunds.com is the most accessed site on mobile with 17.1 percent of mobile consumers who access auto content visiting the site. Additionally, men make up 48 percent of the overall mobile audience but 66 percent of mobile auto content users.

Performance lags for mobile Web sites, applications: Compuware
The majority of the more than 4,000 global users worldwide recently surveyed by Compuware report experiencing slow or unreliable mobile and application performance.

The report shows that consumer expectations from mobile are increasing, with 71 percent of mobile users saying they expect web sites to load as quickly, almost as quickly or faster on their mobile phone compared to the computer they use at home. This number is up from 58 percent in 2009. However, 46 percent said web sites load more slowly on their phones.

There are implications for marketers if their mobile presence is not up to the grade. Nearly 60 percent of web users say they expect a web site to load on their mobile phone in three seconds or less while 74 percent are willing to wait five seconds before leaving the site.

Additionally, more than 80 percent of respondents said they would access mobile web sites more often if the experience was fast and reliable while a third will go to a competitor?s site instead if a mobile web site or application is not functioning properly.