2011 is greeted by a surge in the number of smartphone users worldwide. As a result, smartphone penetration and mobile media consumption continue to grow at an extreme rate – especially in India. In a report fromInMobi, an independent mobile ad network, the Indian mobile ad market grew by a whopping 27 percent, or 1.5 billion ad impressions, between October 2010 and January 2011 to 7.3 billion impressions monthly.

This figure wasreportedin InMobi’s January 2011 Mobile Insights Report – India Market. Commenting on the results, James Lamberti, VP Global Research & Marketing at InMobi, says:

“2011 has initiated a massive global consumer transition to high-quality smart devices. This trend will define the next phase of mobile advertising growth for InMobi with smart phone impressions becoming the majority of our inventory globally.”

Despite our earlierreportthat 53 percent of adults in India have been victims of mobile phone loss or theft, Indians still have one of the highest confidence levels in the region with regards to the use of software services mobile phones. India has also been getting a lot ofsupportfrom related industries, as one of the country’s biggest telecommunications companies, Reliance, took the initiative to offer an optimizedFacebookapp exclusive to its subscribers in an effort to increase mobile data usage and smartphone use.

Here are some other interesting tidbits from the report:

Atul Satija, VP and managing director – Asia Pacific at InMobi, believes that the India mobile ad market will continue to grow at a rapid pace this year, stating:

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“The sheer quantity of monthly impressions highlights the opportunity for advertisers to reach the masses via mobile media. Furthermore, a 44 per cent growth in smartphone impressions and 3G network rollouts indicate the future acceleration of media consumption in the region,”

Story byFrancis Tan

Francis Tan is the Asia editor of TNW, who is based in the Philippines. He is particularly interested in Asian Internet startups, social me(show all)Francis Tanis the Asia editor of TNW, who is based in the Philippines. He is particularly interested in Asian Internet startups, social media and e-commerce. Get in touch with him via Twitter@francistanor Emailfrancis@thenextweb.com.

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