Millennium Media‘s published its latest Mobile Mix Index report for the first quarter of 2012, showing key advertising developments in device and manufacturer data, mobile operating system data, mobile developer trends and global tablet trends, along with other data that emerges from its vast network of mobile advertising.

The Q1 Mobile Mix report highlights various mobile device advertising trends including top 10 mobile device manufacturers, leading mobile device operating systems, top 20 mobile phones and top mobile app categories ranked by impressions.

Apple – the King

According to the report, Apple iPhone topped the chart as the most dominant device and the leading individual mobile phone in the mobile ad market.  Apple’s iPhone accounted for 15 percent of mobile phone impressions targeting Millennial’s ad network during the first quarter of 2012. RIM’s BlackBerry Curve trailed behind with 4.4 percent, followed by Motorola’s Droid Razr with 4 percent of all impressions.  The Samsung Droid Charge and the BlackBerry Torch stood at 3.4 percent and 2.9 percent respectively.

Overall mobile ad impressions reported growth from Q4 2011 to Q1 2012. Smartphones led the growth with 73 percent of the impressions in Q1. Non-phone connected device impressions, such as tablets, increased 33 percent quarter-over-quarter and represented 20 percent of the device mix in Q1. The growth was mainly fuel by the increased adoption and usage of tablet devices.

“Tablets and other non-phone connected devices have established a clear role in the growing mobile ecosystem,” said Jamie Fellows, SVP, Product, Millennial Media. “The substantial quarterly growth of impressions in this category is tied to both increased usage and adoption, and we expect this trend to continue in the foreseeable future.”

Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab and Amazon Kindle Fire were the top tablets in Q1.

Regarding the application channels ordered by its popularity with developers, games come first, music and entertainment applications came second, followed by sports and health and fitness apps.

No Escape for Windows Phone

Android remained the top operating system with a 49 percent share of impressions, and Apple iOS represented 33 percent of the OS Mix.  Not surprisingly, Windows Phone accounted for only 3 percent of total shares.

On the mobile front, Android made up 14 of the top 20 mobile phones, with Samsung taking 4 out of these top 20 mobile phones.  In addition, Samsung was the second leading manufacturer during the same quarter.

“In the past year, Android has steadily increased their market share, currently accounting for 15 of the Top 20 Mobile Phones in Q1 2012, up from 10 devices in the Top 20 ranking a year ago,” Millennial Media wrote in its report. “Android has gained market share in the tablet marketplace as well, growing from having no tablets on the top mobile device list to having two tablets — the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Amazon Kindle Fire — ranking in the top 20 devices on our platform in Q1.”

Android still the leader for Q1

Market research firm IDC testified in another report that Android and iOS control a mammoth 82 percent of the smartphone market, with Android take at a 59 percent and iOS with 23 percent.

For Windows Phone lovers, this might sound like disheartening news. Despite Microsoft’s best efforts, its new smartphone platform is not popular with consumers. Even Samsung’s Linux-based Bada smartphones at 3.5 percent of the market are ahead of Windows Phone (3.3 percent), according to the report.

“Windows Mobile/Windows Phone has yet to make significant inroads in the worldwide smartphone market, but 2012 should be considered a ramp-up year for Nokia and Microsoft to boost volumes. Until Nokia speeds the cadence of its smartphone releases or more vendors launch their own Windows Phone-powered smartphones, IDC anticipates slow growth for the operating system,” IDC said in the report.

The next version of Windows Phone, along with its expected deep integration with Windows 8, could help Microsoft popularize their mobile platform.