Velti (www.velti.com) -- a global provider of mobile marketing and advertising technolog -- has released its July "State of Mobile Advertising" report. The data reveals that although the majority of mobile ad impressions are still recorded on Apple’s iOS handsets, Android took 4% of market share from Apple.

Apple devices now claim 58% of in-app ad impressions. Volumes for iPhone models dropped from 31% to 27% in July and fell from 22% to 19% for the iPod touch, according to Velti.

"Although Android’s four percent surge appears modest, we should bear in mind figures from IDC indicating 68% of smartphones shipped in 2012 have been Android models," says Velti CMO Krishna Subramanian. "Arguably, iOS figures are down as consumers await the iPhone 5 launch, but still these results support the view that volume of Android impressions will continue to grow over the course of the year."

iOS still dominates tablets where mobile in-app advertising impressions rose from nine to 12% for iPads. The rise may be attributed to the new tablet’s recent launch in China, where traffic increased by 150% during its first week, notes Velti.

Globally, the new iPad is now closing the gap on its predecessor for ad impressions. In the five months post release, the new model has 20% of total impressions, while the iPad 2 had 24% of volumes at the same point in its lifecycle.

"Despite the success of the iPad, Apple shouldn’t rest on its laurels," says Subramanian. "The status quo is likely to be disrupted by the launch of the Kindle Fire 2 and Google Nexus 7. If the tablet market follows a similar pattern to what we’ve seen with smartphones, publishers may consider reducing the lag time between iOS and Android app releases."