New AdMob ad network aimed to help Android developers

AdMob unveiled a new ad network designed to help developers to monetize their applications on the Android platform.
The San Mateo, Calif.,-based mobile ad startup said it already serves ads on mobile sites on Android, receiving more than 27 million ad requests last month. The new Android “ad unit” enables advertisers to buy inventory directly on Android apps, giving them an opportunity to direct customers to Android Market to download a new application or to drive other customer actions.
The move follows last summer’s rollout of AdMob’s iPhone-specific marketplace, which delivers ads through both the mobile Web and native applications. AdMob claims 6,000 mobile sites and 450 iPhone apps are part of its publisher network worldwide.
The first developers to leverage the new Android ad unit include AccuWeather and mobile game publishers Jirbo and TapJoy.
“We are already seeing strong interesting in developing applications for Android-based devices, similar to what we saw with the iPhone last summer,” AdMob VP Ali Diab said in a prepared statement. “And (we) are very excited to take the lead in helping developers monetize their applications on this fast-growing device platform.”