Google’s Android operating system has matched Apple’s OS in ad impressions last month, and there is speculation Google could even top its rival later this year, according to some analysts.

Operating systems made by Apple and Google each had a 37 percent share of the smartphone ad space market in October, according to a survey by Millennial Media.

It was also a large drop for Apple from at least one recent month.

Appolicious Advisor reports that Apple had a 56 percent market share compared with Android’s 17 percent as recently as June, according to Millennial Media.

In October, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry had a 20 percent share of the market.

In contrast, Nokia, which makes Symbian, had a 2 percent share in the United States. Microsoft also had a 2 percent share in the U.S. market. Both companies would like to see those numbers increase.

Speculating about November’s numbers, Kevin Krause in Phandroid said, “I wouldn’t call it a stretch to expect Android to be No. 1 come next month.” He notes that October marks the first time in the survey that the Android OS has the same share of smartphone ad impressions as iOS.

In addition, Millennial reported that Apple’s iPad tablet grew more than 100 percent in October over September numbers as far as mobile advertising, according to Appolicious Advisor.

Some other significant results from the Millennial Media survey as reported by Appolicious Advisor include:

• Apple is tops as far as devices.
• Motorola is the No. 3 phone maker.
• RIM had six of the 30 top devices.

Ed Silverstein is a TechZone360 contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Tammy Wolf