iOS creeped up on Android in March according to Millenial Media

It’s a little funny that Fortune wrote earlier this week about iOS and iPhone market share comparisons with Android, and just a few days later it’s reporting a Millenial Media study on just that – iOS versus Android market share. This time around, it seems like Apple was able to take back a bit of the market and went from 27% to 31% share in March.
Android, on the other hand, slid down just a hair from 51% to 48%, so it’s nothing drastic. The gains for iOS and slip for Android in March have been attributed to the Verizon iPhone launch in February, although it seems strange considering the low volume of CDMA iPhone sales. Something else must have happened in March that gave iOS a huge boost, but I’m not entirely sure. Maybe some gigantic tablet launch or something.
Here are some additional details gleaned from the Millenial Media study:

• Apple was the leading device manufacturer on its network, represented 32% of the top 15 manufacturers impression share in March, a 14% increase month over month
• iPhone impressions grew 17%
• iPad impressions grew 7%
• Overall iOS impressions grew 29% versus Android’s 23%
• iPad application revenue doubled, according to Millennial, pushing iOS back into the app revenue lead, with 47% of the market to Android’s 36% and RIM’s 7%

Android and iOS fanboys can go at it all day long for I care, but what’s most important about these figures is what other platforms have to worry about. While Google and Apple are jostling at the top, RIM really needs a major strategy shift to take back some of that market share where it’s currently at 18%. Windows Phone is at a paltry 1%, but Microsoft is in it for the long-haul and will hopefully see greater figures in the next three years.