Statistics are a funny thing. 118% growth and 6.7 billion sound like great numbers. But let’s take a look at how things really add up.

This chart from eMarketer shows some amazing growth in the mobile commerce market. Look at that 118.8% increase in 2010. Sounds great, until you realize that prior to 2010, mobile commerce didn’t really exist. It was just people using the internet access on their phones in order to buy something.

The dollar hop from $3.5 billion to $6.7 billion in 2011 is very nice. But folks spent $37.2 billion online just this past holiday season alone. So, it’s still a very small part of overall spending.

I’m not knocking mobile, or the rise in m-commerce. I just want to look at it with glasses that aren’t tinted a rose color.

I am torn on passing along information like this. It seems to be important for a split second to me but the data is quickly followed by a “So what?” moment that is just as strong. Maybe hearing your comments on this kind of “news” would be helpful but let’s get back to the original intent.

According to Distimo, a Netherlands company who claims expertise in app stores (whatever that actually means you can figure out on your own), reports that the Android app market has reached a milestone of 400,000 apps. They made a picture to “prove” it.

Mobile is on everyone’s minds these days. Whether you are talking about iOS v. Android devices or wondering just how many people have smartphones these days, there is plenty to discuss.

As marketers we are most interested in who has them and if they respond well to advertising. eMarketer points out some data around the performance of in app ads that is, well, not exactly awe-inspiring. First, there is a look at some data from a Lab42 study about just how many in app ads users click on.

Of course, I can only speak from a personal perspective but I don’t know if I have clicked on more than 10 ads anywhere in my life so to see that even some 30% have clicked on 6 or more in app ads is interesting to me. Of course, the other 70 percent is at 5 or less clicks with 20% of those surveyed never clicking on an in app ad.

As we approach the time of year where folks tend to back off just a little we decided to give you some eye candy to consider courtesy of the SAI Insider and Horace Dediu of Asymco. At an activation rate of around 700,000 devices a day Android is doing well but it’s not outpacing iOS activations that are estimated to hit 260 million in 2013 (by one analyst’s guess prediction).

This is not about whether Android is better than iOS devices. Clearly in the tablet market that has not panned out has it? It does say that the Android devices are likely hitting a more budget conscious market with low end phones. No harm in that because that gives more people a chance to use the mobile Internet. An article from Reuters talks about that very phenomenon in Europe.

Ever since we discovered that people watch TV with their smartphones in hand, second screen technology has taken off. Some companies are using it to offer an extra layer of content to a movie, while others are strictly for ad purposes.

This past week Hallmark Channel partnered with 44Doors to deliver a holiday gift from Billy Ray Cyrus to his fans. A QR code appeared on the screen during the airing of Cyrus’ movie Christmas Comes Home to Canaan. Accessing the code, allowed fans to download the song “Home” which was written specifically for the movie.

Tim Hayden of 44Doors told MobileMarketer:

“An increased volume of viewers and sustaining that audience throughout Christmas Comes Home to Canaan was a primary objective, while the data analysis from the actual scans and downloads will help the network and advertisers to better understand audience viewing behavior, device preference and geographic location.”