Depending on where you stand, a recent mobile advertising study was good news for Apple or Android. While Apple’s iPad and iPhone were the most connected devices for advertising, Google’s Android was the leading smartphone operating system, according to the report.

Taken together, the wide variety of Android devices accounted for 56 percent of mobile advertising impressions, according to Millennial Media. But in terms of individual device brands, Apple lead with 23.09 percent of mobile advertising during the third quarter of 2011. Samsung was close behind with 16.48 percent of mobile ad impressions, followed by HTC. RIM, Motorola and LG essentially tied with about 10 percent each. Nokia was in the cellar with 2.41 percent of mobile ad impressions.

The iPhone maintained its No. 1 position in terms of the share mobile ad impressions, registering 12.55 percent of ads. The Apple handset comprised 54 percent of iOS mobile ads with the iPad and iPod touch accounting for another 46 percent. The iPad accounted for 97 percent of all tablet-based mobile ads. Apple saw its the iOS share of mobile advertising rise 60 percent compared to last year, according to the measurement firm.

Although HTC accounted for just 10 percent of mobile ad impressions, it boasted six Android handsets. Samsung’s five percent of mobile ad impressions was spread across five Android phones. The dichotomy between Apple and Android was explained as Google’s “contrasting strategy to iOS” with several devices launched “at every price point,” according to Millennial Media.

As for in-app ads spending, Android devices lead Apple’s iOS products by just 8 percent, with the most profitable apps for both platforms music and entertainment.

Another intriguing bit of data coming from the mobile ad researcher: the apparent death of the QWERTY keyboard. Touchscreen devices received 65 percent of mobile advertising during the third quarter compared to 15 percent for units supporting both touch and keyboards. QWERTY-only devices ranked just 10 percent of mobile ads, the same percentage as ancient devices with numeric-only phones keypads, according to the findings.