According to industry data, mobile now trumps every other channel for media consumption. And a new study presents evidence that encourages app developers to increasingly incorporate custom ad experiences into in-app ads to bolster engagement. On the tablet front, Samsung has pulled out the big guns, unveiling its 2012 “hero product.” And two app brands in the jam-packed games category have found a way to crack the monetization mystery – and are reaping the benefits.

According to the latest InMobi data, mobile media consumption is through the roof, reports Mobile Marketing Watch. A new U.S. Q2 Mobile Media Consumption Report reveals that mobile now ranks first in overall daily media consumption, at 2.4 hours per day, outranking TV (2.35 hours) and PCs (1.6 hours).

A telling new report shows how advertisers can boost in-app engagement and click-through rates. MediaBrix has released results from its survey about what consumers like – and don’t like – about in-app advertising. The good news: Consumers like ads – 61 percent of smartphone users want free apps with ads – and they like the right ads, at the right time. “In-app advertising needs to acknowledge, embrace, and respect the user experience,” said MediaBriz CEO Ari Brandt in a VentureBeat report. The bottom line is that app developers must design custom ad experiences that are both innovative and integrated, and marketers must ensure their messages positively resonate with consumers.

In tablet news, Samsung began retailing the U.S. version of its tablet Galaxy Note 10.1. Although the company announced the device several months ago, it’s now “an entirely new beast,” according to VentureBeat. “The Galaxy Note 10.1 is being referred to as Samsung’s ‘hero product’ for 2012, and it’s evident from the constant retooling that the company was desperate to get this tablet right,” wrote reporter Devindra Hardawar.

Over the past few years, games have become the dominant category for mobile apps. Today, more than ever before, gaming app marketers are challenged to find ways to achieve monetization, the “Holy Grail” of gaming app marketing. This week, VentureBeat reported two mobile app companies that seem to have cracked the code. NaturalMotion’s iOS racing game, CSR Racing, generated a whopping $12 million in its first month of availability. And the Japanese gaming company Gree unveiled its North American revenue numbers for the first time, revealing the company grew 38 percent in the second quarter alone.

We’ve been hit with tablet fever. Apple’s new iPad has the industry buzzing this week and new data surrounding tablet consumption abounds. The third iteration of the best-selling tablet is slated to hit stores on March 16. Prior to launching the new tablet device on Wednesday, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook raffled off some impressive numbers for the company’s iOS devices. For example, Apple has sold a total of 315 million iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches, with a staggering 62 million of those iOS-powered devices sold in Q4 2011 alone. According to new research, the number of tablet owners in the U.S. is expected to reach 112 million in just four short years. You can read all of this and more in today’s Fiksu Feed.

Apple on Wednesday unveiled the “new” iPad. CNN reports the gadget will land in stores on March 16. The new tablet will have a flashy “retina display” previously only available on the iPhone, a new “AX5” processor capable of speeds twice that of the iPad 2, an improved camera and voice dictation, just to name a few new features. The entry-level price for the new iPad will remain the same as the current model: $499 for a version with 16 GB of storage.

TechCrunch is reporting on some pretty impressive numbers presented by Apple CEO, Tim Cook, prior to Wednesday’s launch. According to Cook, iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches accounted for 76 percent of Apple’s Q4 2011 revenue. During that quarter, 15.4 million iPads were sold, eclipsing the sales performance of nearly every other major PC manufacturer during that same time period.

And there is no doubt that the new iPad was considered during the development of a new Forrester report highlighted by CNET. According to the report, approximately 112.5 million adults, or 34 percent of the population, will own a tablet by 2016. If that prediction proves correct, it means the industry will sell almost 293 million tablets in the six years between 2010 and 2016. And a separate industry forecast from eMarketer predicts that 13.2 percent of the U.S. population will use an iPad at least once per month this year alone. This week’s industry data certainly seems to indicate that the tablet craze is here to stay.