Internet ad spending slowed sharply in the first half of the year after a strong recovery in 2011, but still hit a new high of $17 billion as smartphones and tablets became more popular.

Data released yesterday by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers showed the growth slowed to 14 percent from 23 percent in the year-ago period.

Mobile advertising was a strong gainer, jumping 95 percent to $1.2 billion. Video advertising rose 18 percent to $1 billion.

Search adstook the biggest share of the spending at $8.1 billion, while display ads totaled $5.6 billion.