If you were wondering exactly what Apple had in mind with its
acquisition of Quattro Wireless a few months back, the picture gets a little clearer today with the announcement of the iAd mobile ad platform alongside
iPhone OS 4.0 today with the company saying that iPhone devs have a billion "ad opportunities" per day. The idea is to keep users in the apps to see interactive, "emotional" ad content as often as once every three minutes -- not to "yank" them out, as Steve puts it -- while developers are rewarded with a 60 percent cut of the revenue. Ads are hosted and served by Apple, and while there'll be some sort of approval process, Steve's describing it as a "light touch," so it probably isn't the same process traditional apps go through. This makes things considerably more interesting for the mobile advertising business as a whole, since Google's been trying to seal the deal on an acquisition of industry leader
AdMob for a while now in the face of some pretty intense FTC scrutiny. Certainly seems like this would grease the wheel a little bit, doesn't it?
posted April 8th 2010 1:42PM
good job apple....
@hbueain
Only an Apple fan can be thrilled about ads encroaching on their device. Especially persistent ads that are controlled at the OS level. Wow.
@hbueain
Now we are going to plaster your iPhone with ads that we take a huge cut from, while we hammer you and take your $40 a month from the data plan. This is an innovation, we rape you twice as hard and you still get nothing in return. You are Apple's bitch. Steve is your pimp.
@hbueain
Kudos to Apple!
The Haters are losing their minds...
@hbueain
Jobs: "Now you get to see ads on your phone!"
iFanatics: "YES YES! OMG they will look soooo pretty and cool!
Suck it Apple haters! Now we got ads to look at. What you got?!"
If this wasn't illustrating the reality, It would be a 2nd rate parody at best.
@tklr08
Huge cut? Are you smoking crack?
60% to dev's is fucking great. I run several websites, iPhone and iPad apps and I don't get 60% from any advertiser. With admob your lucky to get 30% on a click.
iAds is a great thing and will allow many paid apps to go free.
@dlewis23
No joke, I was just explaining that to someone else. My comment is "sarcastic."
@hbueain:
Steve can go to hell for iAd. An ad is an ad no matter which way you spin it. Remember all the shit Microsoft got for the ads on the Zune, well iAd is going to be even worse.
Combine iAd with no multitasking for 3G iPhones and iOut when my contract is up.
@hbueain
This seems pretty much copying MSFT in their ad attempt on WP7.
@Jordan
That's a great point. Engadget went crazy over ads on the Zune HD. Even when it was for free content. Now with Apple it's no big deal. I love the live post:
"11:14AM Lots of talk about iAd... which isn't quite Engadget's bread and butter."
Say what? All you talk about is the great user experience on the iPhone and iPad. Now that Apple introduces ads at the OS level it's not quite your bread and butter? I just don't get it. Why aren't you going crazy over this?
When people gripe about bias this is a prime example. MS does something and it is completely wrong and disturbing. Apple does the same thing - but worse - and it's suddenly not comment worthy. Total BS.
@bjsguess
As an AAPL stockholder, I am VERY pleased. Why shouldn't apple get a cut of the ads that they're serving on their own platform?
@DTJ:
Great for you, but as a consumer, why do we want to put up with that shit?
@hbueain
Gotta love how all the Apple Haters switched their arguments from "How are developers going to make money without Flash" and "Apple hates Developers!" to "Apple hates Customers!"
And the Hate keeps on trucking.
@cherryboom
Who brought up Android? And why are so unhinged?
Who cares what this does for Apple's stock prices OR what it does in terms of lining developer's pockets with cash (huge assumption by the way). This site is about technology and user experience. Go the WSJ if you want to talk business.
How ANYONE can defend this practice is absolutely crazy. I haven't seen anything close to being this intrusive in terms of user experience. Unless the phones and data plans are completely subsidized (which they won't be), this makes ZERO sense for a consumer. It's that simple.
@dlewis23 Biggest problem I see is that people will be putting them into paid apps more than likely as well. I like to see a warning sticker in that case-- something along the lines of "this paid app has iAd advertising," so that I'll know not to buy them. Pet peeve of mine: I don't buy anything in electronic format that includes advertising. And truthfully, I don't buy anything in paper format that includes advertising, just because I haven't bought a magazine or newspaper in ages.
@hbueain
This is going to be horrible if our 'unlimited' data plans get capped. This is going to use so much extra bandwidth. It's an app within an ad.
Also, this seems unfair to much of the advertising industry. Apple can modify iPhone OS to always deliver a superior ad platform, while others have to work with what they're given. What would happen if Microsoft made a advertising business and integrated it into Windows? "Antitrust!"
@Jordan: Ciao, clown. Android/Google is one big ad network.
@Peter Church Funny thing I see is that all the Apple fanbois are crowing about, when you get right down to it, how cool it is that Apple is going to have an add network of their own that they will use to track your add clicks. Really? You guys are excited about this feature?
@TheLondonExchange Kudos to Apple? Are you serious? Damn, Steve and his engineers have upped the ante and made a stronger Kool-aid and somehow found a way to administer this over the air. Good god man, you are actually giving Apple Kudos to force feeding you ads on a device that you paid 200-400 dollars for and signed your life away for two years! Not to mention the $100 dollars you pay to ATT for data and voice on this over priced billboard. You are every companies dream you eat up everything. WOW, JUST WOW!
@dlewis23 Yes great to developers, but really bad for end users! Can you imagine how many ads you are going to see in everything? This is no longer a phone just a really expensive billboard.
@Jordan
"Steve can go to hell for iAd. "
He sure will ...
http://translate.google.com/#ro|en|iad .
@tklr08 You get free apps and less ads with iAds. Did you even watch the presentation?
@Narutogrey
Don't try and justify an ad system on a closed OS to me. Especially since iPod touch owners have to pay for the update.
@Shadow08
If MS integrated into a device they sold it wouldn't be anti-trust at all. Its Apples OS and Apples hardware, thats the difference. If they make a Zune phone you can bet your ass off they will have in app advertising..it just makes sense.
I do agree that paid apps should have some sort of flag before you purchase letting you know if its iAD supported. Maybe an "iAD Free" icon?
@bjsguess
actually, you are so wrong. iAd is NOT designed to be obtrusive - in fact, it's just the opposite. You see, there are already tons of free apps that have ads in them which look pretty bad and opens in a browser window if clicked. Pretty boring, too.
Now ads aren't very fun to begin with, but at least this improves the overall user experience while you're using an ad-supported app for free.
I am not impressed by the amount of people complaining about this story. THERE ARE ALREADY ADS, in your ad-apps on the iPhone, on e.g. Live Messenger on Windows and everywhere on Google.
This is just a slicker way of doing it, but doesn't mean that the iPhone itself will show you ads, or any of the $0.99 apps in the AppStore.
Did you even read the live blog?
@dlewis23
What a mess, you really think END USERS want this crap... your dead wrong, Apple have lost their brains with this one!
I WAS an Apple fan, not after today... see yah!
@Narutogrey "Apple can further determine whether a user pays attention to the advertisement. The determination can include performing, while the advertisement is presented, an operation that urges the user to respond; and detecting whether the user responds to the performed operation. If the response is inappropriate or nonexistent, the system will go into lock down mode in some form or other until the user complies. In the case of an iPod, the sound could be disconnected rendering it useless until compliance is met. For the iPhone, no calls will be able to be made or received."
That was from an October 2009 patent filing...
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/03/apples-power-advertising-patent-may-stir-the-crazies-into-a-frenzy.html
@bjsguess
After seeing the demo, i wanted to buy an iphone so i can play with the ads.
I was left really impressed by V4, but think im still on track for a Mini5.
@Ariel Bender but it's 85% free... this is an apples, free oranges argument.
@Jordan
yeah I was a little pissed when they announced no multitasking for the 3G, so im out too. Not playing Apples game anymore, and I told my gf not to get a new iphone either. She wants one because her 2G apparently isnt good enough for MMS. Theres no way ill update to OS 4.0 now, and I guarantee Apple made sure that iAd is supported by every iPhone, including 2G, and the iTouch/iPad. My contract doesnt end until 11/2011 so I'll be paying an ETF this November. I'm going back to Sprint and getting an Evo 4G. Jobs really has some nerve pulling this kinda crap.....
I'm not one for ads, but atleast these will beat ugly text ads
@Sled HAHA, I mean, honestly you might be right, I dunno. But this was so predicted by someone "now Apple fanboys will be arguing that their ads look better". I'm not trying to say you are a fanboy, but this is just classic here. Also, the part I like about text ads on the internet is I never see them, these beautiful ads, well, they might be effective and that'd be what I wouldn't want to see 99% of the time.
@Sled
What ads? Use Ad-Blocker.
@Sled
I agree and hopefully the price of some apps will be reduced .
On another note how much were the devs making from the ads?
Is the 60/40 reasonable to them
anyone?
@juanvaldez
I'm not justifying anything. I hate ads, but I would rather see an icon then an admob that followed me around my screen.
Personal preference I guess.
@Sled I'm not one for ads either, but the fact that they will have interactive ads probably caching in the background and stealing bandwidth and battery life isn't looking all to great to me. Think about it, how could the make a smooth transition into the highly interactive ads they demoed without some caching behind the scenes? Plain old static text is fine by me, easier to ignore.
@Sled Well, I'm thinking the there'll be on app on jailbroken iPhones that'll enable add blocking.
@bjsguess Thats all fine and dandy but when an app has them built in there will be no "ad blocker" don't you realize this?
@KAL326
The iAd's are using html as their code base, so I don't see how this would slow any process down. plus most ad's will be a simple image and onclick will expand to the "interactive ad"
@angermeans
My comment was around the comparison the poster was making to traditional ads on the internet - text based versions. My point is that I don't see any ads thanks to Ad Blocker (and other extensions/plug-ins).
Having forced ads on a mobile device is just crappy no matter how you slice it.
@bjsguess It's no different than what it is now on the iPhone, Android, Palm and any other smart phone. The only difference is that when you click on the add, instead of going to a browser, it launches the ad in the ap. If you don't want it, just don't click on it. Going to Android or WP7 won't get you away from the same ads...it just looks different when you click on it.
@dan828 I use Firewall IP on my jb 3GS :) what ads?
I am in for the ads if the developers kill $9.99 or $14.99 price.
@mps
Apple is a bit greedy when Google gives 78.5% of the revenue back.
@mps
Are you sure? For Google as a company the payout to ad partners is 35 %. They spend 30 % for their other cost, like salaries. And 35 % is profit (higher margin than Apple by the way).
Go check out their Annual Report. http://biz.yahoo.com/e/100212/goog10-k.html
Apple's keeping 40% for themselves? I have a feeling this will clutter apps in the future - and Apple's stealing some serious money with that 40% cut - Can you say greedy? Lock down your device and then charge for an implementation that only you can do because you've locked it down?
@Phenom
Do you know how ad companies work? That's actually a small cut that Apple is taking. Some affiliate networks split it up 50/50. I've even seen 70/30.
@Phenom Perhaps Apple will limit the way they are implemented (duration, size, count, etc.), but perhaps not..
@tklr08 And how much does Google charge?
@Phenom
Google charges different amounts for different keywords (for their advertising for advertisers, not publishers, look up Adwords) for their publishers(Adsense), they pay per click, but nobody knows how much is being paid to Google vs Being paid to publishers except the advertisers.