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Shocker! Tablet ad requests up 700 percent during 2011

Sharif Sakr — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:01:00 EST

Good news: all those new tablets you see reported on these pages aren't being stolen by elves; they're entering the human population at large and -- most Christmassy of all -- they're displaying ads. Google told TechCrunch that its AdMob platform saw eight billion ad requests from tablets during the month of November, compared to one lonely billion back in December 2010. Total AdMob requests amount to roughly three billion per day, however, so tablet advertising is still sugary froth compared to that on smartphones.

Shocker! Tablet ad requests up 700 percent during 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android developer anecdotally claims AdMob brings home the bacon

Sean Hollister — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:59:00 EST

In February 2009, Arron La's $0.99 Advanced Task Manager was one of the first paid apps on Android, allowing T-Mobile G1 users to do what was then a novel thing -- close applications. (We immediately bought a copy.) Today, the app is all but obsolete, its functionality baked right into Android's core, but Arron's still making thousands of dollars a month. Why do we bring this up? Because nine months after Arron released the pay-first version, he unleashed an ad-supported variant as well... and since that day, each has contributed about the same amount ($30,000) of money. It's not exactly an object lesson in what's possible on the 70,000-application-strong Android Market, as this gentleman obviously had quite the head start, but it does show that when it comes time to monetize your best-thing-since-sliced-bread app, there's more than one option -- ads can be an equally good revenue source. Find rays of hope for indie development (and several stormy clouds for comparison) at the links below.

Update: Did we say 50,000 apps? We meant more like 70K and counting as of July. Thanks to the astute commenters who pointed this out.

[Thanks, Shannon G.]

Android developer anecdotally claims AdMob brings home the bacon originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AdMob CEO says Apple isn't enforcing mobile advertising restrictions

Donald Melanson — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:54:00 EST

They prompted some public outcry from competitors and a preliminary antitrust investigation from the US government, but it looks like Apple isn't even enforcing those new rules on outside ad networks -- at least not yet. That's according to none other than AdMob CEO Omar Hamoui himself, who said at the MobileBeat conference this week that "they haven't been enforcing" the new regulations yet, and that he's "very appreciative of that." If enforced, those regulations would prevent companies like AdMob from collecting some analytic data on ads placed in iOS applications -- data that Apple itself could collect with its iAd platform. Of course, it's not clear when or if Apple will start enforcing the rules, but Hamoui seems to be content with the current situation, and even went out of his way to praise Apple's own advertising efforts, saying that "anybody getting advertisers interested in mobile is a good thing. It's not at all a zero-sum game."

AdMob CEO says Apple isn't enforcing mobile advertising restrictions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Financial Times: US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple's mobile advertising practices

Donald Melanson — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:23:00 EST

There's not a lot of details on this at the moment, but the Financial Times is reporting that US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple's mobile advertising practices to see whether they unfairly restrict rivals like Google and Microsoft. As you'll recall, Apple recently revised its rules on outside advertisers and, specifically, their ability to collect analytics on ads for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, effectively cutting out Google's AdMob in the process -- something the company's CEO has publicly complained about. What's next? That's still not certain -- the Financial Times says that while US regulators have taken an interest, it's still not clear whether the FTC or the Department of Justice will handle the investigation going forward.

Financial Times: US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple's mobile advertising practices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AdMob CEO responds to Apple's new advertising rules: 'not in the best interests of users or developers' (update: Greystripe responds)

Donald Melanson — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:32:00 EST

We had a pretty good idea what Google and its AdMob division would think of Apple's new rules on outside advertising companies collecting analytics, but AdMob CEO Omar Hamoui has now spelled it out himself. In a post on the company's blog today, Hamoui says flat out that if the changes are enforced as written, they would "prohibit app developers from using AdMob and Google's advertising solutions on the iPhone." That, he says, would "not [be] in the best interests of users or developers," noting that "in the history of technology and innovation, it's clear that competition delivers the best outcome," and that "artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress." As for what Google and AdMob are going to do about it, Hamoui would only say that they're going to be "speaking to Apple to express our concerns about the impact of these terms." We've also reached out to Greystripe for comment -- which would also seem to be affected by the new rules -- but have yet to hear back.

Update: We just got a statement from Adobe's partner Greystripe, which says Apple's new rules won't prevent it from operating on the iPhone and iPad.

"We are pleased that Apple's new terms and conditions explicitly allow Greystripe, an independent ad network, to operate on the iPhone and iPad platforms. It confirms the value of 3rd party ad networks in enabling developers to earn great revenue with their applications."

- Dane Holewinski, Director of Marketing for Greystripe

AdMob CEO responds to Apple's new advertising rules: 'not in the best interests of users or developers' (update: Greystripe responds) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple revises iOS rules on outside advertisers, cuts out Google, Adobe by implication

Donald Melanson — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:52:00 EST

Apple and Google's newfound rivalry in the mobile advertising space was already pretty interesting to watch as it stood, and it looks like things just got more interesting still. As expected following Steve Jobs' comments at D8 last week, Apple has now revised its rules on advertising in iOS to allow outside advertisers to collect stats for ads, but the company has included some language in the new rules that seems to effectively cut out Google's AdMob. While it obviously doesn't mention Google by name, only "independent" advertising providers can collect tracking stats, and Apple says that any "advertising service provider owned by or affiliated with a developer or distributor of mobile devices, mobile operating systems or development environments other than Apple would not qualify as independent." That would seem to not only affect AdMob, but Adobe and Greystripe's just-announced effort as well, considering it specifically mentions companies affiliated with "development environments other than Apple." We told you things would get interesting. Head on past the break for the complete relevant section.

Continue reading Apple revises iOS rules on outside advertisers, cuts out Google, Adobe by implication

Apple revises iOS rules on outside advertisers, cuts out Google, Adobe by implication originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google officially acquires AdMob

Ross Miller — Thu, 27 May 2010 18:15:00 EST

It was only a (brief) matter of time once it cleared the FTC's final approval last week (with a special thanks to Apple's iAd): Google is now the proud owner of one AdMob. According to Product Management VP Susan Wojcicki, the company is now integrating all the teams and products together. Full details are at the Official Google Blog, and after the break, check out an email purportedly from AdMob CEO Omar Hamoui.

Continue reading Google officially acquires AdMob

Google officially acquires AdMob originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FTC approves Google's AdMob buy, cites Apple's iAd competition

Nilay Patel — Fri, 21 May 2010 12:32:00 EST

Google's attempt to swoop in and buy AdMob out from under Apple was looking like a Pyrrhic victory for a second there, as Federal Trade Commission approval of the deal hung in the balance based on concerns that El Goog would control far too much of the online advertising market. It's ironic, then, that Apple's acquisition of Quattro Wireless and the introduction of the iAd platform in iPhone OS 4 is what convinced the feds to let Google's acquisition go through -- the FTC says that Apple's entry into the market will provide significant competition to AdMob, regardless of whether or not it's owned by Google. That means Google's free to pursue all the ad-based initiatives in Froyo it announced yesterday at I/O, and it means we should see the already-heated rhetoric between Mountain View and Cupertino get another notch hotter. It's going to be a wild summer, folks -- get ready.

Update: Here's a statement from AdMob founder and CEO Omar Hamoui on the deal -- he's got a fuller piece on his blog, linked below.

"We are extremely pleased with today's decision from the Federal Trade Commission to clear Google's acquisition of AdMob. Over the past six months we've received a great deal of support from across the mobile industry - and we deeply appreciate it. Our focus is now on working with the team at Google team to quickly close the deal."

FTC approves Google's AdMob buy, cites Apple's iAd competition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple under preliminary antitrust investigation over iPhone, triggered by complaint from Adobe

Nilay Patel — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:53:00 EST

We'd heard a somewhat sketchy report from the New York Post yesterday that the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission were considering launching an antitrust inquiry into Apple and its various iPhone-related practices, and now it's being confirmed by Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, who say the inquiry was triggered by complaints from Apple's competitors and app developers -- specifically Adobe, according to Bloomberg. The DOJ and FTC are currently deciding which agency will take the lead in any inquiry, but if and when it gets underway there are a few issues at play: the first is obviously Apple's decision to block Flash and other middleware from app development, and the second is Apple's new iAd platform, which comes with its own changes to the iPhone developer agreement that could potentially lock out third-party ad and analytics services like AdMob -- itself under regulatory scrutiny due to the Google acquisition -- and Flurry.

We'd also imagine regulators will take a close look at Apple's App Store policies in general, but from a distance looks like the focus is on mobile advertising: both Apple and Google have made aggressive moves into the space in recent months, and both have come under regulatory scrutiny. We'll just have to wait and see how this one plays out -- there's still no official word from either agency on what's happening, and the timeline of any potential investigation and lawsuit will be measured in months and years.

Apple under preliminary antitrust investigation over iPhone, triggered by complaint from Adobe originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs: 'we tried to buy a company called AdMob'

Chris Ziegler — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:41:00 EST

We'd previously heard rumors that Quattro Wireless was Apple's consolation prize after a deal with bigger mobile advertising rival AdMob fell through, and Steve Jobs confirmed it on no uncertain terms at the Q&A session following today's iPhone OS 4.0 event: "we tried to buy a company called AdMob... but Google snatched it away." Indeed they did, though that deal hasn't yet been approved by the Federal Trade Commission while Apple's already up, up and away with its iAd solution, so it seems like everything shook out for the best -- if you're an iPhone developer, anyway.

Steve Jobs: 'we tried to buy a company called AdMob' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stats: iPhone OS is still king of the mobile web space, but Android is nipping at its heels

Vlad Savov — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:18:00 EST

AdMob serves north of 10 billion ads per month to more than 15,000 mobile websites and applications. Thus, although its data is about ad rather than page impressions, it can be taken as a pretty robust indicator of how web usage habits are developing and changing over time. Android is the big standout of its most recent figures, with Google loyalists now constituting a cool 42 percent of AdMob's smartphone audience in the US. With the EVO 4G and Galaxy S rapidly approaching, we wouldn't be surprised by the little green droid stealing away the US share crown, at least until Apple counters with its next slice of magical machinery. Looking at the global stage, Android has also recently skipped ahead of Symbian, with a 24 percent share versus 18 percent for the smartphone leader. Together with BlackBerry OS, Symbian is still the predominant operating system in terms of smartphone sales, but it's interesting to see both falling behind in the field of web or application usage, which is what this metric seeks to measure. Figures from Net Applications (to be found at the TheAppleBlog link) and ArsTechnica's own mobile user numbers corroborate these findings.

Stats: iPhone OS is still king of the mobile web space, but Android is nipping at its heels originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stats show Motorola Droid is the new elephant in the Android room

Chris Ziegler — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:01:00 EST

Remember back in the day when the West was still wild, the gold rush was still in full effect, you owned whatever land you could manage to fence off, and tycoons were being made and broken on a daily basis? No? Well, some of you whippersnappers might be too young to recall it, but trust us, it happened -- and it seems like that's the kind of frontier mentality we're getting again today in the nascent Android landscape. Just a couple weeks after launching, mobile ad clearinghouse AdMob reports that the Motorola Droid is already accounting for a whopping 24 percent of all its Android-based traffic -- no small feat, considering that the then-unreleased device didn't even move the needle in their October report (pictured in the left graph). The HTC Dream -- the world's first retail Android device, you might remember -- still reigns supreme at 36 percent, but it's amazing that the entire Android space is still volatile enough to register nearly a 25 percent shift with the launch of a single new device on a single carrier. For comparison, the CLIQ clocks in with a lowly 6 percent -- proof that Verizon's aggressive advertising has been working some magic. Question is, what'll be the next device to completely screw up this pie chart again?

Stats show Motorola Droid is the new elephant in the Android room originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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