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AdMob CEO says Apple isn't enforcing mobile advertising restrictions
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."
Apple turns on iAds for iOS 4 devices in North America, right on schedule
Steve himself noted at WWDC that iAds would go live for "all iOS 4 devices" on Canada Day, and sure enough, they look to be popping up today. One eagle-eyed tipster has already found one within the 'Mirror: for iPod and iPhone' app, shown above. It's certainly quite a bit more visually soothing than some other ads we've seen, but we aren't here to judge -- instead, we'd love to hear your take on it. Have you seen any iAds creep into your apps today? Whatcha think of 'em? Let us know in comments below. Update: Looks like a Nissan Leaf iAd has debuted as well; the vid's after the break of that one. Update 2: Oh, and this is just for North America for now. Everyone else will have to wait. Crushing, we know. [Thanks, Spencer]
iOS 4 privacy policy updated: Apple can anonymously collect location data, you can take away iAds' cookies
It may not be a big deal -- Android's done it for years -- but some will no doubt be interested to learn that Apple can monitor your GPS. In the latest revision of its privacy policy, presumably updated for iOS 4, it revealed the company can anonymously track the "real-time geographic location" of devices and is free to share that data with "partners and licensees" as well. In a nutshell, that means Cupertino could potentially sell location data, but don't get in a tiff just yet -- the company says it will do so anonymously and for location-based services only. Speaking of sales and personally identifiable data, another addition to iOS 4 is the ad network iAd, which monitors your browsing habits and interests and serves up targeted advertisements respectively. According to the updated privacy policy, however, you don't need to let the OS do that. Simply navigate to http://oo.apple.com to shut down automated cookie collection, and you'll see boring, generic ads instead.
Financial Times: US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple's mobile advertising practices
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.
Apple revises iOS rules on outside advertisers, cuts out Google, Adobe by implication
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.
Adobe and Greystripe partner for ads that convert Flash to HTML5
When you complain about Apple's products lacking Flash support, we figure you're talking about games and video, but web developers have to make a living too, right? That's why Greystripe and Adobe are working together to bring ads to iDevices all around, with an intriguing technology that might one day enable the real reasons we want Flash as well. Like the Smokescreen demo we saw last week, Greystripe can reportedly transcode the banned content to HTML5 on the fly, and it's apparently impressive enough that Adobe's signed on to create an interactive, crossplatform ad solution (also on Android and Java devices) priced and marketed specifically to rival Apple's own. With Apple's distinguished record as keeper of the walled garden, we'll see how well that goes, but we're definitely interested in other possibilities for the company's code. Full press release after the break.
WWDC 2010: More iAds details emerge
Steve Jobs said Apple created iAds to help developers make more money. The problem before iAds, to hear Apple tell the tale, had been that mobile ads on the iPhone were a bit of a kludge: different systems supported only basic interaction, they dumped you to Safari most of the time, and as each ad network does things differently, a developer wanting to make ad-supported apps had to do the math every time they signed up. With iAds, developers get 60% of the revenue generated by the ad in their app. They can pretty easily drop them into their apps because the system is built into iOS 4. But will anyone use them? Advertisers are convinced they will. Quoting Steve via this morning's liveblogs, "So let me tell you some of the brands that will be advertising with us. Nissan, Citi, Unilever, AT&T, Chanel, GE, Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Geico, Campbells, Sears, JC Penny, Target, Best Buy, Direct TV, TBS, and Disney... those are some of the brands." Those are no small potatoes. At the keynote Steve demonstrated an iAd for the upcoming Nissan Leaf electric car. It's a compelling ad, to be sure, with an interactive signup feature and even a chance to win a car just through the ad. Steve went so far as to project that Apple would have 48% of the mobile advertising market locked up by the end of this year. That's the $60 million in commitments they've got so far and then some! Granted, this is all new movement, and the ad industry has been desperate for a new play lately, with most "standard" ads on the web being annoying or easy to gloss over. Ad execs are clucking their tongues over the richness of the iAds platform (while seemingly missing the fact that they could have always built engaging experiences on the web this way without resorting to Flash). On the developer side... Well, I'll do a little informal polling whilst here in San Francisco. But I think Apple will make this so easy to do that it'll be an easy decision for developers ready to serve advertising. My only concern: will these ads be sucking up the precious bandwidth on AT&T's network, causing me overages on data? I guess we'll find out when the system launches July 1 along with iOS 4. photo courtesy Engadget
FTC approves Google's AdMob buy, cites Apple's iAd competition
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."
AdAge doesn't like iAd's pricing scheme
AdvertisingAge confirms today what the Wall Street Journal pointed out last week: advertising with Apple's iAd service won't be cheap. Most advertising agencies charge either a flat rate per thousand impressions (CPM) or a small amount each time a user clicks an ad (CPC). With iAd, Apple will do both. Under Apple's arrangement, advertisers will pay US$10 per 1,000 impressions, $0.01 for each ad displayed, and $2 for each ad clicked. By comparison, AdMob reportedly charges $10 to $15 CPM (on average). Customers opting into CPC campaigns will pay $0.15 to $0.30 per click. AdAge's Kunur Patel and Michael Learmont dislike Apple's deal, saying "Apple is reinventing mobile ad pricing, and not in a good way." Fortune notes that Apple has not yet released an iAds developer's kit, meaning that customers will have to work with Apple when creating campaigns. Again, the price tag is high: Apple will charge $50,000 to $100,000 to agencies spending less than $1 million on iAd buys, according to agency executives. In related news, Google is currently hoping to convince the FTC to allow its intended purchase of AdMob. They're using Apple's forthcoming iAds service as evidence of competition in the mobile advertising market.
Apple under preliminary antitrust investigation over iPhone, triggered by complaint from Adobe
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.
WSJ: Apple to charge a premium to put ads in mobile apps
When Steve Jobs introduced iAd on April 8th, he provided some details on how it would work, but not all. Now, the Wall Street Journal is reporting on the cost for early participants, and it's steep. Apple is currently on a dog-and-pony-show tour, proclaiming the benefits of iAd to potential customers across the US. According to a "person familiar with the matter," initial participants could be charged as much as $10 million. It's a number that has some market veterans surprised. Phuc Truong, managing director at Mobext, called it "...a hefty sum... What Apple is trying to do is certainly above and beyond what's been done in the past." Mobext's clients include Sears, Choice Hotels, Amtrak and Volvo. Apple and developers will share iAd revenue with a 40/60 split; that is, Apple gets 40% while developers get 60%. In addition, Apple will charge advertisers US$0.01 for each ad displayed. If a user taps a banner and brings up an ad, Apple will charge $2. Under the $1 million package, the WSJ points out, costs would potentially reach $1 million with all of that tapping. With 85 million installed iPhone, iPod touch and iPad customers, the potential customer base is huge. I tend to ignore ads in apps, but if they can provide me with something more than a picture and a pitch -- location-based store finders, coupons or a little entertainment for example -- I'll pay attention. Now what about iAd for podcasts?
Steve Jobs: 'we tried to buy a company called AdMob'
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.
Apple iAd brings ads, cash money to third-party iPhone apps
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?%Gallery-90060%
Apple to announce iAd / AdKit mobile ad platform on Thursday?
Here's an interesting little rumor that seems all too plausible: Peter Kafka at All Things Digital says sources are telling him Apple will announce a new mobile ad network based on its Quattro Wireless acquisition on Thursday at its iPhone OS 4 event, a report that jibes completely with what we learned about the iAd / AdKit framework present in the iPhone OS just last week. Kafka also says that Google will undoubtedly cheer the move on, since it's trying to convince the FTC to approve its $750m AdMob acquisition -- the presence of a formidable competitor like Apple in the mobile ad space makes the buyout seem more like healthy business and less like "evil monopoly that owns every ad on the internet and is stalking innocents for their flesh with Google Buzz." Our guess is that Apple will give developers a standard way to place ads in their apps using a new OS service and split the revenue 70/30, just like paid apps in the App Store, but that's just a shot in the dark -- we'll see what happens on Thursday.
Apple to announce iAd / AdKit 'mobile advertising system' on April 7th?
Since Apple's acquisition of Quattro Wireless in January, both parties have been keeping mum on plans for Madison Avenue domination, but now MediaPost claims to know a thing or two about the newlyweds. According to the report, Apple will apparently unveil "a new personalized, mobile advertising system" which will go by the underwhelming name of "iAd" on April 7th. The article speculates that the service could be heavily focused on location-aware advertising, though that angle could hit some snags as apparently coffee-partner / arch nemesis Eric Schmidt and a little company called Google hold patents on said functionality. Of course, something that drives a wedge between these two players wouldn't exactly be a surprise at this point -- and we'd be happy if Apple doesn't cash in on those ad-supported OS ideas it's recently had. Really, we're not surprised to hear this may be coming, as a tipster just pinged us with info that an "AdKit" reference has shown up in a special file on Apple's public "Phobos" server. This file, which is called StoreBag, provides a public XML interface into iTunes. That interface describes how applications and web browsers can "call home" to either retrieve iTunes information pages or to request that iTunes jump to a given product listing. What you see here is a key-value pair from that file. The URL string that follows after the "adkit-product-url" key suggests that Apple is about to introduce a way to link ads with product URLs. How will this URL work exactly? It's hard to say without any further details, which are regrettably sparse on the ground, but it suggests that ad sourced product links can be used in a similar way to affiliate-driven links. <key>adkit-product-url</key> <string>http://ax.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/adkitProduct</string> Not much else is known about Apple's first venture into the ad business at this stage, but Steve Jobs has allegedly told some executives that this will be "revolutionary" and "our next big thing." Frankly, we're starting to get a little concerned with just how often the folks in Cupertino are bandying around the word "revolutionary" -- but we'll hold our judgments until after this announcement happens (if it happens at all).
Apple to announce iAd mobile advertising platform
Earlier this month, Apple posted a job listing that hinted at mobile advertising. Steve Jobs had strong words for Google when he told employees "We did not enter the search business. They [Google] entered the phone business." It was always interesting that Jobs never said anything about Apple not entering the ad business. Perhaps this is why. If iAds are announced on April 7th, you can bet Google will have some strong reactions to it. But who knows, maybe Steve was trying to break the iAd news to Eric Schmidt gently over that coffee the other day?
