AdMob CEO comments on being thrown out of the App Store
Big surprise here, right? AdMob, freshly picked for purchase by Google (cue dramatic music) has been expelled from Valhalla, also known as the App Store, by a tiny change in the iOS developer agreement. Specifically, section 3.3.9 of the agreement, which precludes companies who do anything other than deliver ads from delivering ads on apps within Apple's precious, increasingly-walled ecosystem.
On the AdMob blog, chief exec Omar Hamoui stated, "This change is not in the best interests of users or developers. In the history of technology and innovation, it's clear that competition delivers the best outcome. Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress." Hamoui said AdMob would "be speaking with Apple," although there's no indication that Apple will listen.
I'd have to agree with Hamoui's statement. In fact, it's a little off-putting to see Apple react this way, considering it'll only lend fuel to the fire already raging around possible anti-competitive practices. No doubt Steve Jobs has a witty sentence in waiting for this one. Meanwhile, the thousands of developers using AdMob will now have to worry about deploying something else in their apps.
