Things are happening thick and fast at Apple Inc. these days. While most iPad users are still enjoying their honeymoon period, Apple has showed off a new smartphone operating system (iPhone OS 4.0) on Thursday that features an advertising platform (iAd) to compete with Google.
iAd launch has been on the cards for a while now after Apple acquired mobile ad platform Quattro Wireless. iAd allows developers to include ads directly into their apps. The ads are designed to provide a rich promotional environment, complete with what are essentially mini apps-inside-the-app that, according to Steve Jobs, are written entirely using the HTML5 standard. iAd will allow applications developers to use advertisements in their apps, and earn 60 percent of the revenue. Apple will sell and host the ads.
iAd marks Apple’s foray into the growing online advertising market. I’m sure that the Apple Developer Community will be especially pleased with the launch of iAd as it provides them with a new revenue stream. The Apple Press Release states
iAd combines the emotion of TV ads with the interactivity of web ads. Today, when users click on mobile ads they are almost always taken out of their app to a web browser, which loads the advertiser?s webpage. Users must then navigate back to their app, and it is often difficult or impossible to return to exactly where they left. iAd solves this problem by displaying full-screen video and interactive ad content without ever leaving the app, and letting users return to their app anytime they choose. iPhone OS 4 lets developers easily embed iAd opportunities within their apps, and the ads are dynamically and wirelessly delivered to the device. Apple will sell and serve the ads, and developers will receive an industry-standard 60 percent of iAd revenue.
Steve Jobs believes that iPad has the ability to make 1 billion ad impressions a day on tens of millions of Apple mobile device users. I, for one, agree with him.
Apple vs. Google
Google is still entangled in a legal battle over its AdMob?s Acquisition and it is increasingly finding itself at loggerheads with Apple over mobile operating system (Android vs. iPhone OS), mobile phone (Nexus One vs. iPhone 3GS) and browser (Chrome vs. Safari). Google sells its own mobile ads, and the market research firm IDC estimates that Apple and Google combined would have a 24 percent share of the mobile ad market.
I have no doubt that the launch of iAd will set the alarm bells ringing at Google, given that search and online advertising are the core strengths of Google.
I’m sure that iAd would be another Apple bestseller after the iPhone, iPod Touch and the recent iPad. Your thoughts?
