iPaid too much

David Heath
Friday, 09 April 2010 14:33

Opinion and Analysis

Most observers would suggest that the pricing for Apple's new iPad tablet device is 'about right.'  So what is it with the latest announcement to permit in-application advertising?  Are we about to be taken for a ride?

The Age claims today, with some degree of exaggeration: "iPhones and iPads to be plastered with iAds".

Reading the article, one can easily see that the proposed advertising platform, to be called iAds is intended to be in-application, not plastered all over the display.  Steve Jobs is specifically quoted as saying that the platform is intended for application developers to include advertising within their products, with the advertising delivered by Apple servers

Jobs goes on to suggest that the platform has "the opportunity to make 1 billion ad impressions a day on tens of millions of Apple mobile device users."

He is also quoted as saying that he doesn't like the current style of mobile advertising; offering specific scorn for search advertising.  The intention being to "foster more engaging advertising that will not pull users away from the content within apps."

iAds is a part of the new iPhone OS 4.0 to be made available as part of the expected 'technology refresh' due around the middle of this year.

This announcement gels very nicely with the rather strident comments made by Nintendo America President Reggie Fils-Aime.