Apple prevents location-based ads on iPhone
Apple will prevent third party developers from using its iPhone platform to enable location based advertising, in a move which is perhaps designed to protect its own future plans in the mobile ad space.
In a recent posting on its iPhone developer site, Apple informed developers how the Core Location framework for the iPhone allows third parties to build applications which know where end users are and can deliver information based on their location, such as local weather, nearby restaurants, ATMs, and other location-based information.
But, Apple warned that if developers use location-based information “to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user’s location,” the app will be returned and will have to be modified before it is accepted.
In January, Apple acquired mobile advertising firm Quattro Wireless, for somewhere in the region of $250m and $275m. Quattro is something of a competitor to Google-owned Admob, with an advertising network offers display advertising, SMS/MMS/shortcodes, rich media, video and custom programs including in-app advertising.
The company has its own Q Deliver ad server, Q Elevation targeting platform and Q Analytics analytics engine, which may suggest that Apple has plans to encroach upon Google’s territory in the mobile advertising space.
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A smart - but obvious! - move by Apple.
Reply to iPad Developer on Apple thwarts location-based advertisingObvious it may be, but it is a severe blow to the goodwill Apple has built with developers. It says we don’t care about anyone else, if we want to take a piece of the pie, everyone else can be damned. Apple does ‘evil’ for the first time in a long time
Reply to Ian on Apple thwarts location-based advertising@Ian
Reply to iPad Developer on Apple thwarts location-based advertisingI can’t see that there are many developers who will be surprised.
Given that Steve Jobs is prepared to give Adobe a kick (Flash being too buggy) when you could argue that Apple would be nothing without Creative Suite then nobody else can expect much goodwill.
If you or I were doing battle with Google we’d want all the money in our coffers as well!
Looks like Apple just signed up for an anti-trust lawsuit. Wait til the FTC hears about this one.
Reply to Steve on Apple thwarts location-based advertising