Apple vs. AdMob: Top News and Brief

Apple has changed its mobile advertising policies in a way that could be damaging to competition – so says AdMob, its main competition. The new policies basically block any mobile advertiser that is associated with an Apple competitor from placing ads on iAds, the Apple mobile ad platform. And to many eyes, this is a direct move against the Google/Admob network.

AdMob vs. Apple

Apple has announced that only “independent” mobile advertisers will be allowed to place inventory on iAds. What does it mean by that? Well, Apple goes on to specifically state that a company will not be allowed to use iAds if it is “owned by or affiliated with a developer or distributor of mobile devices, mobile operating systems or development environments other than Apple”.

Effectively Apple is saying “if you’re owned by one of our competitors, you’re not allowed on iAds”. This has been seen by many as a direct attack on the main competitor to iAds – the AdMob network, which is owned by Google. And Google most definitely falls under all the categories above:

It develops and distributes its own mobile device: Nexus One
It develops and distributes its own mobile OS: Android
It develops and distributes its own development environment: Android Marketplace, and associated SDKs and APIs

For more information:

Google mobile ad chief fires back at Apple lockout

It’s Official – Apple Kicking Google Out of iWorld

Apple iAd platform ‘will harm developers’, says AdMob chief