Apple Introduces Mobile Ads with iPhone OS 4.0

At an event held by Apple today, the company unveiled what’s to come in the upcoming iPhone OS, version 4.0. Multi-tasking was one introduced feature that took almost no one by surprise, but another that’s causing quite a stir all over is the introduction of Apple’s mobile advertising platform… “iAd”. Simply put, the platform will allow developers the ability to monetize their software with ads, easily.

It’s easy to understand why a platform like iAd would cause such a commotion. After all, I know of few people who genuinely “like” advertising, and many find it outright intrusive. But imagine downloading that free app from the App Store, and at the very bottom, an ad is displayed, at all times or at least sometimes. Would you consider it annoying, or a given?

As we run a website that relies solely on ad revenue, I tend to have a slightly different view on advertising than most. For me, I don’t mind putting up with it as long as it doesn’t give me a reason to hate it. Ads that make noise with no user intervention is an example of an ad I hate (and is an example of an ad we’ll never host on our site). But if I use a service, I don’t mind ads as I know they help pay for the resources I’m using.

I don’t use an iPhone, or any “smart” mobile device for that matter, but iAd isn’t something that would personally bother me too much, but again, it all depends on a couple of factors. First, if it’s non-intrusive, and is merely an ad that just sits there, then great. But if it’s an ad that flashes uncontrollably, or makes noise, I think it’s safe to say that anyone would have a reason to be upset.

Another factor would be ad placement. On free apps, I can understand it, and would even welcome it. After all, creating an app does take time and effort, so to give back to the developer, even indirectly, is nice. But I would never condone seeing an ad in a paid app, and the reason is simple… you paid for it. Of course, that logic doesn’t always work out to our favor either, given that game developers have been toying with in-game advertising for a little while now.

What are your thoughts on this? Would in-app ads give you enough cause to jump ship to a different mobile platform? Would you be the first on your block to try to jailbreak to get around it? Or will you get out there and create your own app and try to make a little green off of it?

Apple’s new mobile advertising platform, combines the emotion of TV ads with the interactivity of web ads. 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.