Katie Marsal
While ads began to appear in some applications, not all of the iAd network has have gone live. For example, the Showtimes application from Avantar still has a placeholder banner that reads "iAd," but no advertisement is displayed and it cannot be selected. And some applications that others have found iAds in, such as "Mirror: for iPod and iPhone," sometimes have a blank space.
iAds provide richly interactive ad experiences inside developers' apps, providing them a 60 percent cut of the advertising revenue. The hope is the advertisements — noted by the iAd logo in the corner — will be more compelling to users, because they don't have to leave their app and launch a browser to view them.
Early sponsors include Dove and Nissan. It is believed that companies paid $10 million in order to be among the first to advertise with the iAd service. Apple reportedly aims to charge companies close to $1 million for ads on its mobile devices this year.
Nissan also released a video demonstrating the functionality of its advertisement for its Leaf electric car. In the demonstration, the advertisement is accessed through the AP Mobile application from the Associated Press.
"Unlike other ads, it lives inside the app and doesn't send you to the browser, which makes for a perfectly seamless experience," the video's narrator states.
Selecting the advertisement shows a short commercial for the Leaf, and an 'X' to close the ad is available in the top-left corner of the screen, while in the bottom right, a Menu option is available. When the video concludes, it transitions seamlessly to a main menu, where users can rotate a number of icons to choose an option.
The advertisement uses navigation methods that iOS users are accustomed to, such as tapping or swiping across the screen, and shaking the handset itself for interactive features included in the advertisement. Users can even begin the process to reserve a Leaf from within the iAd.
iAds are only available on devices running the iOS 4 mobile operating system. The iPad cannot be used to view iAds, as it runs iOS 3.2. iOS 4 is expected to be released for the iPad by this November.
Charles Martin
Marko Zivkovic
Mike Wuerthele
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
Christine McKee
William Gallagher
20 Comments
I've been curious about one aspect of the iAds. Do they come fully bundled in the apps they are associated with, or do they download the ad data when a user clicks on it (each and every time)?
The reason I ask is some people are screaming about this possibly causing them to run through their data cap which is understandably not so great potentially.
It seems to me though that if it's fully bundled in the app, the downside would be larger app sizes and an initial bit of extra data to download to get the app in the first place. A small (relative) penalty, but not that bad (depending on the "richness" of the ad).
On the other hand, if it requests the data each time, the iAd could potentially be sluggish/stutter and it will also incur cellular data consumption unless you're on wifi. This might seem bad but there's nothing that says you have to click on, or view, the ads os it's easily averted.
I'm genuinely curious. Is there something I'm missing here or is it just more drama? It doesn't really bug me either way. If I see something of interest, I'll look at it, otherwise I'll just not click it and use whatever app as usual.
I've been curious about one aspect of the iAds. Do they come fully bundled in the apps they are associated with, or do they download the ad data when a user clicks on it (each and every time)?
The reason I ask is some people are screaming about this possibly causing them to run through their data cap which is understandably not so great potentially.
It seems to me though that if it's fully bundled in the app, the downside would be larger app sizes and an initial bit of extra data to download to get the app in the first place. A small (relative) penalty, but not that bad (depending on the "richness" of the ad).
On the other hand, if it requests the data each time, the iAd could potentially be sluggish/stutter and it will also incur cellular data consumption unless you're on wifi. This might seem bad but there's nothing that says you have to click on, or view, the ads os it's easily averted.
I'm genuinely curious. Is there something I'm missing here or is it just more drama? It doesn't really bug me either way. If I see something of interest, I'll look at it, otherwise I'll just not click it and use whatever app as usual.
I'm not up on the latest iAd stuff, but my general understanding was that it would give "personal" or localized ads. Not a single generic ad. So I'd think it would HAVE to download the ads each and every time.
I'm not up on the latest iAd stuff, but my general understanding was that it would give "personal" or localized ads. Not a single generic ad. So I'd think it would HAVE to download the ads each and every time.
I suppose I'll just have to so a bit more reading on it. Thanks.
Apps are not the only thing on the iTunes Store... I wonder if eventually we will be able to rent movies with iAds instead of paying a rental fee?
Apps are not the only thing on the iTunes Store... I wonder if eventually we will be able to rent movies with iAds instead of paying a rental fee?
Perhaps even music could feature a lead-in ad enabling songs to be further reduced... oh, let's say to 49 cents.