Reinforcing my decision to go Apple-free
Apple's new iPhone developers agreement, which emerged in April, prohibited data about app usage to be transmitted to any outside analytics companies, which help agencies target their ads.
Those rules rankled some app developers and generated questions from the Federal Trade Commission, one developer said.
The updated language – which was first noted by the MediaMemo blog – appeared to put in place significant new restrictions, particularly when it comes to Google.
It allows user data to be transmitted only to “an independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads,” one that is not affiliated with “a developer or distributor of mobile devices, mobile operating systems.”
This would effectively bar Google, which designed the Android mobile operating system and makes the Nexus One smartphone.
Competing is one thing. Being anti-competitive is another. From a blog post by AdMob's Omar Hamoui:
"This change threatens to decrease – or even eliminate – revenue that helps to support tens of thousands of developers. The terms hurt both large and small developers by severely limiting their choice of how best to make money. And because advertising funds a huge number of free and low cost apps, these terms are bad for consumers as well.
"Let’s be clear. This change is not in the best interests of users or developers. In the history of technology and innovation, it’s clear that competition delivers the best outcome. Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress."
Hamoui's post is here: http://blog.admob.com/2010/06/09/mobile-advertising-and-the-iphone/
