Ad industry eagerly eyes Apple iPhone, iPod touch apps
Thursday, October 09, 2008 - 10:01 AM EST "Where there are eyeballs, there are usually ads. And the most eye-catching gadget of late has been the iPhone, which can now run thousands of software programs available at Apple's App store," Michal Lev-Ram reports for Fortune."More than 100 million apps have been downloaded since the store launched in July, according to Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500). Those numbers have caught the attention of advertisers who see social networking widgets, restaurant locators, mobile games and other apps as prime real estate," Lev-Ram reports.
"While just 20% of the more than 3,000 applications on the App Store are free, they make up 90% of the downloads. A growing number of them, such as popular mobile game Tap Tap Revenge and Pandora Radio, a personalized music service, are already experimenting with ads. Play a round of Tap Tap, for instance, and you'll likely see a banner ad for Jaguar cars on the bottom of your screen. Both Best Buy and Beck's have signed up to insert ads on Pandora's mobile application," Lev-Ram reports.
"Not only do the applications make it easy to zero in on a consumer's interests, but Omar Hamoui, CEO of a mobile ad network called AdMob, says the iPhone's touchscreen, built-in GPS and other features dish up more relevant ads. For example, iPhone owners might tap a banner ad for a restaurant that's near their current location and it could provide turn-by-turn directions," Lev-Ram reports.
"While some people may not embrace the idea of ads on their iPhones or Google phones, the trend also means that more apps will be available for free," Lev-Ram reports.
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "JES42" for the heads up.]


Oh sure, muck up a pretty decent device with garbage advertising.
They tried that with iTunes too.
But just look at all the millions and billions Google is pulling in from ad revenue....
...makes you wonder...slow economic times...slowing hardware sales...
Of course AT&T;will want a cut...zzz