Google's AdMob mobile ad unit June 2 released a software development kit to
let developers insert advertisements into native iPhone OS applications on
Apple's iPad.
The new SDK supports text and tile and image ads in native iPad applications.
Ads targeted for iPhone OS include the iPad by default, though developers
may also target iPad devices only.
While this may seem like a small gesture, it is surely a preemptive strike against
Apple's iAd platform, expected to launch June 7 with the iPhone 4G or 4.0.
Created from Apple's acquisition of Quattro Wireless in January, iAd is Apple's
first stab at mobile advertising. This is an area where Google has a solid
start but not the firm grasp of the market that it has in desktop search.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs said iAd will
provide interactive advertisements within applications, keeping users within
their content rather than launching them to new windows.
Jobs made it clear iAd is geared for publishers and advertisers that wish to target
applications and ads for the iPhone and the iPad, of which Apple has sold more than 2 million units in less than two
months.
In fact, Apple could sell more than 10 million iPads per year. That is mobile real
estate Google's AdMob unit can't afford to ignore as it jousts with Apple to
make money from the mobile Web through ads.
This notion is not lost on company founder Omar Hamoui, who sold AdMob to Google for $750 million in a deal that closed
May 27. Hamoui said AdMob is already working with advertisers to create
campaigns for the iPad.
For example, e-commerce giant Amazon.com is running a campaign promoting its
Kindle for iPad application. See screenshots of these Kindle for iPad ads here.
Moreover, Hamoui said such ads are for the present; for the future, the
company is already testing iPad ad units using HTML5, the language Apple is
wholeheartedly supporting as it moves deeper into the Internet.
AdMob was one of the first companies to launch ad units for both iPhone and
Android applications, and it was certainly the leading provider of ads with
applications on the iPhone.
With the backing of Google's click-to-call ads and overall ad expertise,
AdMob has the chops to challenge iAd. AdMob's iPad SDK is a message to that
effect.
Enterprise Mobility News & Reviews 
