Apple Considered Purchasing AdMob?

[MacRumors]

Bloomberg reports that Apple is reported to have approached mobile advertising firm AdMob about a possible acquisition just prior Google's announcement that it had agreed to purchase the company for $750 million in stock.

AdMob Inc. was approached by Apple Inc. about an acquisition before the company agreed to a $750 million offer from Google Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple contacted AdMob a few weeks before Google made its bid, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the negotiations weren't public.

It is unclear from the report's sources the extent of Apple's seriousness regarding the potential offer, but any interest at all on Apple's part appears to reveal that the company has considered moving beyond its traditional hardware and software offerings onto Google's turf of online and mobile application advertising.

Buying AdMob would have allowed Apple to expand into online advertising, a strategy that Nokia Oyj is pursuing, Weide said.

"If a lot of traffic goes through my devices, why can't I become the middleman that serves ads against that inventory?" Weide said. "AdMob would have allowed them to do that quickly."

Following on the heels of news that Apple is hiring iPhone game developers, Apple may be looking to move beyond simply providing the tools and infrastructure that have fed the iPhone's success and begin enhanced efforts to pursue its own App Store content and other revenue streams associated with the applications available in the store.

Article Link: Apple Considered Purchasing AdMob?

[edesignuk]

As if they don't control enough already.

We decide what carrier you get your handset on, we decide what apps you get to use, we decide what/how you are served ads.

No great loss for iPhone users IMO.

[Mykbibby]

Perhaps this could have to do with the Steve Jobs Mac OS built-in advertising patent?

[ChazUK]

Very interesting. Are there any big alternative suppliers Apple can pursue instead of admob?

[thejadedmonkey]

Isn't AdMob the company that most developers use to place ads in their programs? So wouldn't that make Apple the ad-supplier, gatekeeper, and device manufacturer? Is that sort of practice (vertical integration I think it's called?) even legal?

[guzhogi]

Originally Posted by ChazUK

Very interesting. Are there any big alternative suppliers Apple can pursue instead of admob?

Google comes to mind.




Obviously, this is a little too big. Plus, think how mad Microsoft will be.

[inkswamp]

Originally Posted by edesignuk

We decide what carrier you get your handset on, we decide what apps you get to use, we decide what/how you are served ads.

Save the drama.

Given Apple's general philosophy of non-intrusive UI design, I would take them as an ad server over others any day. Wouldn't you love to see a ban on animated, flashing, dancing ads?

[DipDog3]

Really, why? Google buying AdMob I can see that happening.

Apple will just create their own ad system and have it included in XCode.

[kzin]

I believe that's supposed to be "Nokia Ovi" not "Oyj".

[notstevelam]

Originally Posted by inkswamp

Save the drama.

Given Apple's general philosophy of non-intrusive UI design, I would take them as an ad server over others any day. Wouldn't you love to see a ban on animated, flashing, dancing ads?

and what do animated flashing dancing ads have anything to do with the iphone?

[ChazUK]

Originally Posted by kzin

I believe that's supposed to be "Nokia Ovi" not "Oyj".

I think the Oyj means that it is a "public stock company": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osakeyhtiö

[stujmac26]

Originally Posted by kzin

I believe that's supposed to be "Nokia Ovi" not "Oyj".

Nokia Oyj is the full name of the listed company - Oyj is the Finnish equivalent of a Limited Company (LLC, Ltd, etc)

You learn something new every day

[ChazUK]

Originally Posted by inkswamp

Wouldn't you love to see a ban on animated, flashing, dancing ads?

Have there been many "animated, flashing, dancing ads" on the mobile platforms so far?

Every Admob ad I've seen has been a simple graphic.

[stujmac26]

Originally Posted by ChazUK

I think the Oyj means that it is a "public stock company": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osakeyhtiö

Beaten to it!

[kzin]

Originally Posted by stujmac26

You learn something new every day

Indeed. Thanks for the correction(s) :-)

[inkswamp]

Originally Posted by ChazUK

Have there been many "animated, flashing, dancing ads" on the mobile platforms so far?

Every Admob ad I've seen has been a simple graphic.

All it would to take is for advertisers to demand it and you'll start seeing it. Would be nice to have a company in the mix that has a record of not caving in to demands like that.

[nwcs]

Originally Posted by thejadedmonkey

Isn't AdMob the company that most developers use to place ads in their programs? So wouldn't that make Apple the ad-supplier, gatekeeper, and device manufacturer? Is that sort of practice (vertical integration I think it's called?) even legal?

Why wouldn't it be legal? If people don't like it there are many other devices and plans to choose from.

[alent1234]

Originally Posted by DipDog3

Really, why? Google buying AdMob I can see that happening.

Apple will just create their own ad system and have it included in XCode.

then there is the small detail of deploying tens of thousands of servers with the right software to run the backend

[etoiles]

Also remember that Admob doesn't just serve ads, they also collect a ton of iphone (and other) usage data... which is all in the hands of google, now, who you might have noticed is trying to compete with the iPhone.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by alent1234

then there is the small detail of deploying tens of thousands of servers with the right software to run the backend

You don't think Apple is capable of this (iTunes Store)?

[Nuvi]

This is something I don't want from Apple. Efficient advertising? OS integrated advertising? Apple being the gate keeper of all on their mobile platform? No thank you...

[alent1234]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol

You don't think Apple is capable of this (iTunes Store)?

apple will have to steal the people from Google or AdMob who know how to write the back end software. Don't know the whole history of AdMob, but Google bought DoubleClick a few years ago just for this and I remember reading that AdSense was another buyout.

it takes years to write and debug software like this

[iPhoney:)]

Apple should buy Yahoo, end of story! Google's tentacles are in just about every nook and cranny of the internet, it's time someone gave them a run for their money

[redgaz26]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

Originally Posted by iPhoney:)

Apple should buy Yahoo, end of story! Google's tentacles are in just about every nook and cranny of the internet, it's time someone gave them a run for their money

Yeah. "Yapple" sounds great!!!!!!!!

[redgaz26]

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Or maybe apphoo!!!