Google Comments On Apple's Updated Terms Of Service
by Joe White
September 10, 2010
Yesterday, Apple revised its App Store approval process, posting an official press release which stated the company is relaxing "all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps." If you're interested in knowing the exact changes, be sure to check out our detailed annotation of the revisions.
Following Apple's statement, Google made a post on its Mobile Ads Blog, marking the change as being "great news for everyone in the mobile community." Why? Because Apple is allowing developers to choose between a variety of advertising solutions, instead of making the choice for them. And, Google is particularly happy because one such platform is its own Google Mobile Ads.
Months ago, when Apple announced (and then released) its own mobile ads platform, iAd, many were left wondering exactly what was going to happen to services such as AdMob and Google Mobile Ads. We all know Apple doesn't like competition, and some suspected the banning of third party mobile advertising platforms from the App Store, so that iAd could flourish. However, that is not the case. As Google states in its blog post:
This is great news for everyone in the mobile community, as we believe that a competitive environment is the best way to drive innovation and growth in mobile advertising. Mobile advertising has already helped to fund tens of thousands of mobile apps across many different platforms and devices, and it will help do the same for many more in the years ahead.This situation reminds me of the Game Center vs. OpenFeint speculations many are hearing, following the Apple branded gaming network's release. I don't expect OpenFeint to be banned by Apple, and I think these revisions point towards a brighter future for third party iOS services.