Apple Blocks Apps That Use Location Based Advertising

In a move that is likely to frustrate some of the marketing and development communities, Apple announced that it will be blocking iPhone, iPod, and iPad applications that use location information to deliver targeted ads based on a user’s location. The move is surprising due to the fact that Apple is in the process of buying Quattro Wireless, a mobile advertising network that is an advocate of location based advertising. Early speculation is that Apple will allow location based advertising in the near future, but only if you do it using Quattro’s ad network.

The ramifications of the decision should be interesting. On one hand, this makes the Android development platform much more appealing to marketers, since they can use location based marketing without being under the thumb and control of Apple. On the other hand, consumers may appreciate Apple reducing the amount of spam advertising that makes its way onto their mobile device. It is important to note that Apple still allows developers to use the Core Location framework to deliver beneficial information to the users, such as a list of nearby restaurants or local weather. The restriction applies to mobile advertisements only.

I like the theory behind the limitation, which is to make a better end user experience. But I disagree with the way that Apple is implementing it. By limiting marketers to a single entry point for location based advertising, they are removing any avenues of competition that would motivate the mobile ad provider to develop better services. Instead of a blanket restriction, I would rather see Apple apply a stronger review process to applications that are designed to deliver mobile advertising. This way the user experience could still be preserved, and the open market would still generate quality applications. But I guess then Apple couldn’t funnel all of its advertising through Quattro…