(Updated with Highland Capital confirmation) Apple's VP of mobile advertising, Andy Miller, is preparing to depart the company, say sources described as "close to the situation." The executive's staff was reportedly told about the departure today. Miller is tipped to become a general partner at Highland Capital, a venture capital firm based in Boston.
Apple and newly-absorbed subsidiary Quattro Wireless are just two of several targets in a new lawsuit from Malaysian company StreetSpace, says AppleInsider. The firm is responsible for the Web Station, a web-browsing kiosk supported in part through targeted advertising. The defendants are accused of violating US Patent 6,847,969, Method and System for Providing Personalized Online Services and Advertisements in Public Spaces.
Apple is reportedly preparing to terminate the mobile ad network run by Quattro Wireless. The move was viewed as inevitable after Apple acquired Quattro to build its iAd platform geared solely for iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad.
Research in Motion is reportedly seeking to acquire a mobile ad network, unnamed sources have told the Wall Street Journal (sub. required). The BlackBerry maker is said to have participated in acquisition discussions with mobile advertising firm Millennial Media and several other companies.
Naan Studio, the software developer behind Echofon Twitter apps, has detailed its experience dealing with the FTC over Google's acquisition of AdMob. In a company blog, staff member Chika suggests the FTC pressured her to criticize the deal despite Naan's overall support for the acquisition. The dialogue was described as more of an "interrogation," while the FTC reportedly dismissed the company's larger concern over Apple's rival deal with Quattro Wireless.
The FTC is on the verge of making a decision on Google's AdMob takeover, a last-minute leak found tonight. Officials are expected to either clear the deal or block it on Wednesday, likely involving a lawsuit. A TechCrunch source further claimed that Google was already prepared to defend itself against a lawsuit rather than cancel the agreement.
Apple's launch of the iAd platform last week was a welcome boost to Google's buyout of AdMob, Google chief Eric Schmidt admitted Sunday. Apple's creation of its own potentially major ad system has legitimized the existence of a "highly competitive market" and would make it more likely that the FTC approves the AdMob deal. He hoped the deal would be approved as it was "obvious" there wouldn't be competitive problems.
The FTC is now likely to vote against Google's buyout of AdMob, a source said Wednesday. Once undecided about the deal, the agency is now said by an unnamed Reuters source to see a "significant competitive problem" and could sue Google for its behavior. Talks are still underway with Google and may head off the threat, but progress if any isn't certain.
US Senator Herb Kohl on Tuesday sent a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz urging an investigation into Google's buyout of AdMob. The official's notice warned that Google's dominance of both ads and search on the desktop, along with AdMob's control of the mobile space, could create "undue market dominance" for ads either in search or within apps. Kohl stopped short of calling for a halt to the deal but wanted a review.
Apple's mobile ad platform could be ready just days after the iPad reaches shops, a leak late Friday might have confirmed. The technology firm would unveil the platform, possibly named "iAd," to major advertising executives on April 7th. Company head Steve Jobs has already celebrated the plans and is now calling them "revolutionary," according to the MediaPost sources involved.
Google is steering carriers towards Android by letting them take a cut of ad revenue, a leak may have confirmed today. More than one tipster claimed that any provider with Android phones using Google's official apps gets an unspecified percentage of the revenue from the ads that the company runs, at least in its own apps. Some of the arrangements are said by mocoNews to be carrier-specific.
Google is turning to other companies to get them to back its AdMob buyoua, a late-night rumor claimed Wednesday. The search firm would counter FTC inquiries by having mobile ad companies write in support of the buyout, which it could use as leverage against criticism. They have reportedly been asked to say the acquisition wouldn't hurt their business or dampen the competitive market.
The competition between Apple and Google has reached "incendiary" levels that aren't likely to cool down anytime soon, a detailed story from within the two companies has shown. While signs of the split have become increasingly public, a Bay Area investor claims that the two sides, particularly Apple, are getting "emotional" as it becomes a personal battle between Apple CEO Steve Jobs and his Google equivalent, Eric Schmidt. At Apple, Jobs' infamous attack on Google at a post-iPad town hall has been followed by repeated shots at Android in discussions at lower levels.
The Federal Trade Commission has signaled that it may at least temporarily block Google's buyout of AdMob, a set of leaks from within the process hinted late Thursday. As part of its investigation, the FTC is reportedly asking "at least two" companies to sign statements that would likely argue that the mobile ad deal abuses Google's web dominance. Such testimonies are usually gathered when FTC agents believe the Commission will block or change a deal, WSU professor Stephen Calkins told Bloomberg.
Google may be embarking on a company buyout to counter Apple's buyout of Lala, a rumor argues today. The search firm is believed to be considering a buyout of Catch Media, a startup focused on routing e-books and media across multiple devices and services. It has deals with all four major music labels that would let users keep access.
Apple's deal to buy Quattro is part of Steve Jobs' own goal of 'fixing' the mobile ad space, an apparent scoop claimed late Thursday. An inside source said to be familiar with his views says he believes "mobile ads suck" and that Apple plans to overhaul iPhone and iPod touch ads in the same way they did music with iTunes. These would be "completely new" and could do away with many forms of search.
Apple is now much more committed to dedicated acquisitions thanks to a crucial hiring last year, a source claims tonight. The Mac maker is reported as having hired Goldman Sachs banker Adrian Perica as its first true mergers and acquisitions (M&A) employee to help find and negotiate buyouts of other companies. His influence is said by BusinessWeek to be directly responsible for a quick acquisition of Lala that took just weeks to complete rather than months.
