iAd, iPad, iPhone rant

Ok, so I bough an iPhone 3GS a while back and have had a whole lot of fun playing around with it. It's basically the perfect Apple Product, it works, it's clean and it's easy and intuitive to use.

As a long time windows user, and occasional Linux user I have never seen any advantage to even try Apples computers and regarded them as inferior products due the the obvious and genuinely ridiculous limits of the users ability to control the system, but the phone is just amazing.


iPad
Enter the iPad, it's a cool gadget, I give them that. The Star Trek Data Pad feel of it is pretty darn cool but in the end I can't help asking; What is it good for? What can you do with it that you can't do on a regular laptop? How limited is the user experience in comparison to a regular, similarly priced, laptop?

The simple truth is, the star trek data pad feel is just not going to cut it, it has to be some kind of revolution in technology if it's going to make it through the initial hype. Being a cool gadget isn't enough in todays world.


iPhone
iPhone on the other hand was a revolution in technology, it's intuitive user interface and excellent build was the perfect merger in order to build a success both in terms of monetary gain and enjoyment for the end user.

So now Apple has announced the iAd program, something I first reeled at as a real Apple (TM) buttfuck of their end users before I did a couple of searches on what it would mean to me as an iPhone user.


iAd
This is what I came up with after sifting through post after post, announcement after announcement. I could be wrong mind you, don't take anything I write here as anything other than a summary of what I have understood, the Apple iAd program can be a fully different beast altogether and I could be completely mistaken about some or all of the conclusions I've reached.


Most free apps are supported by ads today, there are only a select few that are truly FREE, we are already used to the ad supported programs offering an ad-free version for a price. So there is a way to "opt out" of ads by paying for the software instead.

My first impression of iAd was that it would place ads in formerly ad-free, paid apps until I started digging a bit more. iAd, as far as I can see it, is an API for the developers to support their free software in a more uniform and ordered manner than before.

Apps containing ads today exits you from the app if you tap an ad and starts up the web browser instead. This is annoying, and the accidental tap on an ad can ruin half an hour of work in said app without you being able to stop it. This, as far as I could make out of all the drivel on the web, is what Apple is trying to counter, by offering this API they are giving the developers and in the end the end users, a more streamlined way to support their apps through ads without wrecking havoc with the work you've done with the ad-supported app. This I see as a real breakthrough for Apple and if it is as I have managed to understand it, I applaud it with my honest approval.

There are a couple of concerns though, the fact that I've read on several locations that the ads WILL HAVE ACCESS to your location (through GPS and the accelerometer) is something I see a serious privacy concern with. Where I'm at and what I do is my business alone. I sincerely hope that Apple will allow you to block ads from reading the GPS and accelerometer.

The second worry I have is the same as with the ads we have in ad-supported apps today, bandwidth. Most of us iPhone users where I live have a limited bandwidth per month to connect to the internet through our phones. I can't help wondering how much data will the ads pull down from the net through the mobile connection? How much of the bandwidth I pay for will be wasted on ads?

The third concern is a pretty ridiculous one, though I would hope it will correct itself from the way users decide purchase software. My worry is that paid apps will contain ads outside the control of the developers, that the opt-out through paying for the app will not result in an ad-free environment on your phone.