Apple announced iAds back in April. We’ve had a look under the hood and here’s the low down.

According to Apple’s website, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users:

• Have downloaded more than five billion applications
• Spend, on average, 30 minutes per day using their apps
• Set trends and share with family and friends

Apple recently said that they had sold 2 million iPads in just two months. They also announced that the iPhone 4 will be available June 24. And, according to the Engadget’s poll of potential iPhone 4 buyers, 32.2% of respondents ticked the “Just try to stop me. This is my destiny” button.

So the number of ad impressions is enormous. But the magic doesn’t stop there. Apple has included a plethora of cool features for both advertisers and app developers.

“iAd offers advertisers the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web, and offers users a new way to explore ads without being hijacked out of their favorite apps,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iAds will reach millions of iPhone and iPod touch users—a highly desirable demographic for advertisers—and provide developers a new way to earn money so they can continue developing free and low cost applications.”

Traditionally, when users click a mobile ad it launches a browser, which loads the advertiser’s webpage. After viewing the offer, the user has to close the browser and relaunch the app. This cumbersome process doesn’t take users long to start ignoring ads in favor of staying safely within their apps.

“iAd solves this problem by displaying full-screen video and interactive ad content without ever leaving the app, and letting users return to their app anytime they choose,” says Apple.

The new iPhone SDK 4.0 allows us to embed iAd code within our apps. Ads are served based on demographic information, location and a myriad of other targeting options selected by the advertiser. The ads are dynamically and wirelessly delivered to the device and can change every time the user loads the app.

Apple sells and serves the ads with developers receiving 60 percent of iAd revenue. This revenue sharing model will help entice developers into including the ad code in their apps.

Apple users are loyal and passionate about their devices. The folks in Cupertino hope that businesses will turn to iAds in an effort to attract those same consumers to their products and services. But will it work?

I am excited about iAd. Search advertising rules desktop world but when it comes to mobile I believe Apple is on to something big. Several leading brands including AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup Company, Chanel, Citi, DirecTV, GEICO, GE, JCPenney, Liberty Mutual Group, Nissan, Sears, State Farm, Target, Turner Broadcasting System, Unilever and The Walt Disney Studios agree. Apple has iAd commitments for the second half of 2010 totaling over $60 million, which represents almost 50 percent of the total forecasted US mobile ad spending for the second half of 2010.

We are currently working on a few test ads and running them inside the interactive tour app we’re developing for Bellefontaine Cemetery. We really like the ease in gathering opt-in information from users. They click a button, are presented with a form that’s populated from their address book entry and click submit. The ad can dump this information into a database, send an email or add the user to your Campaign Monitor distribution list. Slick.

For a closer look at iAd, check out this brief video of Steve Jobs’ keynote from yesterdays Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. The content is targeted towards app developers and how they can earn revenue by including the ads. This is good news for both advertisers and developers because more eyes translates to more impressions and increased revenue for everyone. Take a look.

What do you think? Will iAds revolutionize advertising? Or is it just another buzzworthy trend?

Simulated images on the iPad

Now that I’ve had a few days to think about Apple’s new iPad, I’m ready to weigh in with my opinion.

There’s been some fuss from naysayers about missing features and weak hardware, but people are really wondering why anyone would want a bigger iPhone. Especially a bigger iPhone that you can’t make calls from.

The iPad has email, a calendar, browses the web, and duplicates a bunch of other features already included in the iPhone. Sure, it does all these things with a bit more of that Apple élan we love, but is it really just a bigger iPhone? I don’t think so.

The iPad is going to raise the bar for eReaders. Amazon’s Kindle seems low tech when you  compare it to the high-quality display on the iPad. Plus, whereas the Kindle is just for reading, the iPad allows you to look at images and videos, listen to music, surf the web, and check e-mail, among other things. In my opinion, the iPad will do to eReaders what the iPhone did to phones- change everything.

I imagine that developers everywhere are already exploring new ideas and will come up with some mind-blowing apps. In the meantime, I’ve come up with a few ideas for cool, everyday applications and some others specific to our member-based service, healthcare and education clients.

Everyday Applications of the iPad

I’ve never really been a football fan, but I love watching the Super Bowl ads. Now, if I (hypothetically) went to the Super Bowl, I could take my iPad with me and during those ‘pesky’ TV timeouts I could watch the commercials. You get the thrill of being at the game, without missing out on the next E*Trade baby or football-playing Clydesdale.

The actual football fans could see player and game stats in real time, watch instant replays, and get a whole wealth of game data. Even coaches down on the field could use the iPad to receive updates, stats and play information from the guys in the booth. The same sideline applications could be developed for baseball, basketball and even little league coaches.

In a retail environment, the iPad presents many advantages in assisting customers. Imagine you are test driving a new BMW. The salesperson sitting next to you could use an iPad to fill in the list of available options, color and features of your new 5-Series.

When you are shopping for your next hand-tailored suit at Brooks Brothers, they could use the iPad to enter your measurements and select a style and fabric for you. Sales associates at J. Crew could add items not available in the store to your transaction. The folks at the Alpine Shop could run through a gear checklist with you while shopping for your Everest Expedition.

Not only can the iPad help retailers help you shop, it makes making the final sale even easier. If you’ve visited an Apple store lately, you would have noticed that your transaction is handled by an iPod touch with a credit card reader attached to it. You don’t have to stand in line, they can email you a copy of the receipt and everything is entered into the POS from a handheld device.

The iPad can come into play throughout the entire buying process- from browsing possible options, generating custom orders, to making that final sale.

I’m also excited about the potential for news and publishing. While you can currently get the New York Times for free online, that’s not going to last much longer. The Times and other information providers may start charging for content, but with specially-designed apps for the iPad you could have all your favorite newspapers, magazines and other content on hand in one place.

Application of the iPad for Member-based, Healthcare and Education

Sure, the iPad will be great for reading book, browsing the web and watching funny YouTube videos, but it’s also going to be useful for some of our clients in the member-based, healthcare, and education industries.

Last year, Atomicdust developed a new identity and marketing package for Elsevier’s Evolve. In a nutshell, Evolve allows students and teachers to interact with textbook content and learning tools on their computers. It works with a desktop, laptop and potentially, the iPad. With its crisp images and portability, the iPad is the perfect hardware to manage, display and share this content between faculty and students.

Gateway EDI provides medical claims software for clients and we designed a user interface for their web-based service. While the application will run on an iPhone, it’s a little cramped because of the small screen size. The iPad solves this with its beautiful 9.7-inch display. Doctors’ offices could pair the iPad with Gateway EDI to easily handle all of their health care billing needs.

My doctor uses a practice management software solution. When I’m in the exam room, he pulls up my file on a clunky terminal, clicks through a couple of tabs and enters some simple notes. Practice Management Software providers such as NextGen or Greenway Medical could develop apps for the iPad so doctors can access electronic health records (EHR), e-Prescribing and other services for their practice in a faster and simpler manner.

Other member-based services clients such as Mosby’s Nursing Suite or potential clients like OpenTable or Netflix could develop apps for the iPad that will help improve current customer relations and also offer features to attract new subscribers.

There may be a lot of tech geeks out there that are unhappy with the iPad, but I am really excited about the endless possibilities it presents. The iPad will no doubt be a great tool to consume content such as books, movies, newspapers, and the internet, but  what’s really exciting will be working with clients to come up with marketing strategies and design applications for use on the iPad.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

It’s here, it’s only $499 and it has iWork and a bunch of other cool stuff. Check Apple for more information.

Apple Launches iPad

Magical & Revolutionary Device at an Unbelievable Price

SAN FRANCISCO—January 27, 2010—Apple® today introduced iPad, a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more. iPad’s responsive high-resolution Multi-Touch™ display lets users physically interact with applications and content. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds— thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for the iPad, and will run almost all of the over 140,000 apps in the App Store. iPad will be available in late March starting at the breakthrough price of just $499.

“iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

iPad features 12 next-generation Multi-Touch applications. Every app works in both portrait and landscape, automatically animating between views as the user rotates iPad in any direction. The precise Multi-Touch interface makes surfing the web on iPad an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. Reading and sending email is fun and easy on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard. Import photos from a Mac®, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad’s elegant slideshows. Watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD or flip through pages of an e-book you downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.

iPad runs almost all of the over 140,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. The iTunes® Store gives you access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 11 million songs, over 50,000 TV episodes and over 8,000 films including over 2,000 in stunning high definition video. Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. The iBookstore will feature books from major and independent publishers.

Apple also introduced a new version of iWork® for iPad, the first desktop-class productivity suite designed specifically for Multi-Touch. With Pages®, Keynote® and Numbers® you can create beautifully formatted documents, stunning presentations with animations and transitions, and spreadsheets with charts, functions and formulas. The three apps will be available separately through the App Store for $9.99 each.

iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable, so you can sync all of your contacts, photos, music, movies, TV shows, applications and more from your Mac or PC. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.

iPad’s brilliant 9.7-inch, LED-backlit display features IPS technology to deliver crisp, clear images and consistent color with an ultra-wide 178 degree viewing angle. The highly precise, capacitive Multi-Touch display is amazingly accurate and responsive whether scrolling web pages or playing games. The intelligent soft keyboard pioneered on iPhone takes advantage of iPad’s larger display to offer an almost full-size soft keyboard. iPad also connects to the new iPad Keyboard Dock with a full-size traditional keyboard.

iPad is powered by A4, Apple’s next-generation system-on-a-chip. Designed by Apple, the new A4 chip provides exceptional processor and graphics performance along with long battery life of up to 10 hours.* Apple’s advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology deliver up to 1,000 charge cycles without a significant decrease in battery capacity over a typical five year lifespan.**

iPad comes in two versions—one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G. iPad includes the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi, and the 3G versions support speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks. Apple and AT&T announced breakthrough 3G pre-paid data plans for iPad with easy, on-device activation and management.

Continuing Apple’s dedication to designing and creating environmentally responsible products, each iPad enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy-efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iPad contains no brominated flame retardants and is completely PVC-free.

Apple today released a new Software Development Kit (SDK) for iPad, so developers can create amazing new applications designed to take advantage of iPad’s capabilities. The SDK includes a simulator that lets developers test and debug their iPad apps on a Mac, and also lets developers create Universal Applications that run on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Pricing & Availability
iPad will be available in late March worldwide for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model. The Wi-Fi + 3G models of iPad will be available in April in the US and selected countries for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. International pricing and worldwide availability will be announced at a later date. iBookstore will be available in the US at launch.

*Apple tested wireless battery life by browsing web pages and receiving email over an AirPort® network, never letting the system go to sleep during the test, and keeping the display at half brightness. This is a typical scenario of use on the go, resulting in a battery performance number that is very relevant to mobile users.

**A properly maintained iPad battery is designed to retain 80 percent or more of its original capacity during a lifespan of up to 1,000 recharge cycles. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

We’re all pretty excited about Apple’s January 27th event. I’m hoping that it’s the rumored tablet everyone has been blogging about.

I know that I’ll be using some bandwidth here at the office to watch the keynote. You’ll see me in line at the Apple Store when it comes out.

Check out Engadget for the latest news.