• TechCrunch, Thursday, May 6, 2010 2:29 PM

TechCrunch claims to have proof that Apple plans to give its new iAds a "competitive advantage" over other mobile ad networks on the iPhone and iPad. The blog has obtained and subsequently published a slide that was attached to an email sent to an app developer from a Quattro Wireless sales rep. In it, Apple announces a "new program launching this month called ViP (Verification of iTunes Purchase) ... aimed at app developers who use iPhone ads to drive downloads and purchases of their own apps."

The program, as Apple explains, will tie the ads directly into purchasing data from iTunes, letting app developers measure the conversion rate of ad impressions to downloads. As TechCrunch notes, other mobile ad networks (AdMob), also try to measure conversion rates, but they don't have access to the same iTunes data. As a result, "Apple is in a position to give advertisers much more detailed and accurate metrics." TechCrunch also notes that Apple's push to create ad products that "cannot be duplicated by any" competitor is particularly interesting given all the FTC fuss at the moment over antitrust issues.

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