• All Things D et al., Tuesday, January 5, 2010 1:33 PM

If only for a minute, the industry on Tuesday forgot about "iTablets" and Google-branded smartphones to consider Apple's acquisition of mobile advertiser Quattro Wireless for a reported $275 million (though this is just another way for all of us to chase the same shiny new toys).

All Things Digital, which broke the news Monday evening, put the deal in the context of Google's recent acquisition of Quattro competitor AdMob for "an astonishing" $750 million -- beating out competing bids by Apple -- and describing it as "upping the ante in the mobile ad business significantly."

Noting that Google's acquisition of AdMob is still under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, The Register posits that "Apple buying Quattro could be good news for Google, certainly giving the search giant a significant competitor at which to point to prove it's not operating a monopoly."

Pointing out that "advertising is a brand new line of business for Apple," the Boston Globe's Innovation Economy blog writes: "Quattro is expected to help Apple generate revenue from the ads that show up in iPhone apps, all of which are now delivered by third party firms that share revenue with app developers -- but not Apple."

Pegging the deal at closer to $300 million, The New York Times' Bits blog says, "it will put [Apple] into direct competition in the mobile ad market with Microsoft, Yahoo and Google."

Added BusinessWeek's Byte of the Apple blog, "Evidently, Apple is serious about getting its fair share of a market that many believe will one day be larger than today's PC-based online advertising market."

"A big question for 2010 and beyond will be whether Apple's purchase of Quattro -- or Google's $750 million acquisition of AdMob last November -- will prove the better deal, as far as positioning the companies to do well in mobile advertising," the Innovation Economy blog adds. "Or perhaps both will prove wise."

Read the whole story at All Things D et al. »