According to the WSJ Apple is going to charge 1 cent each time an ad is served and 2 dollars each time an ad is tapped. I haven't ever considered advertising as a monetization strategy for my apps, but if the prices are known up front, it becomes more attractive. I don't have to worry quite as much about shady back room pricing of ads. I already know my split is going to be 60% of the revenue, and if I can guess my click through rates I will be able to gauge how much money I could make off an app. I haven't really figured out if Apple is going to share the 1 cent it gets for serving the ad or just the 2 dollars for a tap.

I am sure they will be able to launch with a pretty big network of advertisers, which should make fill rates fairly high. In the long run, I think there remains some doubt if they will be able to stay full. If they are able to stay full, I think they are the most attractive ad network, because of the openness of how much they are charging and what your split will be.

This, of course, is all presuposing that everyone will get the same deal. I don't think that is realistic with cyclical advertising budgets. End of year/month/quarter "money burns" always drive prices of ads up. The open, written down pricing model is the antithesis of the way advertising "works" now. Advertisers like to target certain demographics and are willing to pay extra to get to the people with money. So, I just can't imagine Apple turning down their money extra money. What I am saying is, I am going to take a wait and see approach, even if there are big financial advantages to being there on launch day.