[dayglored]

Of course, it's no secret that smartphones are viewed by advertisers as the perfect medium for braying their unwanted, intrusive, annoying claptrap in the faces of people who are looking to make a phone-call, play a game, or watch a video.

Television has been doing that for 60 years. Nothing particularly new.

But what do you say we stop pretending that these mobile advertising platforms are "phones" at all?

I think Microsoft is correct, and should be applauded for coming out and saying what Apple and Google have been reluctant to admit -- that their fancy high-tech products are simply another fancy way to sell soap.

An "AD SERVING MACHINE". Yep, that's what it is.

[dayglored]

Tech ping, Apple ping (indirectly, perhaps), and I'd be interested in Puget's take on this.

BTW, this article is a week old, but I didn't see it posted previously, and it's still relevant, I think.

[ikka]

So why should I PAY for a phone when they are going to make all this money from me? MSFT has enough cash ... they should just give the phones away for free.

[max americana]

Well..at least they were honest about it.

[dayglored]

> But what do you say we stop pretending that these mobile advertising platforms are "phones" at all?... fancy high-tech products are simply another fancy way to sell soap.

Yes, of course, that was intended to be intentionally provocative. Of course I know smartphones do all sorts of useful things.

Point is, what the hell are the ads doing there??? They're going to take over....

[Psycho_Bunny]

"...stay in touch with your customer. It's a dynamic relationship that's created. It provides for an ongoing dialogue with a consumer."

People who speak this way should be beaten with sticks until they stop.

[ExGeeEye]

I have a negative gut reaction to this.

[eggman]

A phone that serves up a steady stream of telespam. Then they can sell you apps that filter the ads.

[RachelFaith]

Wait.... did MircoSoft just say that #3 is basically a POP UP AD on your Phone?

WHO?

WHO in there right mind would EVER want that?

Oh please MicroSoft, I loved all the pop ups on IE in the 90s... can you make it all blinky and flashy too like a cheap GIF that gives me seizures?

Sometimes... I am just shocked.... SHOCKED that this company is still in business... more money than brains!

[Minn]

Of course, it's no secret that smartphones are viewed by advertisers as the perfect medium for braying their unwanted, intrusive, annoying claptrap in the faces of people who are looking to make a phone-call, play a game, or watch a video.

I don't understand. I've had a Blackberry for a few months. I've downloaded a number of apps. I surf the web regularity (mostly FR). I text. I make calls. I check sports scores. I check the weather. I navigate.

I don't remember seeing an ad, except maybe on a web page I visited, and I'm not even sure about seeing any there. Where does this ad thing fit in again, and why would anybody tolerate even one of them?

[PA Engineer]

I think Microsoft is correct, and should be applauded for coming out and saying what Apple and Google have been reluctant to admit -- that their fancy high-tech products are simply another fancy way to sell soap.

An "AD SERVING MACHINE". Yep, that's what it is.

Help me out here. I have had an iPhone from Edge and now 3GS. What advertising have I missed? In all fairness I think the advertisers must be discriminating against me since I have not received one damn one of those. Do you have link so I can complain?

[RachelFaith]

I missed this... the last line of the article...

If Microsoft doesn't make it easy and transparent to opt out of 'toast', that word might well describe the fate of its upcoming "ad-serving machine."

THAT would be Irony.

[scott7278]

I finally left MS mobile after many years; they decided to rewrite the OS and leave my apps in the dust, so I returned the favor. It looks like I made the right decision.

[ShadowAce]

[JerseyHighlander]

Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.5 have available %HOSTS% file managers and editors and hacks that block all sorts of network traffic.

I suspect I’ll continue using this strategy to block out the WinMobile 7 ad space too.

[sionnsar]

Television has been doing that for 60 years. Nothing particularly new.

One of the reasons I quit watching TV some years ago.

[Still Thinking]

I just love people I’m paying serving me up as a lead to third parties. They may have to put a new wing on hell to accommodate all these guys.

[RegulatorCountry]

I’ve worked in traditional direct marketing, and “opt in” for any number of good catalogs that sell products I like and want to buy. I visit their websites. This is all of my own volition.

I detest having my website viewing habits tracked, though. Ads presumably “targeted” on the basis of cookies accepted by my web browser do not impress or compel me to do anything other than delete the cookies.

Heck, I even remove the dealer logo from the back of my cars, lol. I’m a marketer, but some forms of marketing are just too presumptuous, too intrusive, or both.

“Personalization” such as this is going to get someone sued, and isn’t always the panacea that naive marketers believe it to be. Want to criticize Apple for refusing porn apps? Ha. Just let Microsoft start pushing ads to cellphones based upon porn viewing habits.

That’ll sure impress the boss ... or the wife, lol.