Though Steve Jobs gave Apple's new iAd platform a good outing at the firm's recent expose, it could hardly be viewed as the most impartial of demonstrations.

Further details regarding just what iAd will entail have since come to light, however, with ad agency Hill Holliday having published its take on the platform following a hands-on earlier in the month.

Taking control

Of most note is the fact that Apple itself will build all of the ads on the network (in HTML5) for the time being, with the company set to release an official iAd SDK at an as yet unspecified later date.

Apple's decision to take such a hands-on approach seems designed to separate ads on iAd from thirdparty alternatives.

Such a distinction is to be expected; Apple will no doubt be keen to ensure consumers aren't put off by advertising infiltrating their apps, and as such will also mark all iAd adverts with an appropriate logo.

In this way, consumers will know that the ad in question isn't browser based, as all iAd adverts – as previously reported – will act as fully-functioning apps in their own right.

"Unlike browser-based ads, iAd ads can tap into all major OS features of the phone, from compass and accelerometer to the multitouch interface," the blog summarises, going on to reveal Apple plans to launch a "charter" detailing the quality expected of all iAd material in time for its launch this June.

Bye-bye browser

Quality appears to be the focus of all iAd developments, with Hill Holliday interactive strategist Johnny Won claiming Apple is looking to steal a march on rival Google.

"The big thing that iAd really does is it brings new thinking into the capabilities of mobile display advertising and it wasn't brought to you by Google," says Won.

"Google has been badly lagging in all aspects of mobile and Apple probably saw the lack of innovation in the mobile advertising market and decided to put their stake in the ground"

Hill Holliday head Adam Cahill adds, "By giving 60 percent of the ad revenue back to developers, Apple is clearly trying to ensure their continued leadership position within apps.

"The more developers make from their efforts, the more innovation we'll see in apps, the more people will use them, the more indispensable Apple becomes. It seems that Apple wants to make sure the future of mobile is app-based as opposed to browser-based."

[source: Hill Holliday]