Making AdSense for Mobile Applications Work With More Ad Networks

We’re always working to help people grow their mobile business with ads. Today we’re making our tools even more flexible by allowing publishers participating in our AdSense for Mobile Applications beta program to use third-party mediators. Mediation lets app developers use multiple ad networks simultaneously - reaching a greater pool of advertisers, and focusing more time on building their apps, and less time managing ad inventory.

AdSense for Mobile Application beta publishers will now be able to manage their ad inventory using third party ad serving mediators, as long as their apps meet these conditions, including:

• Using the latest version of the AdSense for Mobile Applications SDK
• Abiding by the AdSense for mobile applications terms and program policies
• Agreeing to Google’s privacy policy

We think this is great news for our AdSense for Mobile Application publishers because it will allow them to easily optimize and fill their ad inventory. We believe this also shows our commitment to develop the mobile advertising ecosystem by ensuring that the most optimal ad is shown to users, and enabling our AdSense partners to earn more regardless of which networks they use.

To learn more about monetizing for mobile, or to learn more about how to apply for the AdSense for Mobile Applications beta program, please visit www.google.com/mobileads/developer.

Update 6/3/10 10:30 PST: We had previously written that this helps developers avoid implementing individual SDKs from each ad network, but this is not the case.

Posted by Jim Kelm, Product Manager, Google Mobile Ads

Datastore Performance Growing Pains

As many of you know, App Engine’s Datastore performance has been seriously degraded over the last few weeks. In addition to May 25th’s 45 minute Datastore outage, applications have seen an increased latency and thus errors as a result of timeouts. As a rough estimate, we have seen Datastore latency increases of around 2.5x. Comparing April 1st to June 1st on the Status Site shows this trend. These issues in turn have caused problems with other parts of the App Engine service that also rely on the Datastore, such as Task Queues and the Admin Console.

There are a lot of different reasons for the problems over the last few weeks, but at the root of all of them is ultimately growing pains. Our service has grown 25% every two months for the past six months. To accommodate this growth, App Engine has expanded, both increasing our computing footprint and moving between Google datacenters to accommodate our growing size. Although we have moved and expanded, it hasn’t been enough-- and performance has suffered.

We want you to know we are taking the current problems with the Datastore very seriously. We have put other Datastore projects on hold to dedicate more people to accelerating improvements to Datastore performance, and to our datacenter configuration. We expect the Datastore may still have a few issues for the next two weeks, as we respond to the problem. After that point you should begin to see rapid improvements in performance, back to normal levels. Until that point, however, we believe Datastore performance may continue to be at a level that we feel is unacceptable.

So until performance has returned to a state we are proud of, and that you are satisfied with, your applications will not be charged for Datastore CPU costs effective on your May 31st bill. When we are convinced we have returned Datastore performance to a level we consider acceptable, we will give you a 7-day notification on this blog before we begin charging again (Note: Your Datastore CPU budget will still control your app’s CPU usage though you will not be charged for the Datastore CPU. So please don’t turn your budget to $0 during this period).

We hope this gives more clarity into the current issues you’ve seen with your application and we sincerely appreciate your patience as we work through them.

Thank you



The App Engine Team

Update: Clarified which Datastore charges will be disabled

Google Search for mobile now includes mobile app results

As mobile apps continue to proliferate in stores like Android Market and the iPhone App Store, finding relevant information on the web about these apps is becoming more important to help you decide which apps to download. In addition to helping you find the mobile app information you’re looking for, Google Search for mobile now also makes it easier for you to get the actual apps themselves while you’re searching.

As of today, if you go to Google.com on your iPhone or Android-powered device and search for an app, we’ll show special links and content at the top of the search results. You can tap these links to go directly to the app’s Android Market or iPhone App Store page. You can also get a quick look at some of the app’s basic details including the price, rating, and publisher. These results will appear when your search pertains to a mobile application and relevant, well-rated apps are found. For example, try searching for download shazam on your Android-powered device or bank of america app on your iPhone.

Mobile app search results are available today in the US, with other countries and devices planned for the future.


Posted by Milena Nikolic and Paul Hadfield, Software Engineers

Google Maps for BlackBerry Gets Biking Directions, Sharing, and New Search Results

Grab your BlackBerry, hop on your bike, and have your friends join you with Google Maps for mobile! After adding biking directions and sharing for Android folks a few weeks ago, we're happy to announce that Google Maps 4.2 for BlackBerry can also let you get biking directions, quickly see helpful info when searching, and share places with friends.

Biking directions
If you’ve been using Google Maps on your computer to get biking directions, trails, and lanes, you can now head out for a ride using just your BlackBerry. When getting directions in Google Maps, just choose to travel by bicycle to get an optimal bicycling route in the U.S. If you’re in the mood for a more scenic ride, you’ll also see the Bicycling layer on the map which shows dedicated bike-only trails (dark green), roads with bike lanes (light green), or roads that are good for biking but lack a dedicated lane (dashed green). You can always turn on this layer from the Layers menu to devise your own route.

Search and Share
The next time you're searching for a late night bite of pizza, you'll see a redesigned list view of results with pictures and ratings. Select one to see a simplified search results page with easy-access buttons for directions, calling, etc. and all the info you'll need right below. Select a section, such as “Reviews,” to see more. A new “share this place” option lets you send anyone place info, such as its address or phone number, by email or text message. In addition to specific places like a restaurant, you can also share any location you select on the map -- including a snapshot of where you are at the moment -- to help folks meet you outside or right where you’re standing!

To get started, go to m.google.com/maps in your BlackBerry's browser and install version 4.2. In case you’ve had previous installation hiccups, we've also fixed some issues with permissions and BlackBerry Enterprise Server installation on some 5.0 devices.

Learn more in the Help Center, ask questions in our Help Forum, or give us suggestions and vote on other people’s on the Mobile Product Ideas page.

Posted by Michael Siliski, Product Manager, Google Mobile Team