Windows Phone developers are highly suspicious these days. Commenters on websites where Windows developers chat are abuzz with claims that Google is trying to strangle the platform by cutting advertising.
Could it be true that Google is trying to strangle the viability of developers creating apps for Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phone?
“That what at least some Windows Phone developers believe, with reports over the weekend that ads returns from Google’s AdMob mobile advertising service plummeted off a cliff following the announcement at Microsoft’s Build 2015 conference that the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant was going to make it easier to port Android apps to Windows Phone,” notes a story at Silicon Angle.
The grumbling began on a Google Groups support forum where developers complained of massive drops in ad serve rates, and corresponding “huge reductions in the amount of money they were earning.”
“The fill rate now is kissing the floor… 99 percent to 7 percent in one day” one user wrote, with another claiming “now the AdMob is a waste of time and money. No reply from support, really bad ads/fill rate/rpm…AdMob is only profitable on Android, as iAds is profitable on iOS and pubCenter on WP. Or AdMob is dying (I think no) or trying to kill us.”
The posters are suspicious, indeed.
“It is no secret that Google has done everything in its power to stifle Windows Phone … the drop may be a coincidence, but an alternate explanation is that Google may be getting ready to starve Windows Phone developers into submission,” said another poster.
Of course, some aren’t convinced Google is up to anything: after all, advertising is Google’s raison d’etre, regardless of where the dough is coming from.
A coincidence? Or real evil? Feel free to comment below.
