KDDI putting ads into Android’s notification bar
KDDI is Japan's second-largest wireless carrier. As pointed out in the latest CrowdGadgets episode, this particular carrier also gets a lot of fantastic devices. Most of them are very similar to the ones we have here in the States, but really, the similarity is only on the outside; these devices are loaded to the hilt when it comes to specs.
Unfortunately, it seems that KDDI wants to make a little bit of profit from those killer devices, and has actually begun to put ads into Android's notifications bar. That means that if KDDI feels an affiliate has a great deal going on, that deal will be sent to your Android device, complete with ring, vibration, or a combination of the two.
What makes this even worse to think about for people who live in the US is that there are already companies who are doing this. The one that comes to my mind is called Airpush, and it essentially does the same thing; however, unlike KDDI's approach to using the service like a text message, Airpush is just tied into apps. If you don't like the ads, you can uninstall the apps.
Users are greeted with a warning dialogue that details the ads before they actually start, and if they don't want to partake in getting 20% of some lousy service and/or product, they're more than welcome to opt out. But still, Japan's carriers (as with most other countries' carriers) are a lot less strict than the US'. If this type of service was added to AT&T and Verizon phones, you can bet that those carriers would just take advantage of the situation to make a profit. I can see it now: "Want to disable these great ads? Call AT&T today and pay just $10 extra a month!"
Yuck.
[Asiajin]
