How much advertising do you put up with before you decide to delete an app? My personal limit is: any app that texts me or pushes ads to my notification bar deserves the trash bin. Apparantly, a Japanese carrier called KDDI has done just that: via a pre-installed (and unremovable) app, they've been pushing ads to customers' notification trays. So your phone goes off in a meeting: is it a spouce? A friend? No, it's an ad!
Insanity!
This kind of dystopian scenario encompasses all that I hate about Android: you've got the intrusive advertising, the carrier crapware, and the lack of security that comes from having such an open ecosystem. Everything is bad, bad, bad!
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Apparantly, the KDDI carrier has since backed down from their aggressive advertising (which they likely fasciliated through the evil Air Push network) after excessive customer complaints. Other American carriers take note: this tactic will not work, and will only alienate you from your consumer base.
I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that when I download an app for zero dollars, I can expect ads for dentists in my area and paralegal advice to pop up at the bottom of my screen. In some cases, the ads are intrusive but harmless. In other cases, like with an app that dispenses medical advice, they are completely inappropriate. But at least – in both cases – the ads are confined to the apps themselves.
What's dangerous about AirPush and the companies who use it is that it essentially turns your entire mobile device into a walking billboard, handing over control of your screen and notifications to advertisers. Here's hoping that potential advertisers realize this is NOT the way to get folks to pay attention to what they're offering...
Martin Krischik
Another good reason not to buy subsidized phones.