Apple 'may charge $1 million to display mobile ads'

Apple may charge about $1 million (£657 million) for displaying advertisements on its mobile devices, the Wall Street Journal said, citing advertisement executives.

The rates may be even more to be among the first to advertise, the paper said.

Apple's new advertising platform for the iPhone and iPad - dubbed iAd - marks Apple's first foray into a small but growing market, and is sure to please the thousands of application developers who make their living off those devices, providing them with a new revenue stream.

The company indicated it could charge as much as $10 million (£6.57 million) to be part of a handful of marketers at the launch, the newspaper said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Ad executives told the paper that they are used to paying between $100,000 and $200,000 (£66,000 - £131,000) for similar mobile deals.

As per the revenue sharing plan, application developers will receive 60 per cent of the revenue, while Apple will get the other 40 per cent.

Google, which already sells advertising on smartphones, agreed to buy mobile ad firm AdMob late in 2009. US regulators are examining the deal's antitrust implications.

Apple could not be reached immediately for comment by Reuters outside regular US business hours.