MediaPost reports that Apple is getting ready to announce a mobile advertising service (potentially called iAd) to Madison Avenue on April 7.

[It's been] described as “revolutionary” and “our next big thing” by Apple chief Steve Jobs, according to executives familiar with the plan.

Madison Avenue as a venue sounds more like an industry insider pre-briefing than a public coming out party, similar to how we heard big media companies were approached about the iPad before Apple did their keynote song and dance. If it is as expected, based on Apple’s Quatro Wireless purchase and designed to give developers an easy, elegant way to monetize their iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps then we’d expect a more public presentation to follow — iPhone 4.0 SDK Sneak Preview Event perhaps?

And, of course, this would bring Apple fully into competition with Google and their recent AdMob acquisition. Much as Google’s Android and Chrome OS-combo was a gut punch to Apple’s core business, this uppercuts Google right in the mobile ad revenue choppers.

Hey, maybe that’s what Steve Jobs wanted to tell Eric Schmidt yesterday over coffee…

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Apple to Unveil Google-Competing iAd Mobile Advertising Platform on April 7? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Since Apple currently dominates the mobile app space, bolstering their cut of profits with a cut of in-app advertising is likely good business for them. It’s all about the eyeballs, and if those eyeballs are locked on iPhones and iPod touches, why let Google gobble it all up?

If rumors are true that Google bought AdMob out from under Apple (much like Apple bought online music streamer Lala out from under Google), then switching targets to an AdMob competitor couldn’t have been entirely off the radar, now could it? (Especially with — yes more rumors — of Google now turning towards Spotify for their music fix).

Apple and Google certainly look to be getting even more up into each others business, and that should make the expected Nexus One announcement later today, along with Apple’s expected January 27 event, and the whole of 2010, a lot more exciting!