Ad clicks is the product, and not users' data. If you setup an ads campaign, you will see that the adwords experience is not nearly as polished as other Google products - and why should they care, businesses just HAVE to use adwords to gain traction. If anything, Google treats its ordinary users as clients, and forces its advertising monopoly on advertisers.
Google's using data they aggregate about me to pick and choose which ads I should see, ideally optimizing for ones that I'll click on. Those clicks are sold to advertisers.
Google's selling our clicks to advertisers. We are the product they're selling.
Not necessarily. It simply means they have more incentive tying you down to their 'product' and stifle any competition. Google on the other hand couldn't care less about what device you use as long as you use their services.
At least with a physical device, you may be able to subvert any ill intentions.
You should really tell them they're screwing their tying down plans with their Data Liberation initiative, the Google Takeout and all those APIs.
Funny, my Kindle has ads. I believe you mean IF you pay the $15 extra, and for all I know is that $15 allows you to turn off ads. As far as I know, it doesn't preclude Amazon from selling your information and choices to third parties. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
uhm..what? There's no ads in android itself, and I almost never look at ads on my phone..
Please note that I don't think this is a bad thing, and I love and use Google's products myself very happily. But there is a difference between Google who is collecting revenue from advertisers, and Amazon/Apple who are making their money primarily from consumers.
