Apple has decided to restrict its iPhone developers from using location data in the advertisement targeted at the location of the subscribers, through a post sent to the iPhone developers' news site.

Apple has not disclosed the reason behind the ban, but it is expected that the Apple wants to tap the big revenue generator market of location based advertisement. The acquisition of the mobile advertisement firm, Quattro Wireless for $275 million provides good evidence for the intentions of Apple.

The location based advertisement could prove beneficial for the retailers and restraints, which in turn has the option to attract the nearby potential customers into their business by distributing them coupons.

Regarding the issue, Apple said, "If your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user's location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store."

After the Apple's acquisition move, Google, the searching giant has also announced to buy AdMob, a mobile display advertising provider, for $750 million. Google is trying to focus on its ability to deliver relevant advertisement on the phones when used for the searching purpose.

It is expected that more than 4.5 billion mobile applications will be downloaded worldwide this year, which will produce revenue of $6.8 billion for the online app stores.