Apple has again upped the ante in the battle for the hearts and minds of mobile app developers. Its forthcoming iPhone OS 4 software, to be released this summer, attempts to help developers tackle the biggest issue they face – how to monetize all the hard work that goes into creating an app.

The new operating system for the iPhone features Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform, which is touted as giving developers an easy way to embed adverts into their apps. Sold and served by Apple, the ads will be delivered over-the-air in real-time. The developer then receives a 60% cut of the ad revenue. In essence, Apple is trying to make it as simple for developers to embed adverts into their apps as it is embed adverts into web sites using Google’s AdSense tool.

It will be interesting to see if Apple uses the information it can mine from iTunes accounts, such as a user’s gender, to really personalize the ads it serves.

At the very least, Apple says iAd will also solve the problem where people who click on an ad inside an app are typically taken to a web page, losing their place in the app. Instead, the ad, which could feature video and be interactive, will open inside the app.

Multitasking Makes the Cut

Apple is also billing iPhone OS 4 as having many other neat features, such as support for multitasking, enabling the user to switch easily between third-party apps, plus folders for organizing and storing similar apps, such as games. Crucially, the overdue multitasking feature will enable the iPhone to take a VOIP call even when the user has another app open or the handset is asleep. Unsurprisingly, the new operating system also supports iBooks, the ebook reader and online book store that debuted with the iPad.

Apple’s efforts to keep developers focused on its platform also stretch to a new software development kit (SDK) with more than 1,500 new application programming interfaces (APIs). For example, the iPhone OS 4 beta release previews a set of APIs that will enable developers to easily give game players the ability to challenge friends online, while keeping track of scores on a leader board.

All very welcome, but I suspect most commentators and developers will focus on the iAd platform’s potential to move the mobile apps business on to a more commercially-viable footing. Some will regard it as an unwelcome extension of Apple’s control and power in the apps market, but many others are likely to welcome a minimum hassle tool that increases their chances of earning dollars from their coding.

Although only a small fraction of the 180,000 apps in the App Store will have a big enough user base to generate significant ad revenues, even the long tail will earn some cash in return for very little effort. Once again, Apple has shown an uncanny instinct for delivering the right product at the right time.