Apple and AT&T say they didn’t “block” Google Voice
There have been a number of charges that either Apple or AT&T blocked the Google Voice app for the iPhone, but both Apple and AT&T say that neither of them did so, separately or together.
The Google Voice application was submitted to the Apple App Store a couple of months ago, and is still apparently awaiting approval. There were a number of charges in the press that the Google app had been blocked by Apple or AT&T for anti competitive reasons, especially after Googles CEO resigned from the Apple board of directors recently. The FCC began looking into the matter on July 31, according to a PCWorld story. So far, it has asked all three companies (Google, Apple, and AT&T) to respond to questions about the situation, which they all did on Friday.
The Google Voice application is a telecommunications service by Google. The service provisions a U.S. phone number, chosen by the user from available numbers in selected area codes, and is free of charge to each user account. Inbound calls to this number are forwarded to other phone numbers of the subscriber. Outbound calls may be placed to domestic and international destinations from any of a user’s configured telephones, or from a web-based application, at least on platforms other than the iPhone. Inbound and domestic outbound calls are free of charge, while international calls are billed according to a schedule posted on the Google Voice website.
A Congressional panel is looking into wireless industry practices from a monopolistic point of view, and apparently got the FCC involved to see if that was a problem with the Google Voice approval process, although what the panel are mainly looking into is the two-year contract issue and cell phones that are exclusive to a single vendor.
Both Apple and AT&T said in their filings that they did not block the Google app from being approved for anticompetitive reasons. Apple, however, admitted that the app has not been approved, but that the main reason is the integrity of the iPhone’s user interface, which Google Voice would change. AT&T, for its part, basically said that Apple’s app approval process was out of it’s realm. Google, in its answers, tried to walk a narrow line that avoided complaining about the treatment of the app by Apple’s approval process, but still welcoming scrutiny. It will be interesting to see if this issue is added to the Congressional probe already underway, and what the effect of such scrutiny would be on the approval process at Apple.
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August 23rd, 2009
I still say the government has no right to meddle in the affairs of Apple as far as what apps they allow. Nobody has ever contended (least of all Apple) that iPhone is any sort of “open” ecosystem. The Google fanboies ranting that Apple somehow owes them this app, and crying to the feds to encourage an unconstitutional interference, all need to just STFU and trade in their precious little ipod phones for an “open” platform phone.
August 23rd, 2009
Google Voice app fanboys will continue to fall back on the argument that every other mobile platform is allowed to use it, so why not Apple.
As parents often tell rebellious children that just because all your friends are doing something, it doesn’t make it right and as long as you live under my roof, you do what I tell you to do.
Apparently, a few iPhone users just don’t like to follow house rules. They’re ungrateful children that hate control.
I view the iPhone platform as a well-controlled platform that is strict but fair to the rest of the family in the sense that the majority of users are kept more than satisfied.
I base this one the fact that the Apple mobile platform is flourishing extremely well and the other platforms aren’t (I think RIM would be the exception).
As an Apple investor, I want the Apple iPhone ecosystem to remain under strict control because I feel that Apple is trying to maintain a long term goal of development that only they know where it’s headed. Apple is in business to make money and control the mobile industry and I think they’re the best qualified to make the decisions.
I know Apple isn’t in this for humanitarian reasons, but I do know that the majority of non-tech iPhone owners I know say they really enjoy using their iPhones and wouldn’t switch to another.
I also second the STFU and go use another handset for the whiners. That seems like a very fair alternative. If they think the “other” platform is in every way superior then they should go to it. I’m certain that for every iPhone hater that jumps ship, there’ll be 1,000 iPhone converts to take their place.
August 24th, 2009
That would be like forcing an proprietary OS to to force access to browsers……uh, wait.