Apple Rejects Google Voice, Shuts Down Third Party Options

by Terrence O'Brien on July 28, 2009 at 05:01 PM

About two weeks ago, Google released native Voice apps for Android and BlackBerry devices, but an iPhone version was suspiciously MIA. The big news on the blogosphere today is that Apple has rejected the Google Voice iPhone app -- a move that looks like the first salvo in a war pitting Apple and AT&T against Google 's revolutionary calling and texting service. Shortly after the refusal, Apple started removing other third-party Google Voice apps like GVDialer and GV Mobile from the App store.

This situation is oddly reminiscent of the launch of Google's location-aware social networking tool, Latitude. When it appeared in early February, versions were quickly made available for Windows Mobile, Android, BlackBerry, and even Nokia's Symbian-based handsets. Last week, Google finally launched a crippled Web app version for the iPhone -- nearly six months later. What was the holdup? Apple was allegedly afraid that users might confuse Latitude with the iPhone's pre-installed Maps application.

The creator of GV Mobile, Sean Kovacs, complained on his blog that Apple was pulling his popular application despite it being personally approved by Phil Schiller, Apple's SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing (and Steve Jobs' stand-in at this year's Macworld and WWDC keynotes). According to his post, Kovacs received a call from Apple explaining that his app was being yanked because it duplicated features standard on the iPhone (like SMS and dialing), even though one could easily claim that the long-approved (and popular) Skyp VoIP app offers similar features.

This recent turn has incited a full-on revolt in the blogosphere. TechCruch said that Apple is "actively stifling innovation," and Eugenia Loli-Queru from OS News sees "an Android or a Nokia phone" in his future. PC World took it a step further, saying Apple "should be ashamed."

Many are speculating that the rejection is the result of pressure from AT&T, rather than Apple's own iron-fisted tendencies. Even if this is true, equal blame rests on Apple for caving to pressure from the much-maligned telecom giant. What happened to the Apple that bent the entire music industry to its will with iTunes? What happened to customer experience?

Apple definitely isn't making any friends with this latest move. Many iPhone consumers are fed up with the constant abrasion of innovative features -- like limiting apps such as Skype and Slingbox and blocking streaming apps like Qik. And then there's AT&T's notoriously unreliable service, which is an arguably a much more serious problem.

In the meantime, Google Voice users are stuck with the stripped-down, Web-based version of the app. If you're feeling adventurous, Kovacs has said he will make GV Mobile available for free through Cydia -- you just have to jailbreak your iPhone to use it. [From: Engadget, TechCrunch, Sean Kovacs, Google Mobile, OS News, PC World]

Tags: app store, apple, AppStore, att, google voice, GoogleVoice, gv mobile, GvMobile, news, top

Comments

THJJul 28th 2009 5:31PM

Neutral

AT&T doesn't want people to drop their 20/mo unlimited text plans in lieu of GV SMS.

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huxleyraderJul 28th 2009 7:41PM

Neutral

A friend of mine was raving about GV today and he uses a iPhone

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Iphone Apps DevelopersJul 31st 2009 9:03AM

Neutral

The internet has made this world real close. Our conversance and disagreement now needs just few ‘type-ins’ and ‘clicks’ to be put across. As blogs, forum postings, articles and comments, today, personal deductions, however gross, irrelevant or unnecessary they are, can be put across easily for the others to know.

I just stumbled upon one news on the Apple’s decision to exclude Google Voice from its list of iPhone applications. Scoffers have started to jibe on the decision by drawing parallel to the iPhone creator’s decision of including ‘iWet T-shirt’ - a PG-13 rated game developed by Synapse Communications (an Indian iPhone application development major - http://www.synapse.co.in/clients/ip_iwet.shtml) in the list of its applications.

Google Voice, no doubt, is a useful application. Rejection of the same would upset many iPhone, and all Google, fans. But the way the scathing remarks have been directed to Apple, I doubt on the (seemingly) ‘purist’s’ credentials. They sound more like Apple’s diehard anti, than ones anyway near to being seekers of an adult /sex theme-free list of iPhone applications.

If Apple has approved iWet, it also did it with a word of caution by rating the same with PG 13. It now entirely remains in the discretion of user to download the application.

Perhaps days of unnecessary fistfights and derisions against adult theme-oriented applications/websites are over. In the web world, where access to everything interesting is just a click away, we need to be more ingenious in setting our priorities and open towards abiding holistic regulations.

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