efq
28-07-2009, 03:52 PM
Apple has banned Google Voice applications for the iPhone and iPod touch from its iTunes app store.
Google Voice, which recently launched in the United States, pulls together multiple phone numbers – such as work and personal mobile, and desk and home phones – in to a single, universal number that can be managed through the web. The service provides transcripts of voicemails, and an archive of all text messages sent and received, and users also benefit from low-cost international phone calls.
Google (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/google/) has launched Google Voice applications for BlackBerry and Android-based mobile phones, but it has run in to difficulty with its software for the iPhone and iPod touch.
Apple (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/apple/) has rejected Google's official Google Voice app, as well as several applications, developed by third parties, that replicate the functionality of Google Voice on Apple's devices.
Technology commentators have accused Apple of "stifling innovation", while developers have expressed dismay at the ban imposed on their apps.
"Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple iTunes Application Store," confirmed a Google spokesman in a statement. "We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users – for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers."
Two other applications based on the Google Voice platform have also been removed by Apple from its iTunes store. VoiceCentral has disappeared from the store, while GV Mobile has also vanished.
Sean Kovacs, the developer behind GV Mobile, said Apple told him they had removed the application because it "duplicates features that come with the iPhone".
"Richard Chipman from Apple just called – he told me they’re removing GV Mobile from the App Store due to it duplicating features that the iPhone comes with," wrote Kovacs on his blog. "He didn't actually specify which features, I assume it's the whole app in general. He wouldn't send a confirmation email either – too scared I would post it [online]."
The reasons for the removal of the Google Voice applications from the iTunes store remain unclear, but some industry commentators have speculated that AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive carrier partner in the United States, may have played some part in events.
Google Voice could be viewed as a threat to the key revenue streams of network operators because it allows users to make cheap calls, save money on their text messages, and circumvent the products and services offered by the carriers themselves.
It is likely that Google will now release Google Voice as a web application, run through the iPhone's Safari browser, rather than as a "native app" downloaded from iTunes.
The search giant has already been forced to rework its friend-tracking software, Google Latitude, in this manner after Apple rejected the original Google Latitude app, claiming its similarities to Google Maps could confuse users.
The Google Voice controversy is the latest episode in a string of dubious application approvals and rejections by Apple. In May, Apple relented after initially banning an ebook reader application, Eucalyptus, because people could use it to read the Karma Sutra. It was also forced to withdraw Baby Shaker, a game in which iPhone owners had to shake their device to silence a crying child, following complaints from consumers and child safety campaigners.
Jason Kincaid, a technology commentator with the TechCrunch website, speculated that the ongoing confusion surrounding Apple's app approval process could lead to developers abandoning the iPhone platform, and instead focus on producing games and software for rival devices, such as Google Android-based handsets and the Palm Pre. "Apple is now actively stifling innovation," he said.
Apple was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
No suprise there lol.
Google Voice, which recently launched in the United States, pulls together multiple phone numbers – such as work and personal mobile, and desk and home phones – in to a single, universal number that can be managed through the web. The service provides transcripts of voicemails, and an archive of all text messages sent and received, and users also benefit from low-cost international phone calls.
Google (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/google/) has launched Google Voice applications for BlackBerry and Android-based mobile phones, but it has run in to difficulty with its software for the iPhone and iPod touch.
Apple (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/apple/) has rejected Google's official Google Voice app, as well as several applications, developed by third parties, that replicate the functionality of Google Voice on Apple's devices.
Technology commentators have accused Apple of "stifling innovation", while developers have expressed dismay at the ban imposed on their apps.
"Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple iTunes Application Store," confirmed a Google spokesman in a statement. "We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users – for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers."
Two other applications based on the Google Voice platform have also been removed by Apple from its iTunes store. VoiceCentral has disappeared from the store, while GV Mobile has also vanished.
Sean Kovacs, the developer behind GV Mobile, said Apple told him they had removed the application because it "duplicates features that come with the iPhone".
"Richard Chipman from Apple just called – he told me they’re removing GV Mobile from the App Store due to it duplicating features that the iPhone comes with," wrote Kovacs on his blog. "He didn't actually specify which features, I assume it's the whole app in general. He wouldn't send a confirmation email either – too scared I would post it [online]."
The reasons for the removal of the Google Voice applications from the iTunes store remain unclear, but some industry commentators have speculated that AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive carrier partner in the United States, may have played some part in events.
Google Voice could be viewed as a threat to the key revenue streams of network operators because it allows users to make cheap calls, save money on their text messages, and circumvent the products and services offered by the carriers themselves.
It is likely that Google will now release Google Voice as a web application, run through the iPhone's Safari browser, rather than as a "native app" downloaded from iTunes.
The search giant has already been forced to rework its friend-tracking software, Google Latitude, in this manner after Apple rejected the original Google Latitude app, claiming its similarities to Google Maps could confuse users.
The Google Voice controversy is the latest episode in a string of dubious application approvals and rejections by Apple. In May, Apple relented after initially banning an ebook reader application, Eucalyptus, because people could use it to read the Karma Sutra. It was also forced to withdraw Baby Shaker, a game in which iPhone owners had to shake their device to silence a crying child, following complaints from consumers and child safety campaigners.
Jason Kincaid, a technology commentator with the TechCrunch website, speculated that the ongoing confusion surrounding Apple's app approval process could lead to developers abandoning the iPhone platform, and instead focus on producing games and software for rival devices, such as Google Android-based handsets and the Palm Pre. "Apple is now actively stifling innovation," he said.
Apple was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
No suprise there lol.