Filed under: App Store
The Google Voice rejection: What's needed now
If you've been following coverage of Apple's rejection of Google Voice for iPhone, you saw TUAW blogger Chris Rawson considering whether pressure from AT&T might have been behind the Google Voice rejection -- an assumption first floated by TechCrunch and later substantiated by Daring Fireball. The absurd nature of the app removals is highlighted in the blog post from Riverturn, developers of VoiceCentral, which reports the conversation with an Apple representative.
Google Voice offers free call forwarding to your home, office, and cell, free Internet-accessible voice mail (with text transcription!), free SMS, and a single phone number for life. These free features compete against AT&T's revenue streams.
When it comes to "duplicate functionality", Apple doesn't seem to have any problem allowing applications like AT&T co-branded Virtual Recptionist (iTunes link) in App Store. Virtual Receptionist provides custom call forwarding to three phone numbers, in a similar manner to Google Voice.
In the wake of the rejection, sites like Wired, which should get credit for predicting this issue, have considered whether Apple's move might invite regulation due to the company's control over the App Store and possible anti-competitive concerns. A legislative response isn't out of the question should enough unhappy customers start petitioning their congressmen, especially in a political climate that encourages government intervention in private business. Granted, the iPhone isn't a monopoly among smartphones, but Apple does hold all the cards when it comes to app approval on the platform.
ChannelWeb's Rick Whiting (via the Wall Street Journal) points out that the US Department of Justice has "begun investigating whether large U.S. telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications were engaging in anti-competitive behavior, including locking up the most popular handsets. The exclusive deal between AT&T-Apple is said to be drawing the most scrutiny." Whiting believes that AT&T and Apple may be drawing attention from a DOJ intent on cracking down on exactly this kind of excess. AT&T's tight relationship with Apple might be affecting how Apple runs App Store, as might be the case with the Google Voice rejection.
Leaving aside any possible legislative or DOJ responses, maybe Apple needs to finally consider parallel App Stores. For example, Apple might introduce an iPod touch-only sub-store to sell applications that AT&T does not approve of. No cell phone, no AT&T, right? At this time, the App Store does not offer an "iPod-only' sales option. (For 2.x firmware, developers can specify some device limitations like iPhone-only; from 3.0 onwards, developers list required capabilities, e.g. requires an onboard camera.) In no scenario, however, do I expect Apple to willingly open up its platform to competing stores from other vendors.
For now, the only store that competes with App Store is Cydia, which distributes applications in the jailbreak arena. Cydia is small peanuts compared to App Store. It's moved a quarter million or so dollars worth of product in about four months. That's great news for Jay Freeman, who developed the Cydia store, but not much of a threat to Apple's dominance over its proprietary platform.
Developer Sean Kovacs, whose ported GV Mobile application was pulled from App Store, moved his app into the Cydia Store. He is offering the application for free, although as Engadget points out, he welcomes donations. He'll be greeted as a jailbreak hero but the impact from his move on Apple will be minimal.
The lack of a Google Voice application on the iPhone doesn't mean you can't use the service, even today, on an iPhone. You can use the Google Voice mobile website to to call yourself and then use the interactive service to set up an outgoing message. From what I read, the process is awkward at best. (Yes, I'm still waiting for my invite.)
No one expects Apple, or AT&T for that matter, to act against their own interests. At the same time, how far will they alienate their developer base with moves like this one that showcase how hard it is to create a business plan for a completely closed platform? For now developers continue pounding at the doors to get into the iPhone developer program. But with a history of capricious rejections, an opaque review process, and the possibility that your accepted application might be yanked (as were both GV Mobile and VoiceCentral), more and more developers will be getting the message that Apple's iPhone platform is too risky to develop for.
TUAW contacted Google for an official statement on this matter. A Google spokesperson replied, "We work hard to bring Google applications to a number of mobile platforms, including the iPhone. Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple App Store. We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users, for example by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers."
Apple's spokesperson stated that Apple had no comment.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Sal The Rebel said 6:48PM on 7-29-2009
First?
I sold my iphone 3gs for $$$. Getting android or Wait for the soo called Tablet from apple.
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oliver hart said 6:58PM on 7-29-2009
AT&T fucking sucks
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DigiPimp said 7:05PM on 7-29-2009
Ill likely be early terminating my AT&T contract and selling my 3g as long as the iPod touch released in September sports a camera and mic. I'll be looking to get something with Android quite possibly as well, or even the dreaded cheap blackberry so I can at least use my GV with notifications and dialing.
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m said 7:09PM on 7-29-2009
The iTunes store has more than 50 versions of the Happy Birthday song. I find that rather confusing and would much appreciate it if they could remove all but one from the store.
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InfoMofo said 7:11PM on 7-29-2009
Look, I'm a 3GS user who's generally pretty happy. And fortunately, I grabbed the GV Mobile app before the ban, so I'm actually fine.
Still, this crazy policy will make me think twice about buying their tablet in 4 months, if they have the same crazy app store and policies.
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John said 8:05AM on 7-30-2009
I grabbed GV mobile before the ban but it doesnt seem to work anymore. I wonder if I can get a refund.
Mark said 7:15PM on 7-29-2009
I went to T-Mobile today to check out the new MyTouch (after selling my 3GS) - I was actually pretty impressed by it...but sadly it's just too slow and clunky (and not enough storage space) at the moment...hopefully android really takes off this year and I can be freed from the shackles of AT$T
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Scott said 7:29PM on 7-29-2009
Apple doesn't hold all the cards to getting apps to the iPhone, there still is jailbreaking, which is why what the EFF is doing is important.
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Jason said 2:48PM on 7-30-2009
but what sucks about this is that developers like Google won't be porting their apps. It would have been nice to have a Voice app straight from the source, or a Gmail app, etc.
MRCUR said 7:29PM on 7-29-2009
As I've said a few times now across the blogsphere, this is pushing me even closer to dumping my 3GS and going back to BlackBerry. Since I'm not 18 I cannot yet purchase a phone for myself (I know I can do pre-paid, but not with a BB), so I'm stuck with AT&T since I'm under my father's account.
I've never been terribly happy with AT&T, but they seem to be getting dumber and dumber recently. Their 3G service is certainly nothing to rave about (I skipped the 3G entirely (after trying three of them) because of this), and now they're (most likely) pressuring Apple into blocking apps which could hurt their bottom line.
At this point I'm 99% sure I'll be ordering a data-only BB Tour from Sprint on my birthday in December. It's $30/month and includes unlimited data, 5GB tethering, and unlimited SMS. AT&T wants $35/month for just the unlimited BB data-only...
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rockstars said 9:56PM on 7-29-2009
Can you really complain? You're not even 18. Are you even paying for your account or are your parents paying for your iPhone plan?
My God, what is with parents buying their children these hi-tech toys? It must be fucking nice to not have to struggle to pay for something. Damn. Parents like that don't instill the notion of "real work" to their children just by handing them anything they want.
MRCUR said 10:15PM on 7-29-2009
WTF buddy? You ask the question if I'm paying for my iPhone (which I do) but before getting an answer just go on a rant about dumb parents handing their kids everything they ask for. You'll hear me saying that same stuff all the time to my classmates that don't work and don't "get it"; it annoys the hell out of me.
Now, let me actually answer you so you don't go on another mini rant about my being under 18 and complaining about AT&T's crap service.
I'm currently 17 and work full time over the summer in an IT department, and intern during the school year. I worked full time last summer and winter running the help desk of a local business (which is actually very large). I pay for every electronic item I own, and pay plenty each month towards Internet, cable, and my phone. I don't want to hear you ranting about my parents giving me crap. I work for the stuff I buy and work harder than other members of my family.
I pay for my DVR monthly, paid for my TV, paid for my 360, paid for my computers, paid for my iPhone, pay for my iPhone's data (my father pays the $10/month for the phone - fair? I think so...), and will pay for all of my BlackBerry if I switch to Sprint. My parents do not buy me any high-tech stuff, nor much frivolous stuff at all. Not only that but I pay plenty of taxes too. Like I said, it annoys me when my friends complain because their parents won't buy them an iPhone or pay for the data plan - especially the ones that refuse to even try and get a job.
Now, I think you can see I certainly have a right to complain about AT&T and Apple's crap.
Binja said 11:46PM on 7-29-2009
I mean no insult but...
I love the parentheses.
mentalsticks said 6:33AM on 7-30-2009
Rockstars is very, very wrong. Why would it be better if you work for your money? I'd just love to be so very rich that I didn't have to work for money anymore, but for fun. To do the things I'd want to do. And have the option not to work if I don't want to. What is so noble about having to work for a living?
galactica1 said 2:48AM on 8-10-2009
@ROCKSTARS..Who the hell are u to judge? Keep such opinions to urself.
Nick said 7:34PM on 7-29-2009
I'm of course in the camp that thinks this is an extremely shitty move.
However, I've never actually seen the GV mobile apps, and I'm wondering what special things they let you do, exactly.
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blkmasta55555 said 7:00AM on 7-30-2009
Is there a camp that doesn't think this is a shitty move?
John.B said 7:41PM on 7-29-2009
I might care about this if I could do more with Google Voice than just sign up on some waiting list.
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Travis Walls said 8:18PM on 7-29-2009
I just sent the following feedback to Apple via http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html:
I am very disappointed in Apple's decision to pull yet another popular iPhone application from the iTunes App Store. In this case, I am referring to GV Mobile. I am currently a registered iPhone developer and am learning to program on the iPhone with the goal of one day selling apps in the iTunes App Store. Unfortunately, each story I read in the news about another app being rejected or, worse yet, removed from the iTunes App Store is making me feel like I am wasting my time. What is the point in writing a program if the rules for getting into the store keep changing for what seem to be arbitrary reasons? It is quite simple really, Apple. Either open up the App Store to innovation, or it will walk out the door and go straight to your competition. Your walled garden of flatulence apps will only sustain itself for so long.
Travis Walls
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Desterado said 8:27PM on 7-29-2009
Good Job, now you need to get the other millions of AT&T iPhone users to do the same.
Good luck man.