Apple bans Google Voice for iPhone and iPod

29 Jul 2009, 9:09 am   -   Source: sbs
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Apple bans google voice for iPhone and iPod

Apple bans google voice for iPhone and iPod

Google Voice, which recently launched in the US, has been banned by Apple for download as an app to the companies iPhone and iPod devices.

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Google Voice, which recently launched in the United States, has been banned by Apple for download as an app to the companies iPhone and iPod 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 been removed.
 

Reasons unclear


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.
 

Latest controversy


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.

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Your Comments

mmm...

Ben - from Penrith, 3 years ago

Yet another example of restrictive profiteering on the part of the Apple Corp.

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