Google Voice is a pretty amazing service, but it comes with a number of minor annoyances, including the way in handles outgoing calls and SMS messages. Fortunately, Google has recently come out with a number of smartphone apps for BlackBerry and Android that obviate the need for any extra steps, making Google Voice a natural replacement for your phone’s native dialer. The iPhone still lacks an official client, but that hasn’t stopped a handful of third party developers from realeasing their own apps, which have been available on the App Store for the last few months. Today, however, it sounds like Apple has made the decision to crack down on these: Sean Kovacs, the developer behind the popular app GV Mobile, has written on his blog that Apple is going to be removing his application, citing the fact that it “duplicates features that come with the iPhone”.
From Kovac’s blog:
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 (Dialer, SMS, etc). He didn’t actually specify which features, although I assume the whole app in general. He wouldn’t send a confirmation email either – too scared I would post it. I’ll see what I can do to get it back up there gang…
Once again, Apple’s App Store policies have crossed the line from irritating to totally ridiculous. GV Mobile taps into a service that is entirely different from the iPhone’s native dialer, making Google Voice far easier to use than it normally is. It’s also laughable that Apple would refuse to specify exactly which features the app was replicating.
Even more worrying are the implications this would have if it becomes Apple’s policy to ban Google Voice apps from the App Store, which would be a major blow to the service. There is at least one other Google Voice app already available on the App Store, called VoiceCentral, and we’ve previously confirmed that Google has an official app in the works.
It’s entirely possible that Apple’s decision to ban the app is being driven not by user confusion, but by AT&T’s request. Google Voice is very powerful, and is only becoming increasingly so as it releases new apps and features that make it easier to use. It also hits the carriers where it hurts, making it easy for users to swap numbers on a whim, get cheap calls, save on SMS, and much more.
And while it would be surprising if Apple banned Google’s app as well, it wouldn’t be the first time Google was forced to bow to Apple’s wishes — just last week Google had to scrap a native app built for its Latitude service in favor of a web app at Apple’s request. Yet another possibility is that Google’s official application is imminent, and the GV Mobile app was pulled to reduce confusion once that’s out (though this seems less likely).
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Related posts:
- Google Voice Does An End Run Around Apple And Shows Up In The iPhone’s Browser (Screenshots) Remember the dustup last summer over Apple’s rejection of...
- Google Voice Is Coming Back To The iPhone Via The Browser, Thanks To VoiceCentral Last summer, when Apple pulled third-party Google Voice applications...
- Battle Of The Google Voice iPhone Apps: VoiceCentral vs. GV Mobile For those of us that rely on being but...
- Apple Is Growing Rotten To The Core: Official Google Voice App Blocked From App Store Earlier today we learned that Apple had begun to pull...
- Google Voice Competitor Ribbit Mobile Launches iPhone App (500 Invites) Ribbit Mobile, which offers a set of VoIP services that...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.