Atlanta (ip-192.com): As reported earlier in one of our posts, Apple announced last week that it will not allow the use of Google Voice on its iPhone. IP-192 speculated on July 28 [Read more] that perhaps AT&T may pull some strings in the background. Text messaging means big business for the phone company. Google Voice, the front-end for Google’s free phone management system, provides SMS for free. Furthermore, international calls are a lot cheaper if you use Google Voice, compared to the majority (if not all) of AT&T’s monthly plans.
The New York Times seems to share our opinion. David Pogue says in a story posted on August 06 in the NY Times Technology section “There’s only one possible reason that Apple might delete these apps: because AT&T demanded it. Why would AT&T care? Because of those free text messages and cheap international calls, of course. If these apps became popular, AT&T’s revenue could take a serious hit.”
Soon after the event, Google’s CEO stepped down from Apple’s board. “This business has blown up in Apple/AT&T’s face. The Federal Communications Commission, in fact, is now sniffing around, sending letters to Apple, AT&T and Google, clearly wondering if there’s some illegal collusion going on,” so Pogue in his post. “In short, what Apple and AT&T have accomplished with their heavy-handed, Soviet information-control style is not to bury these useful apps. Instead, Apple/AT&T have elevated them to martyr status—and, in effect, thrown down a worldwide challenge to programmers everywhere.”
IP-192 predicts that the story will continue to evolve. We have even heard some rumors that the iPhone may show up in T-Mobile stores in 2010, with Google Voice or its successor available, but this might just be pure speculation.
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