iPhone News Updated

9 Banned Apps: 2. Google Voice

2. Google Voice
The defense: The official Google Voice app (and the pulled third-party options like GV Mobile)
allowed you to use your iPhone to access your Google Voice account to
place calls, send text messages, and check voicemail — all for cheap
or free.
The complaint: Apple pulled the third party apps and then denied approval of Google Voice, claiming it duplicated built-in features of the iPhone.
Fairness of the judgment: Funnily enough, Apple has approved full-fledged Internet telephony apps like Skype and Vonage
and other apps that promise free or cheap text messaging. And there is
convincing speculation that the rejection was influenced by AT&T,
which is obviously eager to protect its text messaging business from
being poached by Google Voice’s free option.This one smells like
three-day-old fish to us — we’re not buying it.
Likelihood of appeal: Perhaps
in part due to intense public backlash over Apple’s move, the FCC has
launched an investigation into the incident and enacted new net neutrality
rules that may force Apple to approve the application anyway. If you
don’t feel like holding your breath for some action from the FCC,
however, you can get your Google Voice fix by jailbreaking your iPhone and installing GV Mobile.

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