Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Wireless, Bad Apple, iPhone, App Store

In the wake of TJ Luoma's report earlier tonight that the two independent Google Voice applications have been removed from the App Store, Jason Kincaid at TechCrunch says that the official Google Voice app has also been given the shaft. He theorizes that, despite the official Apple line that the apps "duplicate features that come with the iPhone," the real reason the apps were removed was because of squawking from AT&T.

While TechCrunch doesn't offer any definitive proof that AT&T is behind the Google Voice blockage, they do cite GV Mobile developer Sean Kovacs' point that Phil Schiller himself, who you may remember from Apple events like Macworld '09 and WWDC, personally approved the GV Mobile app last April. In fact, Kovacs says that Schiller called him to apologize for the delays in getting the app approved.

Given that high-level support for the app, it's not hard to follow TechCrunch's logic and set sights on AT&T when looking for reasons for its removal. While few people would argue that Apple's app approval process is pretty broken right now, it's hard to believe that an application that was approved by Apple's VP of marketing was somehow magically unapproved because it "duplicates functionality."

As TJ said in his post, it's difficult to believe that Apple truly thinks users will be confused by an application that does the same thing as the built-in Phone app when they went out of their way to purchase and download it. Even setting that aside, it's not at all clear exactly what functionality is supposedly being duplicated. If it's the dialer, then that's a poor excuse; lots of other approved apps include dialers, including Skype. If it's the SMS functionality, again, poor excuse, as other apps provide SMS functionality as well.

It's true that Google Voice isn't necessarily as "scary" to AT&T as a true VoIP app like Skype, but some of the Google Voice functions that TechCrunch describes, like free SMS messages and cheaper long distance, certainly do sound like something that would rattle AT&T's cage.

Take into consideration that Skype was approved because it will only work over Wi-Fi, even though there's no technical reason it shouldn't run over 3G. Look at how crippled SlingPlayer is compared to the same app on other phones. Now, Google Voice is dead in the water on the iPhone. What we have is a very clear and disturbing pattern. Applications that provide innovative solutions to users, but which fall outside the bounds of what a traditionally-minded telecommunications company like AT&T considers acceptable, are being either hobbled by arbitrary restrictions like Skype and Sling or blasted out of existence like Google Voice.

Whether it's Apple's fault or AT&T's, it's getting tiresome to see innovative applications like Skype or Google Voice constantly kicked to the curb or kneecapped. Are we headed for an App Store with nothing in it except fart apps? Those, at the very least, don't duplicate any built-in iPhone functionality that I've heard of.

One more thing: who else thinks it's ironic that a company started by a couple of guys who spent lots of time phone phreaking in a garage in the 1970s now kowtows to AT&T and kills apps that help people make cheaper calls?

Is AT&T behind the rejection and removal of Google Voice apps? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Is AT&T behind the rejection and removal of Google Voice apps? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NotifyMe is a simple application which uses Apple's push notification service to notify you of reminders set within the app. Reminders can be set for any time (in 5 minute intervals) and assigned a category. You can also have reminders recur daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and yearly.

Sonos has announced a revamped hardware controller for the company's Multi-Room Music System, as well as a major software update for the system as a whole.

Microsoft confirmed that plans for its upcoming retail stores, leaked to Gizmodo over the weekend, were legitimate.

Livescribe and Vision Objects have teamed up to provide a Mac-friendly handwriting-to-text transcription service for the Pulse Smartpen, a computerized pen that captures audio and links it to handwritten notes.

WhenWillApple has found another new goodie in the just released iPhone 3.1 Beta 3: Settings > General > Usage now shows Tethering Data alongside the previous Cellular Network Data counter.

Since countries outside the US, and carriers other than AT&T have offered tethering pretty much since the launch of iPhone 3.0, does this new addition, alongside the return of MMS settings in iPhone 3.1 Beta 1 released a month ago, hint that AT&T might finally be getting their iPhone offerings in order?

Insert your AT&T tethering rumor here!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3.1 Beta 3: Data Tethering Counter [-- Add AT&T Rumor Here!]

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store

Booyah is a company I've had my eye on for a while -- they're a couple of veterans from Blizzard Entertainment (makers of the popular Diablo and World of Warcraft games, two of my favorites) who have been teasing a big-time iPhone app. Just today, they've finally showed their cards, and have released Booyah Society, a 3D, interactive, social network-connected "achievement system for life." If that sounds like an idea that's pretty floaty, you probably heard it right.

Basically it's a game system that more or less overlays on what you're already posting to Facebook and Twitter. If you do anything from conquering a new videogame to doing a new exercise to visiting a new restaurant, you can earn achievements and points for an ingame avatar and scoreboard. In essence, they're aiming to take the things we already tell each other we're doing, and put this game/scoring system on top of that. There are plans to use the iPhone's hardware to do some self-reporting (GPS to track where you've been), but for now, everything's basically on the honor system.

Will it work? Who knows. The app is available for free right now, and they're planning to include microtransactions in the future to let you buy things to dress up your avatar with, as well as looking at partnerships with other businesses (i.e., you can get a certain achievement by going to Wendy's and ordering some fries). Very interesting -- as with most social app ideas, this one seems like it'll make or break it based on who chooses to play it faithfully. They've got quite a pedigree with the Blizzard background, and built-in audiences with Facebook and Twitter integration, but whether or not people will find themselves invested in tracking these achievements and scoring points for their avatars, only time will tell.

Continue reading Booyah releases Booyah Society, an app/game that tracks "life achievements"

Booyah releases Booyah Society, an app/game that tracks "life achievements" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Booyah releases Booyah Society, an app/game that tracks "life achievements" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unix was created 40 years ago this summer. Computerworld looks back on what some have said is one of the most important pieces of software ever created.

Following up on the recent release of iPhone 3.1 Beta 3, WhenWillApple has posted up a YouTube video (embedded above) showing the new copy/paste functionality for videos.

Like copy/paste for images in iPhone 3.0, this allows you to send copies of your videos without the compression that goes along with the Share function. Just pick a video, tap and hold for “copy”, switch to email, tap and hold for paste.

Again, the size of the email boxes (sender and receiver) will likely still be a limiting factor. (MobileMe allows for 20MB per email, for example).

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3.1 Beta 3: Copy/Paste to Send Full Quality Video