Why Was Google's Voice iPhone App Rejected? Apple Explains...

Apple has officially answered FCC questions about why Google Voice was rejected to appear in App Store. For those who didn’t keep track of the news, Apple rejected the Google Voice application for iPhone and removed all related third-party application from App Store. The rejection has drawn great attention & criticism around the net and even Federal regulators wanted to know why Apple rejected Google’s innovative Voice app from its App Store.

This is not the very first time Apple rejected iPhone applications submitted for App Store. Developers, bloggers and journalists around the net have criticized Apple for rejecting applications especially for those innovative applications trying to add feature and even replace iPhone’s default application like Phone or Mail applications.

Okay, here is the Apple’s answer to FCC’s question on why the Google Voice application was rejected:

Contrary to published reports, Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to study it. The application has not been approved because, as submitted for review, it appears to alter the iPhone’s distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone’s core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging and voicemail. Apple spent a lot of time and effort developing this distinct and innovative way to seamlessly deliver core functionality of the iPhone. For example, on an iPhone, the “Phone” icon that is always shown at the bottom of the Home Screen launches Apple’s mobile telephone application, providing access to Favorites, Recents, Contacts, a Keypad, and Visual Voicemail. The Google Voice application replaces Apple’s Visual Voicemail by routing calls through a separate Google Voice telephone number that stores any voicemail, preventing voicemail from being stored on the iPhone, i.e., disabling Apple’s Visual Voicemail. Similarly, SMS text messages are managed through the Google hub—replacing the iPhone’s text messaging feature. In addition, the iPhone user’s entire Contacts database is transferred to Google’s servers, and we have yet to obtain any assurances from Google that this data will only be used in appropriate ways. These factors present several new issues and questions to us that we are still pondering at this time.

The answer is not very convincing.

[via Simon Blog]

Get a Free iPhone 3GS! Yes, that is correct! Stay away from the trouble of earning enough to pay for it for you can get it the simple way .... straight to your doorstep! Free! Interested? Then find out how to get a Free iPhone 3GS!