Would Apple and AT&T Cripple a Google Voice iPhone App?
Google Voice, the innovative invite-only telephone communication control service, is readying a iPhone version of its mobile phone app, which just became available on Tuesday for Android OS-based phones and Blackberries. But will Apple and AT&T let Google sell such an app without hobbling it? For instance, Google Voice offers free SMS services that appear to come from one’s Google number rather than one’s mobile phone number. That means users could text all they like, without paying AT&T $20 a month. That money is virtually all profit for the telecom giant, since the messages use almost no bandwidth and even travel on a special channel separate from voice or data. So the motive is clear. The answer to whether they will is unclear, but history suggests it’s a strong possibility. AT&T and Apple together have blocked video applications that compete with approved ones and forced the low cost phone calling company Skype to disable its most powerful feature — free phone calls using a phone’s
