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Is Google Voice available for the iPhone?
Need a refresher on the Google Voice and Apple saga? Let's recap the story to date: Apple pulled all Google Voice related apps from the App Store back in July, which led to an FCC inquiry, which led Apple to claim they had not rejected but were "studying" Google Voice, which Google contradicted. The biggest surprise in the whole scenario is that AT&T said that they had no problem with Google Voice on the iPhone. Yet here we are, 4 months later, and still no decision (that we know of) has been made. I've previously referred to this as Apple's pocket veto of Google Voice where they are able to say they haven't rejected it when they have, in effect, rejected it. Put it all together, and this has led me to put up a website for your "Google Voice on iPhone" questions, which I narrowed down to IsGoogleVoiceAvailableForTheiPhone.com? As it stands today, the answer is a qualified "No" in that there are no Google Voice apps available from the App Store, but I was curious to see what options are available. I found three tools that you can use today, and one more which is on the horizon.
The Google Voice rejection: What's needed now
If you've been following coverage of Apple's rejection of Google Voice for iPhone, you saw TUAW blogger Chris Rawson considering whether pressure from AT&T might have been behind the Google Voice rejection -- an assumption first floated by TechCrunch and later substantiated by Daring Fireball. The absurd nature of the app removals is highlighted in the blog post from Riverturn, developers of VoiceCentral, which reports the conversation with an Apple representative. Google Voice offers free call forwarding to your home, office, and cell, free Internet-accessible voice mail (with text transcription!), free SMS, and a single phone number for life. These free features compete against AT&T's revenue streams. When it comes to "duplicate functionality", Apple doesn't seem to have any problem allowing applications like AT&T co-branded Virtual Recptionist (iTunes link) in App Store. Virtual Receptionist provides custom call forwarding to three phone numbers, in a similar manner to Google Voice. In the wake of the rejection, sites like Wired, which should get credit for predicting this issue, have considered whether Apple's move might invite regulation due to the company's control over the App Store and possible anti-competitive concerns. A legislative response isn't out of the question should enough unhappy customers start petitioning their congressmen, especially in a political climate that encourages government intervention in private business. Granted, the iPhone isn't a monopoly among smartphones, but Apple does hold all the cards when it comes to app approval on the platform. ChannelWeb's Rick Whiting (via the Wall Street Journal) points out that the US Department of Justice has "begun investigating whether large U.S. telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications were engaging in anti-competitive behavior, including locking up the most popular handsets. The exclusive deal between AT&T-Apple is said to be drawing the most scrutiny." Whiting believes that AT&T and Apple may be drawing attention from a DOJ intent on cracking down on exactly this kind of excess. AT&T's tight relationship with Apple might be affecting how Apple runs App Store, as might be the case with the Google Voice rejection.
GV Mobile and Voice Central pulled from App Store
Update: The official Google app is apparently not going to be released either. Earlier today, iPhone developer Sean Kovacs posted on his blog that his Google Voice client, GV Mobile, is getting pulled from the App Store due to "duplicating features that the iPhone comes with (Dialer, SMS, etc)." Kovacs says he received a call from an Apple staffer, who "wouldn't send a confirmation email either - too scared I would post it." The app still appears in the App Store, but when you attempt to purchase it you will be told "The item you tried to buy is no longer available." We've also heard that Voice Central (another Google Voice application) is similarly no longer available for purchase. There has been speculation that Google is preparing its own iPhone app for Google Voice, however, in light of the news that Apple 'requested' that Google make Latitude a web app instead of a native app "in order to avoid confusion with Maps on the iPhone," I wonder if we are unlikely to see such an application from Google. MailWrangler, a native Gmail client for the iPhone was also rejected from the App Store because the "application duplicates the functionality of the built-in iPhone application Mail without providing sufficient differentiation or added functionality, which will lead to user confusion." As a heavy duty user of Gmail, I've wished for MailWrangler from the beginning. Sure you can use Gmail through Mobile Safari -- as you can use Google Voice -- but as Apple soon learned after trying to convince users and developers that web apps were all we needed, there are certain things which a native application makes much easier. GV Mobile is a very popular application for using Google Voice on the iPhone. Apple's own phone application is great, but for Google Voice users, a native application was a nice thing to have. I'm not sure why Apple keeps insisting that users would be confused by apps which do similar things (How many different applications are there which duplicate "Notes" functionality?), but a greater concern is the idea that a developer can work on an application, have it released to huge success, and then have Apple turn around and yank it from the App Store. This in loco parentis attitude from Apple hurts iPhone users and developers alike. Developers like Fraser Speirs have stopped developing new applications for the iPhone and he's not the only one. (Fraser's post on Twitter was how I heard how I heard about GV Mobile being pulled from the App Store.) I hope these are growing pains that Apple and the App Store will leave behind. Users who seek out, find, download, and install 3rd party applications are unlikely to be "confused" by the "duplication" of functionality. The fact that they sought them out is evidence that they found something lacking from the applications that Apple offers. The App Store is wonderful, except for the parts of it which are terrible; namely, the review process (which takes too long and rejects too many apps) and the removal of applications which do no harm and which have been released for some time to great success. UPDATE: The developers of Voice Central had an interesting conversation with Apple. Mostly involving the word "can't."
VoiceCentral integrates Google Voice with the iPhone
If you're one of the lucky ones to have scored an invite to Google Voice, check out VoiceCentral. It's a very slick application which integrates well with the iPhone, making it possible to make calls through your Google Voice (or GrandCentral) account. Why would you want this? My primary reason for wanting an application for GV is so that I can make calls and have my Google Voice number appear on the Caller-ID. VoiceCentral makes this a simple process. When you first install the app, it asks you to select your iPhone number on the Settings page. When you make a call through the app, it happens in two steps: 1) your iPhone rings (this is Google Voice's servers calling your iPhone), 2) your call is connected. Why is this important? If you end up leaving a message for whoever you are calling, their voicemail system may give them the option to call you back at the number you called from. Our landline phones also make it easy to return calls from the caller-ID list. As a Google Voice user, I want those calls to go to my Google Voice number, not my iPhone. If you're a fan of Google Voice, you know that having a central place for all of your voicemails is great. Google Voice will transcribe those voicemails (my favorite feature, although sometimes having a computer try to decipher my friend's "late weekend night" messages does lead to some interesting "translation issues"). VoiceCentral will let you access not only those voicemails (in a style very similar to iPhone's own Visual Voicemail) but if you tap on the arrow, it will also show you the transcription. You can even read the message without listening to it, which is especially handy for checking messages when you are in a meeting, a movie theater (oh, like you've never!), or anywhere loud enough that you might not be able to hear it. The transcripts can also be copied (on iPhones running OS 3.0 or later, of course) and pasted into notes or emails if needed. As you'd expect, VoiceCentral also integrates with your existing iPhone contact list, and there's also a keypad which allows you to make calls or send SMS. The "Send SMS" feature has had some issues, but Riverturn has a newer version which fixes the problem. As you are no doubt used to hearing by now, they are waiting on Apple to approve the newer version. It's also important to note that there is no way to designate any application except the built-in Phone app as the default, so any phone numbers which you tap from email messages or web pages will open in the built-in app, rather than in Skype or other telephony apps. Google appears to be readying its own GV iPhone app for release, although it hasn't made it into the App Store yet. Anyone familiar with the approval process knows that could mean it is hours, days, or weeks away from being released. The Blackberry and Android apps are already available. Is $2.99 [iTunes Link] too much to spend on an app when there may be a free alternative right around the corner? Not for me. In fact, the only thing which keeps this app from replacing the native Phone app on my dock is the lack of a "Favorites" tab, which I use for nearly all of the outgoing calls I make on my iPhone.
