USA Today is reporting (via MacRumors) that comments are being filed with the FCC regarding Apple’s rejection of the Google Voice app in the iPhone App Store. Apparently, Apple is not the only company facing questions. Google may have some questions to answer on the related subject of the crippled version of Skype on their Android operating system.
Why: Consumers who use Android, the Google-developed operating system for wireless devices, can’t use Skype, a leading Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service. A pioneer in free Internet calling, Skype allows you to talk as long as you want without draining cellphone minutes.
Android users get Skype Lite, a watered-down version of the original that routes calls over traditional phone networks — not the Internet. As a result, long-distance calls are still cheap or free, but cellphone minutes are gobbled up every time a Skype Lite call is made…
…Google’s explanation would seem to suggest that T-Mobile requested the block on Skype, but the carrier says that’s not the case. “T-Mobile has not asked Google to block that service,” says spokesman Joe Farren, referring to original Skype [sic]. – USA Today
In both of these cases, it is clear that neither the carriers nor OS providers want to take the blame. Maybe the FCC can break this problem open and make progress, but as stated before, “consider me skeptical.”
UPDATE: Apple says it acted alone in rejecting the app. Something still smells fishy here, but if this is the case, bad Apple!
