There has been a lot of polemic around the disapproval from Apple of the Google Voice App for the iPhone, but I have to clarify several things, first at all on an answer from Apple to the FCC on July 31 2009 they clearly said that is not true that the Google Voice App has been disapproved, they said that they continue to study (which is supposedly should be different). But no matter if the application still under review I believe it will never going to make it to the iPhone, the reason is very simple, it will allow you to call for free and it will allow Google to take control of the voicemail among other intrinsic features of the iphone.
As has been said on the media Google Voice will allow you to call for free but it is not because the Google Voice uses the data plan and the call is VoIP, this is absolutely not true, what the application does is that it routes your call through a Google number before dial to your final destination, so you are actually making a call using the minutes in your phone. So the question is…
How can I call for free with the Google Voice on the IPhone?
Here it is how:
- First at all you need to get your Google voice number from Google on this website www.google.com/voice
- Once you have your number assigned you can access the Google voice website directly from your phone by pointing to this url in your browser www.m.google.com/voice
- Once on this page you can login to your Google Voice account and start to dial any number as you would normally do directly with the dial pad on your iphone.
- After dial any number, Google Voice will connect to a Google Voice number, which is different from the Google Voice number Google originally assigned to you. For instance in my case my Google Voice number is 516-690-68XX but when Google Voice is making an outgoing call from my iPhone connects the call using another number that is 518-314-94XX. In other words the number Google Voice uses for outgoing calls is different to the Google Voice number assigned (for incoming calls only).
- The number Google Voice uses to make the out-coming call is the important number in this case, because this number is the one that will allow you to call for free; this is how: When Google Voice is connecting you through this number is actually making a real call that will be deducted from the minutes in your plan, to avoid this the only thing you need to do is to add this number to you A-List at AT&T, this is a feature that not too many people is aware of, but it is basically a list of 10 different telephone numbers that you can call for free and don’t count within the minutes on your plan. In other words if you just use Google Voice for your outgoing calls and the Google Voice connection number is on you’re a-List at AT&T all your calls will be free, you will then be able to minimize the minutes on your plan, saving several bucks a month.
The problem I have right now is that I equally love and enjoy Google and Apple products, unfortunately this time I need to side with one of them and it is Google, these are my reasons:
On January 26 Google Voice released the HTML5 version for the iPhone making most of the functionalities originally planed available to the public and under passing the questionable approval process from iPhone. I started to use the application and for its convenience and savings opportunity I just want to use it from now on (instead my AT&T number), the problem is that because of Apple’s rejection one of the most critical features originally planned is not available on Google Voice and is the integration of the application with my contacts list; Any time I want to dial somebody I need to see his/her number somewhere else and then dial it manually, off course this can be solved by exporting the contacts from my iPhone and importing them to Google Voice, the problem is they will never be up to date and there is not possibility of keeping them in sync.
What all this is causing is that for the first time I started to feel some kind of tyranny from Apple which having the ability to make my life much life has insisted in blocking the Google Voice application while approving others with the same or better functionalities such as Line2 the first dual mode cell/VoIP app for the iPhone.
Most of the reasons they expressed to delay the approval of the Google Voice app are actually present on the Line2 app by Toktumi. On response from Apple to the FCC they said that no application routing calls through the AT&T’s 3G network has been approved on the Apple Store; this is not true anymore Line2 actually can place free calls using the 3G data network of AT&T. Why if they approve this application they still denied Google Voice? On the same reply to the FCC Apple said that they have not approved Google Voice because “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“; this is exactly what the Line2 app does… so please Apple explain me what is the criteria behind this. I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple buys out Toktumi and its Line2 App and definitely blocks the possibility of Google Voice to be completely integrated with the iPhone.
I would like to see the Google Voice App approved and I know so many people is expecting the same, this double criteria, lack of transparency and confusion is just hurting Apple’s brand and will force so many users to migrate to Nexus one. If the Google Voice App gets approved I would be happy to continue using my iPhone, but blocking the app is just making the iPhone more difficult to use and less convenient. Please Apple don’t make this mistake, I used to love Palm too but where other phones are easier and more convenient to use consumers don’t think twice… please approve the Google Voice once for all, we need it, we want it.
This article has been written by Libardo Lambrano, founder of Syndikomm; an online marketing firm based in New York city and specialized in multicultural markets. Libardo Lambrano, a digital citizen of the world can be reached@llambrano