|
SAN FRANCISCO
—
Google Inc.'s
report to the
Federal Communications Commission
that it was
Apple Inc.
that rejected its Google Voice application from the
popular iPhone's app store is at odds with Apple's
version of events.
With
Google's
permission, the FCC posted online a formerly
confidential letter from the company stating that,
"Apple's representatives informed
Google
that the Google Voice application was rejected because
Apple believed the application duplicated the core
dialer functionality of the iPhone."
The
letter was made public Friday.
Google
notes in the letter that
Phil Schiller
, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product
marketing, informed
Google
executive
Alan Eustace
"that Apple was rejecting the Google Voice
application" during a phone conversation
July 7
.
Google's
Washington Telecom
and Media Counsel
Richard Whitt
said in an online posting that the
Mountain View, Calif.
-based company opted to disclose the letter after Apple
disclosed its own response to an FCC inquiry on the
matter.
However,
in Apple's version sent to the FCC, it stated that
"contrary to published reports, Apple has not
rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to
study it."
Apple
spokeswoman
Natalie Kerris
said in a statement that, "We do not agree with all
of the statements made by
Google
in their FCC letter. Apple has not rejected the Google
Voice application, and we continue to discuss it with
Google
."
Google
Voice is an application that enables users to connect
all of their mobile and land line numbers and messaging
in a centralized hub.
When news
of the application's rejection from the iPhone app store
surfaced, initial speculation on who might have been
behind the decision shifted to
AT&T Inc.
, the exclusive U.S. carrier for the device.
That's
because the Google Voice application could in some
respects present a competing service to
AT&T
.
The FCC,
which has taken on a more active role under the Obama
administration, intervened by sending queries to all
three companies about why the application was rejected.
"In
light of pending FCC proceedings regarding wireless open
access and handset exclusivity, we are interested in a
more complete understanding of this situation," the
FCC wrote in letters sent to the companies.
|
