Despite AT&T’s month-old promise there’s still no VoIP calling support on the iPhone, and it doesn’t look like Apple or its US carrier partner are in a particular hurry to switch it on.
Meanwhile, over at the App Store, the approvals teams continue to attract controversy with slow approvals and inexplicable decision-making, as evinced in last week’s brief flirtation with Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
GigaOm has been chatting with VoIP iPhone app makers, including Nimbuzz, Skype, Fring and Truphone ever since AT&T promised VoIP for the iPhone a few weeks back.
A Nimbuzz spokesman said: “Apple actually did not approve the 3G calling - so they completely broke their promise of allowing VoIP calls on 3G.” This suggests Apple, rather than AT&T, is putting the smack down on VoIP - why?
Another cause for criticism right now emanates from Robin Wauters at TechCrunch, who notes that an updated version of TweetDeck has not yet been approved for sale through the store - even though the App was pulled in favour of a more stable upgraded version.
Apple originally removed an earlier version of the App because it wasn’t sufficiently stable. The developers rushed out a patch to the popular Twitter client, but this hasn’t yet been approved by the App Store teams.
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Comments
Potential explanation why Apple would block VOIP
When the original iPhone was introduced, there was speculation that the deal between Apple and AT&T included Apple getting a percentage of the monthly plan fees paid by the users. If this were true, it would explain why Apple wouldn't be too keen on VOIP apps. This would also explain why they rejected Google Voice. While everyone thought that AT&T's greed was responsible, the truth may be that it was Apple's greed that got in the way...
Apple doesn't get revenue
Apple doesn't get revenue from users' monthly bills anymore. That deal was thrown out when carriers began subsidizing the iPhone with the 3G.
That may well be true but
That may well be true but only Apple and AT&T know for certain since the details of their agreement are still unknown. Moreover, even if that were true, it would likely apply only to 3G and 3GS customers but not the original iPhone customers, many of whom are probably still using their original iPhones and remain on the plans that they signed up for. A portion of those monthly plan fees *may* still be going Apple's way. There is obviously no way to know for certain but the idea that revenue sharing could be a factor is the most viable speculation that I've come across for why Apple rejected Google Voice and is now dragging its feet on over-the-air VOIP apps.
Ignorance about what Google
Ignorance about what Google Voice is and is not runs rampant on the Internet. Google Voice is NOT a VOIP app. Google Voice uses your cell plan's voice minutes, whether you're making or receiving a call. Unlike the Skype app, which lets you make a voice call without cell plan voice minutes, Google Voice requires you to have at least one phone number OTHER THAN your GV number to route the calls to or from.
Well, that's just not the
Well, that's just not the 9to5mac way of thinking. It simply must be all AT&T's fault or it's no fun to bash...
No, not true.
I don't think it is very fair to bash 9to5mac on it's opinions. The fact is that there are people out there who don't like AT&T and who like Verizon. It isn't that 9to5mac is different than others - they have an opinion, and regardless of whether it is biased or not, they have the freedom to express it.
No, not everyone agrees with their opinion, and no one is saying that their opinions are always correct. But to generalize that they always have to blame AT&T for every issue, and that they do it merely for fun, is completely unfair and without any merit what so ever. The fact that they have an open commenting system makes it clear that they are open to discussion, and would like to hear contrary positions and thoughts.
But the likes of statements like yours suddenly turns it into a personal attack - one that does not honestly challenge their statement, but one that ignores the original statement and merely shoots at the messenger for who he is as a person.
Show me the numbers from
Show me the numbers from bashing AT&T vs. supporting them. It's one thing to be against somethihng, it is another to automatically find a way to blindly dislike it just because them get hits for it. 9to5 is 100% anti AT&T in my OPINION. That is fine, but cut out the garbage and report on Apple news. I thought that was what this site was for and I have been very disappointed.
I've used the Skype VoIP app
I've used the Skype VoIP app with the iPhone. A month ago I was in Romania on an assignment in a rural, mountainous region that has no mobile services at all. Signal strength was nil. But the hotel that I was staying at did have internet and WIFI.
We were able to make VoIP calls over Skype without issue. I was able to call my family is Australia, and my colleague called her sister in Thailand. True, we made the calls over WIFI, but I'm just saying that at least over the bandwidth provided by WIFI, the Skype experience was fairly nice.
iPhone Stop progressing
iPhone calls over 3G are still not possible its more likely tied to the fact that Apple's Terms and Conditions. Truphone, Skype, Vopium and Nimbuzz are few good VoIP apps available on iTune but iPhone stop progressing on 3G calls.
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