Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, it to resign from the board of directors of Apple inc. Apple have said that the resignation is due to increased competition between the two companies. Does Apple’s refusal to include Google voice in the iTunes store have anything to do with this shock decision?
The FCC is currently investigating the ban of Google Voice from Apples world famous iTunes store, the investigation centres around “how the decision to ban Google voice was decided” and “on what grounds?”
Steve Jobs, Apples CEO said that the decision was based on Google’s recent unveiling of a new computer operating system.
“we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple’s Board.”
“Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS (software for mobile phones and computers, respectively), Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest,” Jobs said in a statement on Monday.
It does seem as though both parties have parted way under a cloud of competition, but why would Apple feel threatened by Google, even with the announcement of an up and coming new computer operating system? And is the current ban on Google Voice a result of bad blood between the two companies?
Google Voice is a great online service which allows users to make cheap international calls and consolidate multiple telephone numbers through one unique Google number. Voice mail messages are recorded, transcribed and emailed to the user. So why have Apple refused to allow the Application to be available through the iTunes Store?
The decision has caused massive amounts of controversy, preventing iTunes users from easily downloading and using Google Voice. Apple have refused to comment on the decision which has sparked an outcry from the internet and Apple communities. PC World accused Apple of “Control Freak Tendencies.” TechCrunch called Apple “Rotten to the Core.” So why did Apple put its self forward for the firing line by making such an unpopular decision?
It seems as though Apple were protecting their business partner AT&T, the telecoms provider, from potentially losing revenue from lost calls, which would result from its users choosing to make a call by Google Voice and not the phone network carrier.
“There’s some turf to protect,” said Martin Pyykkonen, an independent technology analyst. “From Apple’s standpoint, why embrace something that could end up being a competitor down the road?”
Google Voice, previously Grand Central, is currently a free to use service and at present Google has not released information about how it plans to make revenue from the product. The service was reintroduced two weeks ago and was by invitation only.
“We work hard to bring Google applications to a number of mobile platforms, including the iPhone,” said Carolyn Penner, a Google spokeswoman, who noted that users may still access the application through the phone’s Web browser, even if they can’t download the application from Apple’s online iTunes store. “We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users, for example by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.”
The problem is that if Google Voice becomes too popular, network providers could potentially lose revenue.
“If you use Google Voice tremendously, it would take away from AT&T’s minutes,” said Richard Doherty, an analyst with Envisioneering, a technology research firm. “The fear is that Google could dump you into a chat room with all of your friends and you may end up not needing AT&T.” Taken from LA Times.
Could this be seen as AT&T monopolizing and controlling how its users make calls in order to make more money? Surely a user should be able to make a call, using whatever service they feel is appropriate?
Google’s Voice Communication Application is continuing to develop with the addition of two new mobile device applications for the Blackberry and the Google Android Platform. Currently Google Voice is only available in the US but international version are scheduled to be rolled out in the near future. Google voice allows you to use one single number to receive all of your telephone calls, voice messages and SMS to one location. This is nothing new most phone carriers have been offering these types of services for years.
What makes Google Voice unique is its ability to transcribe and store voice messages which can be searched using the application or online.
The new mobile applications offer most of the online functionality to the mobile user and include:
- Access your voicemail: read message transcripts, follow along with “karaoke-style” playback of messages, read SMS messages sent to your Google Voice number (even if your phone doesn’t receive SMS messages) and access your call history
- Place calls that display your Google Voice number from your address book, the app dialer (Blackberry) or the native dialer (Android)
- Send SMS messages that display your Google Voice number
- Place international calls at low rates
To download the App please visit m.google.com/voice from your mobile device or if you do not have a Blackberry or Adroid mobile device then you can visit www.google.com/voice
Google is to remove the beta logo from many of its key services including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Talk and Google Video for business. Google wants to attract more business users to its applications and is reported to be in the process of creating a business suite of communications tools which will be available for download.
Although this might not seem like a big deal as most users will only see the removal of the beta label from the service logo, in order to attract more business users Google’s Applications need to be seen as fully developed, trusted and working products in order to be accepted by the business community.
We’ve come to appreciate that the beta tag just doesn’t fit for large enterprises that aren’t keen to run their business on software that sounds like it’s still in the trial phase,” wrote Rajen Sheth, senior product manager at Google Apps in a recent Blog post.
“No business is going to rely on a ‘beta’ service for something as important as e-mail,” says Matt Cain, lead e-mail analyst with market research firm Gartner. But, he adds, “just by lifting the beta label does not guarantee Google success”.
Only recently Google announced the forthcoming launch of Google Wave, a new communication based product which will allow multiple channels of communication to be accessed in one, real time online environment. Is Google’s current move to attract the business community part of a bigger strategy which involves Google Wave?
Cloud based communication is definitely the next big thing and Google Wave will offer a platform which will directly integrate into the cloud. It’s safe to say that there are some very exciting big changes ahead of us, Google will be taking on the likes of Microsoft with over 70% of the communication software marketplace, if they expect to compete Google will have to pull something pretty special out of the hat.
