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Apple disconnects Google Voice apps
Jul 28th
Google Voice, which recently launched in the United States, pulls together multiple phone numbers – such as work and personal mobile, and desk and home phones – in to a single, universal number that can be managed through the web. The service provides transcripts of voicemails, and an archive of all text messages sent and received, and users also benefit from low-cost international phone calls.
Google has launched Google Voice applications for BlackBerry and Android-based mobile phones, but it has run in to difficulty with its software for the iPhone and iPod touch.
Apple has rejected Google’s official Google Voice app, as well as several applications, developed by third parties, that replicate the functionality of Google Voice on Apple’s devices.
Technology commentators have accused Apple of “stifling innovation”, while developers have expressed dismay at the ban imposed on their apps.
“Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple iTunes Application Store,” confirmed a Google spokesman in a statement. “We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users – for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.”
Two other applications based on the Google Voice platform have also been removed by Apple from its iTunes store. VoiceCentral has disappeared from the store, while GV Mobile has also vanished.
Sean Kovacs, the developer behind GV Mobile, said Apple told him they had removed the application because it “duplicates features that come with the iPhone”.
“Richard Chipman from Apple just called – he told me they’re removing GV Mobile from the App Store due to it duplicating features that the iPhone comes with,” wrote Kovacs on his blog. “He didn’t actually specify which features, I assume it’s the whole app in general. He wouldn’t send a confirmation email either – too scared I would post it [online].”
The reasons for the removal of the Google Voice applications from the iTunes store remain unclear, but some industry commentators have speculated that AT&T, the iPhone’s exclusive carrier partner in the United States, may have played some part in events.
Google Voice could be viewed as a threat to the key revenue streams of network operators because it allows users to make cheap calls, save money on their text messages, and circumvent the products and services offered by the carriers themselves.
It is likely that Google will now release Google Voice as a web application, run through the iPhone’s Safari browser, rather than as a “native app” downloaded from iTunes.
The search giant has already been forced to rework its friend-tracking software, Google Latitude, in this manner after Apple rejected the original Google Latitude app, claiming its similarities to Google Maps could confuse users.
The Google Voice controversy is the latest episode in a string of dubious application approvals and rejections by Apple. In May, Apple relented after initially banning an ebook reader application, Eucalyptus, because people could use it to read the Karma Sutra. It was also forced to withdraw Baby Shaker, a game in which iPhone owners had to shake their device to silence a crying child, following complaints from consumers and child safety campaigners.
Jason Kincaid, a technology commentator with the TechCrunch website, speculated that the ongoing confusion surrounding Apple’s app approval process could lead to developers abandoning the iPhone platform, and instead focus on producing games and software for rival devices, such as Google Android-based handsets and the Palm Pre. “Apple is now actively stifling innovation,” he said.
Article Courtesy: Telegraph Media Group Limited (2009-07). “Apple Disconnects Google Voice Apps”. Technology, Apple. Retrieved on 2009-07-28.
M-learning Embraced by Texas University
Feb 26th
image courtesy of Apple
An Apple iPhone or iPod touch will become a central part of Abilene Christian University’s innovative learning experience this fall when all freshmen are provided one of these converged media devices, said Phil Schubert, ACU executive vice president.
At ACU – the first university in the nation to provide these cutting-edge media devices to its incoming class – freshmen will use an iPhone or iPod touch to receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors’ offices, and check their meal and account balances – among more than 15 other useful web applications already developed, said ACU Chief Information Officer Kevin Roberts. ACU’s vision for technology has been captured in a forward-looking film called ‘Connected,’ found online – along with information about ACU’s other ground-breaking mobile learning
efforts - at www.acu.edu/connected.
“We are not merely providing cutting-edge technology tools to our incoming students,” said Roberts. “We are also providing the web applications that ensure these tools will become critical to the students’ learning experience. Because 93 percent of ACU students bring their own computers with them to college, we are choosing to take them to the next level by providing converged mobile devices.”
Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, ACU provost, said, “This is exciting to me, not only because we’re giving students new tools, but because we are transforming the learning environment. The extensive research that’s been done on campus in the past 10 months has prepared us to launch with freshmen this fall, and research will be ongoing as we expand the program in the future.”
For a number of years, ACU’s faculty and technology staff have researched strategic opportunities presented by handheld devices in higher education, said Roberts. However, for the past six months,
ACU’s intensive research has focused on more than 30 projects exploring pioneering mobile learning strategies for enhancing the campus environment.
The 2008 Horizon Report stated, “As new devices… are released that make content almost as easy to access and view on a mobile as on a computer, the demand for mobile content will continue to grow. This is more than merely an expectation to provide content: this is an opportunity for higher education to reach its constituents wherever they may be.”
The Horizon Report, produced annually as a collaboration between the New Media Consortium (of which ACU is a member) and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), also described the explosion of converged media technology. “More than a billion new mobile devices are being manufactured – a new phone for every six people on the planet. In this market, innovation is unfolding at an unprecedented pace . . . mobiles are quickly becoming the most affordable portable platform for staying networked on the go.”
Using innovative technology to enhance learning is not new at ACU. In fact, ACU was one of the first universities to use mobile devices as a learning tool in its graduate distance education programs. “Expanding to undergraduate, residential students is a natural progression for us,” Roberts said.
“We enjoy great relationships with many technological leaders such as Apple, AT&T and Amdocs,” Schubert said. “These relationships help us as we continue to be a university on the leading edge of technology, a central component of our 21st Century Vision.”
ACU’s innovative, diverse learning environment attracts about 4,700 students from nearly every state and 60 nations to its beautiful 200-acre Texas campus. Strong academic programs include business, pre-med, theatre, physics, psychology, education and information technology.
Article Courtesy:
Abeline Christian University (2009-02). “ACU first university in nation to provide iPhone or iPod touch to all incoming freshmen”. ACU News & Events. Retrieved on 2009-02-27.
Blackboard for iPhone…
Feb 23rd
I recently joined the iPhone Developer Program. I figured that instead of whining about things which I couldn’t do with my phone, I’d do something about it. (Alright… I still whine from time to time.) Yes, it’s official — I’ve officially sworn off jailbreaking my phone. I now have a legitimate way to add functionality, which is all I wanted in the first place!
Well, I just got word this morning that my first iPhone application is being reviewed in Apple’s approval process. The app I have written is a stand alone application for the popular Student course content system, Blackboard.
While the program will hold no official licensure from Blackboard, Inc. It will allow your phone to serve up their content in a more managable format for the iPhone. Though Blackboard isn’t backing my application, I did mention the idea to a few of my colleagies on their development team, and they all agreed they welcome my willingness to take on the challenge.
Basically, my application, (which is tentatively titled ‘iBoard’ to avoid trademark issues with Bb), is a content browser that has more robust features than are allowed by the iPhone’s ‘Safari’ browser. You’ll be able to participate in discussion threads with a view akin to text-messaging. You’ll also be able to view video and audio content by taking advantage of the iPhone’s iTunes conduit. I’m hopeful that this is a path toward the solution that thousands of Blackboard students all over the world have been waiting for.
From what I understand, Apple’s approval process can be a bit rigorous. It’s likely that the application may initially be declined and I’ll be sent back to the drawing board… but for now I remain hopeful. Im excited, and will keep you filled in on the details!
