FCC to crack the case of the rejected Google Voice app

I’m sure you’ve heard by now the FCC is looking into the whole Google Voice app rejection fiasco that we talked about the other day then followed up a day later with AT&T’s denial of involvement.

TechCrunch has obtained and posted the 3 letters sent out from the FCC to Apple, AT&T, and Google. In the letter to Apple they ask several questions we are all dieing to know with a deadline for those answer by close of business on Friday, August 21, 2009. So it looks like we should only have to wait another month for the truth.

Here are the questions they are asking Apple:

1. Why did Apple reject the Google Voice application for iPhone and remove related third-party applications from its App Store?  In addition to Google Voice, which related third-party applications were removed or have been rejected?  Please provide the specific name of each application and the contact information for the developer.

2. Did Apple act alone, or in consultation with AT&T, in deciding to reject the Google Voice application and related applications?  If the latter, please describe the communications between Apple and AT&T in connection with the decision to reject Google Voice.  Are there any contractual conditions or non-contractual understandings with AT&T that affected Apple’s decision in this matter?

3. Does AT&T have any role in the approval of iPhone applications generally (or in certain cases)?  If so, under what circumstances, and what role does it play?  What roles are specified in the contractual provisions between Apple and AT&T (or any non-contractual understandings) regarding the consideration of particular iPhone applications?

4. Please explain any differences between the Google Voice iPhone application and any Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications that Apple has approved for the iPhone.  Are any of the approved VoIP applications allowed to operate on AT&T’s 3G network?

5. What other applications have been rejected for use on the iPhone and for what reasons?  Is there a list of prohibited applications or of categories of applications that is provided to potential vendors/developers?  If so, is this posted on the iTunes website or otherwise disclosed to consumers?

6. What are the standards for considering and approving iPhone applications?   What is the approval process for such applications (timing, reasons for rejection, appeal process, etc.)?  What is the percentage of applications that are rejected?  What are the major reasons for rejecting an application?

To see all three letter in their entirety visit the TechCrunch link.

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Apple vs ?, at&t, iPhone

iPhone 3.1 beta 3 contains fix included in 3.0.1 update

Apple has confirmed that if you are running 3.1 beta 3 you are already patched with the same update included in 3.0.1. Glad to see Apple on top of this, just have to wonder why they didn’t release the fix a few days ago before the vulnerability was revealed?

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Apple vs ?, iPhone, iPhone 3.1

iPhone OS 3.0.1 fixes SMS vulnerability

iPhone OS 3.0.1 fixes the SMS vulnerability. But there’s no mention whether the 3.1 beta is vulnerable or if there will be an update to the beta that will fix this.

More information can be found in this document.

(via daring fireball)

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iPhone

SMS vulnerability “patch” for jailbroken iPhones

The SMS vulnerability is going to be public knowledge any minute now and Apple has yet to patch or even comment on it. If you are jailbroken you are in luck though, you can “patch” your phone by disabling your messages app. Not an ideal solution, but for the paranoid it might not be a bad option. Keep in mind that this may not actually prevent the attack. The exploit works by sending over a hundred text to your iPhone which you only see one of in your messages app.

QuickPwn has posted the steps needed to accomplish this:

1. Jailbreak your iPhone using either redsn0w or purplera1n
2. Go to Cydia, search for OpenSSH and install it
3. Download an SSH client (WinSCP for Windows users and Cyberduck for Mac)
4. Make sure WiFi is turned on, go to Settings -> WiFi. Select your network and check your iPhone’s IP. SSH in to your iPhone using the iPhone’s IP. Login with the Username: root and Password: alpine.
5. Navigate to the Applications directory
6. Locate the directory named MobileSMS.app. Right-click and click on properties. Where it says Permissions uncheck all the options.
7. Click OK.
8. To test if you did this right, tap the SMS app on your iPhone and it should crash when you launch it!

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Apple vs ?, at&t, iPhone

Steve Jobs on TMZ, photo taken with iPhone

For anyone that doubted Steve was really back to work, TMZ is on the job. The picture was taken around 3:00PM today and the best part is this paparazzi shot was taken with an iPhone!

(via 9to5mac)

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Apples & Oranges, Humor

Updated: at&t denies involvement in the Google Voice app rejection

UPDATE Saga continuing faster than I thought…looks like Sean Kovacs, GV Mobile developer, got an email from Apple blaming AT&T (Thanks for the link Dave).

UPDATE 2 Also, take a look at a post by the developers of VoiceCentral  reviewing the conversation they  had with Apple about their app being removed.

The latest app store rejection of Google Voice is turning out to be a real whodunit! The signs were all pointing to AT&T yesterday, but I wasn’t convinced by John Gruber’s little birdie. It wasn’t until later in the day when Gruber responded to Om Malik’s argument against pointing the finger at AT&T, similar to my own,  that got me rethinking the situation:

Om Malik

Some allege that Apple is doing this at AT&T’s behest. That is just flat-out wrong: If it were true, then Google Voice would be banned on BlackBerry devices that use AT&T as well.

Gruber

But, trust me, it was AT&T’s decision. And this is not the first time AT&T has treated the iPhone differently than other phones they carry. Remember the SlingPlayer app? At AT&T’s behest, the iPhone version was restricted to Wi-Fi, despite the fact that the BlackBerry version works over 3G.

I wanted to see if I could get AT&T to officially chime in, so I left a ‘strongly worded’ comment (they usually respond to the crazy ones ) on AT&T’s Facebook page in regards to the Google Voice app rejection and here’s what they had to say:

Justin, We’re really not trying to dodge this, but you will have to talk to Apple regarding its App Store. AT&T is not involved in the approval process, so we cannot speak to this issue.

Not that I was expecting a detailed answer, but AT&T has now gone on record denying they had anything to do with it. So I think after reviewing everything (again) I’m going to stick with my first conclusion from yesterday…I don’t know.  The saga continues…

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Apple vs ?, at&t, Featured post, iPhone apps