A few days ago, Apple (AAPL) removed various Google Voice apps from their iPhone App Store, as well as (speculated) Google’s own official Google Voice iPhone app, as they created in conjunction with the Google Voice apps for BlackBerry. Google (GOOG) Voice allows users to have a single phone number with Google, that allows it to ring multiple phones at once, receive voicemail in audio and transcribed text form, SMS sent through, and more. Apple said that the applications were duplicating the iPhone’s own functionality.
This is when business relationships, and specifically friendships or alliances, become ugly. Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt serves on Apple’s Board of Directors, and the relationship between the companies have been historically amiable. The two collaborated on the iPhone’s Google Maps feature as well as countless other Apple/Google related escapades in the past.
Alliances between technology companies can become rocky, as been described here. The only other alliance related to Apple’s Board of Directors is probably Intuit, which has a fat chance of being offended by an Apple action. (The other executives on Apple’s Board of Directors are in the sectors of clothing, skin care, biotech, and the like.) Although Eric Schmidt’s interest and influence over Apple as part of their Board of Directors is most likely limited, Schmidt must not be the happiest with the decision to pull the application.
What’s more important is the big picture: Apple is fearing Google is becoming a competitor in the area, because of their seemingly competing interests in the voice space. (Which makes absolutely no sense, because Google Voice is not replacing voice communication, for the time being, but facilitating improvements to it, which increases use of the voice network.) But it’s not really Apple for the most part.
It all boils down to one important alliance that changed a lot of things: AT&T (NYSE:T). Apple’s alliance (read: exclusivity contract) with AT&T constricts it within the rules of AT&T to validate that agreement, which I imagine wasn’t an easy thing to pound out. AT&T’s influence over the iPhone product and Apple in general is immense, and essentially caused the conflict of interest with Google.
Recently, Apple shafted Google by forcing them to make their new Latitude iPhone application an iPhone web app only, instead of a full-fledged iPhone app. As such, the application is limited in functionality. Apple reported that it would be confused with the Maps app.
This is part of an ongoing, and ongrowing feud between Apple and Google: Google now has their own mobile operating system and is constantly venturing into Apple territory. Let’s see how Schmidt responds to this.
It’s hard to choose friends when the candidates are at war.
Tags: alliances, apple, at&t, Business, conflictofinterest, google, googlevoice, iphone
