Apple Won’t Allow 3rd-Party Apps on the iPhone Because AT&T Fears VoIP
Apple made it disappointingly clear at WWDC that it will not allow for 3rd-party iPhone apps. Why?
My best guess: Because AT&T won’t let it happen. There is likely an agreement between Apple and AT&T that bans any Skype or VoIP type application.
Selling overpriced talk minutes is AT&T’s bread and butter. If Apple releases a full iPhone SDK, there’s no question it’ll take about a day for a dozen skype and VoIP clients to be released.
It’s a shame Apple is choosing play by the mobile provider company’s rules on this one. The iPhone looks like a fantastic device for a v1 release, but limiting user control of their own device is unreasonable.
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Comments (4)
[...] Christian Gloddy thinks he knows why Apple won’t be releasing an iPhone SDK — AT&T doesn’t want VoIP apps on the iPhone because it doesn’t want users to have an alternative to buying its overpriced talk minutes. [...]
Hardly. . . AT&T’s first concern is wireless and putting a wireless device in your hands. Next to sell you internet service, then video. The last thing would be to sell you their land-line phone service. That’s why uVerse, the new TV offering via fiber, is VOIP based. Traditional pots is old-school. I think your analysis is way off base and does not reflect the product power that Apple has. . . I don’t believe AT&T is behind this non-sdk sdk.
I’m not saying anything at all about a land-line. This is completely about mobile service. AT&T’s entire way to make money here is off of selling you packages of voice minutes for your mobile.. The more you talk, the larger a package you need. There’s no other way for them in this agreement to make money, except of course when you exceed the package you guessed fit your needs and end up with a crazy overage charge.
[...] Apple Won’t Allow 3rd-Party Apps on the iPhone Because AT&T Fears VoIP [...]