14 DAY TRIAL // As Google, Apple and AT&T submitted their answers to the FCC inquiry regarding the rejection of the former’s Voice application for iPhone, it was soon revealed that someone was lying through their teeth.
While AT&T quickly extracted itself from the fiasco claiming it had little (or nothing) to do with Apple’s rejection of the app, Google and Apple remained under investigation based on the following contradicting claims:
Apple: "Contrary to published reports, Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to study it."
Google: "Apple representatives informed Google that the Google Voice application was rejected because Apple believed the application duplicated the core dialer functionality of the iPhone."
Neither company is reiterating its statement, with Google going as far as threatening that it has solid evidence of Apple rejecting the app and that it lied, according to a TechCrunch report. The news piece in question says, "[...] We've heard Google has yet another nuke waiting on the sidelines [...] a screen shot of the actual rejection notice via the iPhone developers admin with the formal rejection." The publication adds a note of its own saying that, "At that point, Apple will no longer be able to rely on nuances and misdirection. The FCC and everyone else will know that they lied in a government investigation. "
Softpedia readers may remember that Apple has been bashed several times for rejecting iPhone applications on ridiculous terms. The App Store gatekeeper cited reasons like the duplication of the iPhone’s functionality for dozens of rejected applications, although there are currently several titles in the App Store that duplicate iPhone features in one way or another. It is believed that the issue is part of a bigger conflict of interests between the giant companies. One way or the other, the truth will be revealed soon, while Apple appears to have little chance of winning this battle.
Update
It has been revealed that soon after Google published its letter to the FCC stating that Phil Schiller had rejected the Google Voice App, Apple issued a response: “We do not agree with all of the statements made by Google in their FCC letter," reads the statement, according to 9to5mac. Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application and we continue to discuss it with Google,” the Mac maker reportedly said.