Apple Approves Vonage App... and Vonage Seems Just as Surprised as the Rest of Us

[Michael Essany]

Image via Vonage

Apple just hasn't been acting itself lately.

From Spotify obtaining access to the App Store with its "competing" and "duplicate" streaming music application, to Rockstar Games getting the green light to bring "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown" (vulgarities intact) to the iPhone, the Apple approval process has seemingly been turned on its head.

And today we can throw yet another such example onto the pile of head-scratching developments. It turns out that Apple has now approved Vonage, a VoIP service that will be making its way to the App Store shortly . For now, the executives at Vonage are said to be thrilled with the development and, at present, working with Apple to remove a few bug from their supposedly nifty little app.

From Bloomberg News:

Vonage Holdings Corp., the New Jersey Internet phone carrier, climbed as much as 36 percent in extended trading after it said Apple Inc. approved its mobile- phone application for the iPhone and iPod Touch devices. Vonage is testing the application and will give details on its release later, the Holmdel, New Jersey-based company said today in a statement. The company isn’t providing details on what the application does for “competitive reasons,” spokesman Michael Zema said in an e-mail. Sales of the application may help make up for the more than 100,000 customers Vonage has lost in the past year as subscribers opted for discounted digital-phone service from cable-television companies.

Indeed, Apple has a lot of people wondering what's behind the reversal of yet another longstanding policy. AT&T, in fact, recently released a statement posturing their company as unwilling to help any other business that is developing VoIP apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Although the move is puzzling to some, the forthcoming app is a welcome development for Vonage customers. For now, however, there's no word on how long it will take for the app to actually make its way into the App Store. Vonage says they are currently beta testing the app with its availability to be announced at a later date.

Kind of makes you wonder about Google Voice Mobile, doesn't it? After all, wasn't GVoice rejected because it "duplicated features"?

Vonage must be a "special exception"... or something.

[algojobathosai]

Weird............
but cool to have it for me because the rate is quite cheap to call malaysia compare to other voip provider....

[yomamashump]

Perhaps the heat from the FCC has given Apple the "incentive" they needed to be a little more lenient in the app approval process. Hopefully this trend will continue, but I for one have my doubts.

[billchase2]

So they'll approve this, but not Google Voice... that's stupid.

[Go Gators]

These new app approvals are because the FCC came knocking on Apple's door. The last thing Apple want's is the government snooping around in their business.

[iCeDmAn]

amazing I use Vonage when I'm overseas during the academic year in Poland to keep in touch with NY this would be a real convenience!

[rwin84]

No GV but Vonage... Doesnt make much sense to me...

[Melech518]

This is a little game Apple is playing to combat the FCC.."Hey FCC, look, we let voip services have apps in our store, we rejected GV for other reasons."<---yeah right

[Frostbite]

This is a little game Apple is playing to combat the FCC.."Hey FCC, look, we let voip services have apps in or store, we rejected GV for other reasons."<---yeah right

I think your right, especially seeing as google voice would have been far more successful then vonage, to apple its the lesser of the two evils

[02589]

Could it be because Palm is working with Google instead of fighting it? Plus the Apple execs that jumped ship to Palm?

[supreme-livin]

Could it be because Palm is working with Google instead of fighting it? Plus the Apple execs that jumped ship to Palm?

i second this

[Fallguy]

So whats next ? Does Google push there app again to see if Apple will now allow it now ? Or take it to the next level (court-if they can) ?

[Raptors]

Yay Its about time

[Cer0]

Watch they will pull it in a few days or by the start of next week. It probably slipped through like many other apps lol.

[StevenB]

Anyone know if the call quality will be better than Skype? I currently use that because in the neighborhood I live in I get 1 bar buuuuuuut they say I don't sound too good. Sounds a little robotic.

[LGgeek]

.... AT&T, in fact, recently released a statement posturing their company as unwilling to help any other business that is developing VoIP apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
.

This is exactly why the government should investigate AT&T.

[robbpell]

i bet apple is starting to be less worried about at&t's opinion its almost time for that contract to run out

[staterunner180]

I agree with the thoughts of the FCC. Apple obviously has a lot of heat not only from the government, but from the public eye too. And it's a lot like the applications that were removed from the App Store that had nudity in them as soon as the public caught wind of it. Apple is all about appearance, so if Apple APPEARS like it's letting applications like Vonage in, then the FCC and the public will put less heat on that issue. It's all a matter of publicity, it's how Apple got so high up on the totem poll in the beginning. Well that and their amazing MacBooks

[GenesisDH]

It doesn't mention that it'll work over cell data, so to be honest I would be shocked if it will. If it doesn't work over cell data (without JB'ing + 3G Unstrictor/VoIPover3G), then it's just like Skype and the dozen or so VoIP apps that already are on the AppStore.

So, my hunch: Move along, nothing to see here. Unless you're a Vonage customer, then this is a treat.

[jomo25]

I think it has more to do with Google being a direct competitor on multiple fronts now (phone, OS) than the FCC inquiry.

Google is a threat to Apple. Vonage doesn't compete and thus is not.

The FCC may be a small factor, but don't get carried away.