Apple App Rejections Alienate Business Users

I’ve been a strong proponent of the iPhone as a business tool. Ever since Apple implemented ActiveSync for Exchange, I’ve enjoyed how easy they are to use with corporate e-mail. Unfortunately, Apple has recently rejected the Google Voice mobile app, and I think this sets a horrible precedent. Google Voice is a killer app for business users. It enables an amazing level of voice customization, which allows for small business owners to sound much bigger than they are.

Depriving business customers of this killer app may drive them to competing devices, or just keep them on the BlackBerry devices they already rely on.

Apple’s App Store might be a runaway success, but its heavy-handed control is ridiculous. Could you imagine if all the apps you wanted to run on your desktop computer needed to be approved my Microsoft, Apple, or Linus Torvalds? Such an idea is absurd. Yet, we tolerate this application dictatorship when it comes to our iPhones.

I’m a big fan of the iPhone and I love mine, but the truth is, Apple’s competition is improving. Apple’s interface might have been mold breaking and game changing, but the competition is catching up. The newest Android phones show promise, as does the Palm Pre. When my iPhone contract is up, and this issue with the Google Voice app still isn’t resolved, I might be one of a number of customers looking at alternatives.

I might miss a couple of my iPhone games, and perhaps my digital koi pond, but at least I wouldn’t have Apple dictating which business tools I can use.

Michael Scalisi is an IT manager based in Alameda, California.