The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began an inquiry into Apple Inc’s rejection of a Google Inc application for the iPhone that allows people to make free calls.
In letters sent on Friday, the FCC asked whether Apple consulted with AT&T Inc, the exclusive US wireless-service provider for the iPhone, when deciding to reject the application and whether AT&T has any role in approving iPhone software.
Google, owner of the world’s most popular search engine, said this week that Apple rejected its request, submitted six weeks ago, that the Google Voice application be made available on the iPhone. Google Voice lets users place US calls, send text messages and organize voice mails without charging fees.
Apple is the sole source of distribution for iPhone programs, which are offered through the online App Store it opened in July last year. More than 65,000 programs are available. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to say why the request was denied or comment on the FCC inquiry.
The government is seeking more information about Apple’s decision because of its interest in wireless open-access and exclusivity deals between handset makers and carriers, according to the letter sent to Apple by James Schlichting, acting chief of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
“Are there any contractual conditions or non-contractual understandings with AT&T that affected Apple’s decision in this matter?” Schlichting asked Apple.
AT&T received the letter and will respond, said Fletcher Cook, a spokesman for the Dallas-based company.
“AT&T does not manage or approve applications for the App Store,” Cook said, and referred questions to Apple.
“We will be supplying the information that the commission has requested,” Katie Watson, a spokeswoman for Google, said in an e-mailed statement.
The three companies have until Aug. 21 to respond.
AT&T likely saw Google Voice as a threat and put pressure on Apple, Carl Howe, an analyst at Yankee Group in Boston, said earlier this week.
Apple may also be trying to keep its phone from getting too complicated, he said.
The iPhone already comes preloaded with other Google applications, including the YouTube video-sharing site and Google Maps, and it uses Google as its search engine.
Apple’s iPhone applications have helped the company gobble up market share and buoy profit at AT&T.
Google Voice, unveiled this year, works on other smartphones, such as Research In Motion Ltd’s BlackBerry and devices running the Android operating system from Google.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”