Google Voice App Rejected. So What?

TechCrunch reports that today Apple removed Google Voice apps from the App Store and then rejected the official Google Voice app, too. Even though the app reportedly had the blessing of Apple’s Phil Schiller, Jason Kincaid suspects that AT&T is not very happy about the threat GV poses to its business. (That would be free SMS, low-cost international calls, and other assorted things that are horrible for AT&T but really good for customers.) So is the App Store going to be eclipsed by other stores that are ostensibly more open? We doubt it. As much as we’d like to see Google Voice and Qik in the App Store, and less crippled versions of apps like Skype, the bottom line is that the App Store shopping experience is second to none. And it remains to be seen whether anyone other than early adopters will care about these apps not being available (or with full functionality). Just listen to what NPD analyst Ross Rubin had to tell us on the subject.

Most of this is happening above the consumer’s head. Consumers care about functionality, not apps per se. It will only become an issue if competitors can offer advantages using apps they’ve accepted and Apple has rejected. This is unlikely as most of the U.S. carriers have common interests and will bring the hammer down on anything that impinges too heavily on revenue or compromises the network integrity.

Ross goes on to argue that unlike the Wild West that is the Android Market, most consumers are willing to accept the double edged sword that is the iTunes App Store.

Apple’s approval process is a two-sided coin and consumers certainly appreciate the stability that the vetting process has created.

So what do you think? Would you jump ship for Android or another platform if it had all the apps you wanted, even if the store itself or user interface around it wasn’t as polished? An even bigger question is whether T-Mobile will continue to allow apps like Google Voice (if it means less revenue) and whether Sprint’s approach to Android will be any more or less hands off come this fall.