New VoIP and browser options show chinks in iPhone armor

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New VoIP and browser options show chinks in iPhone armor

By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 5 February, 2010

After a period of unquestioned supremacy, the iPhone model is showing small signs of defensiveness, under attack from Android and the open web approach of Google. Last week Apple opened up the VoIP API (application programming interface) to allow previously banned internet voice services on its devices. Now it has introduced a feature that enables users to access App Store offerings via the browser, and in a further concession to the open software brigade, AT&T has reversed its policy on allowing the SlingPlayer app to run over its 3G network.

The vertically integrated model, where users are confined to downloadable applications that are governed by Apple, has been very successful, but as mobile browsers and high speed connectivity improves, interest is rising in Google's preferred model - accessing most services via the browser. The two companies' clash over mobile paradigms has been most clearly seen in the row over allowing Google Voice into the App Store, which even reached the US antitrust authorities - the app remains excluded, but with the VoIP interface opened up, users can now opt for Google voice services via the web.

Other key voice players are rushing to take advantage of the new API, including Cisco and Skype. The latter says a 3G VoIP app for the iPhone and iPod Touch (and new iPad) will be available "soon", once it has improved audio quality to its satisfaction. Previously users could only use VoIP applications over the iPhone's Wi-Fi connection. Now VoIP providers fring and iCall have also adapted their Apple offerings to run in 3G mode on AT&T's network.

As for Cisco, the IP giant also plans to add voice over Wi-Fi capabilities to its existing iPhone Cisco Mobile application, which works with the Cisco Unified Mobility Advantage server. The client offers quick access to features such as visual voicemail and Mobile Connect call routing. The upcoming WLan version, to be called Cisco Mobile Voice, will be free and should ship in April.

Another app that will now be usable over 3G as well as Wi-Fi is the SlingPlayer Mobile place shifting function, which redirects TV signals over the internet so programs can be viewed on a mobile device.

AT&T Mobility's CEO Ralph de la Vega said the carrier had worked closely with Sling Media to adapt the application to work more efficiently on the 3G network. "The key for us is Sling Media was willing to work with us to revise the app to make it more bandwidth sensitive," he said in a statement (though Sling said it had made those changes months ago).

Of course, one reason for the new openness to allowing disruptive apps onto AT&T's 3G network is that the carrier has been improving the coverage and quality of its HSPA system, which has struggled under the weight of iPhone data traffic. Unfettered web use worsens the problem because it is so unpredictable, and both Apple and its carrier friends have also resisted allowing apps that disrupt key cellco revenue streams. Now they are having to take a more flexible approach. Three months after quietly introducing iTunes Preview - a browser based feature for viewing music in the iTunes store without installing or launching the media player - Apple is now extending the service to the App Store.

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