Apple, the App Store Just Isn't You

Macworld — I'm not sure anybody--Apple, AT&T, even Google--expected this much outcry over the rejection and removal of Google Voice apps from the App Store. But it's gotten plenty of attention nonetheless--for some it's becoming the straw that broke the camel's back. And the effects may continue to ripple even further still.

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Steven Frank, co-founder of respected Mac software developer Panic, has said on his blog that he's planning on ditching the iPhone for a Palm Pre for his own personal use. Tech pundit and blowhard Michael Arrington has likewise decided to give up his iPhone, also pointing to the Google Voice issue. Not everybody agrees: tech analysts Michael Gartenberg and Ross Rubin seem to think this is a geek issue that doesn't touch the mainstream. And they're right: it's probably not something that's going to hurt Apple's iPhone sales--especially for those vast majority of consumers who've never heard of Google Voice.

But while the blocking of Google Voice may not directly affect the mainstream, there's still fallout for the average consumer. From a purely bottom line standpoint it may influence what those early adopters are recommending to their friends and family. It may affect what those geeks and nerds are buying the next time they think about upgrading their mobile devices.

Again, though, that financial impact is likely a mere drop in the bucket. But there's something far bigger at stake here: this is about stifling innovation. That is bad for the consumer: maybe not in the short run, but certainly in the long run when the iPhone becomes nothing more than a platform for chintzy 99-cent applications that make stupid sound effects.

What's more, it's surprising coming from Apple, which is why writers like me just won't shut up about the App Store woes. After all, hasn't Apple always been all about innovation? And yet the App Store has become another example where short-sighted focus undercuts long-term benefit, where the emphasis on making money interferes with the ability for people to make cool things which, if Apple's oft-repeated boilerplate on creating extraordinary products to delight its customers is to be believed, is the company's raison d'être. Instead, we're treated to constant bragging about how many apps are available on the store, and how many downloads there have been: as though Apple customers have ever been focused on quantity over quality.

Look, maybe Google Voice wouldn't be of interest to the average Joe. The point is, without a chance to use it on your handset, how would you know? It wasn't so long ago that many people thought Twitter was a time-waster that had no appeal beyond tech geeks--and while I'm not disputing its time-wasting potential, let me give you one word: Oprah. Oprah, people.

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