We have all heard enough about iPad by now. So I will proceed to more exciting news. Apple is unlocking the ability for the iPhone (and iPad) to be used as web phones. Hurray! It updated the iPhone software development kit on Wednesday to allow internet phone apps to work on the 3G network.
Although this does not mean that iPhone users will be able to switch from AT&T at this very moment, it is certainly a sign of progress. A sign of a brighter future in which consumer will have more provider options, cheaper calls and eventually better service.
The quality of internet calls over 3G are still a little shaky, and would probably get worse with congestion before it gets better. It will probably be much more popular when telecom companies roll out their faster fourth-generation networks (aka Long Term Evolution).
Previously, the only way to use VOIP iPhone apps over 3G was by hacking the phone.
Apple and AT&T had a secret agreement to ban apps that would let iPhone users make phone calls using the 3G data connection to prevent cutting into AT&T’s profits. That agreement was revealed in summer of 2009 when the FCC asked Apple and AT&T to explain why Google’s Voice app was rejected from the iPhone store.
At the same time, Apple is not enabling true 3G openness, because most phones’ SIM cards won’t fit in the iPad micro SIM slot.
The move won’t necessarily change things for the famously rejected Google Voice app for the iPhone. Google Voice lets users channel all their calls through a single Google Voice number, which offers cheap international calls, free long-distance calls, free text messaging and voicemail transcription.
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