Apple, Google and AT&T all filed their responsesFriday to the FCC’s requestfor more information in the Google Voice app saga. The story line thus far has been trying to determine the reasons behind Apple’s decision to reject the iPhone app.  Some blamed AT&T for the thumbs down, believing that the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. carrier feared the app would provide competition for voice services on the smartphone.

But Apple said AT&T played no role in the rejection. In fact, the iPhone maker said the Google Voice app hasn’t even been rejected.

“Contrary to published reports, Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to study it,” Apple said in its response. “The application has not been approved because, as submitted for review, it appears to alter the iPhone’s distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone’s core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging and voicemail.”

Google, in its filing with the FCC, chose to keep confidential Apple’s explanation for rejecting — or rather, failing to approve — the app.

Apple also provided some interesting tidbits on the App Store, which is now stuffed with more than 65,000 applications just over a year after its launch. Apple said it has more than 40 full-time trained reviewers, and at least two different reviewers study each app. It said 95% of applications are approved within 14 days of being submitted.

It added: “We receive about 8,500 new applications and updates every week, and roughly 20% of them are not approved as originally submitted. In little more than a year, we have reviewed more than 200,000 applications and updates.”

Apple has rejected Google’s application to place its  nifty Google Voice phone call and voice mail app on the iPhone, the latest twist in the closely-watched relationship between the Silicon Valley giants.

In a statement, Google said it submitted its App Store application six weeks ago, but that Apple failed to approve it. Apple declined to comment.

In addition, GV Mobile — a third-party Google Voice iPhone app — has been removed from the App Store, accordingto developer Sean Kovacs. He said Apple informed him that his app duplicates iPhone features.

Google Voice was rolled out in March to the applause of many reviewers. Utilizing speech-recognition technology, Google Voice has a number of cool features, allowing users to store transcripts of voicemail messages in their email inbox and find a specific information within a phone message.

It can also be used to make low-priced international calls, and offers a single phone number that can route incoming calls to home, office and cell phones. Given that this might pose a threat to exclusive U.S. iPhone carrier AT&T, some say the telecom giant is behind the rejection. Others are laying the blame elsewhere.

Setting aside some relatively impressive Mac sales, Apple’s iPhone was the true star of the company’s earnings drama on Tuesday–though the the device might be a little tough for some folks to to get their hands on in the near term.

Apple said it can’t meet current demand for the iPhone 3GS, which launched last month. The 3GS is available in 18 countries and is being rolled out this summer to another 80-plus countries.

Overall, the company sold 5.2 million iPhones in the June quarter, ahead of many analysts estimates. That total includes sales of the reduced-price $99 iPhone 3G.

Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said “the iPhone 3GS is constrained in virtually every country we’re shipping it in. So the demand has been very robust.”

He later added: “I don’t want to predict today when supply and demand will balance. I know that it will not balance in the short-term. And I don’t want to give a prediction because as you can guess, it’s very difficult to gauge the demand without having the supply there to find out what it is… In terms of affecting the country roll out, I believe the vast majority of the countries that we are selling the 3G in will be selling a 3GS by the end of the fiscal quarter. So it may move the date by a few weeks here or there.”

Cook also delivered some interesting factoids on iPhone adoption by large corporations. He said close to 20 percent of the Fortune 100 have bought at least 10,000 units or more.

But Cook stuck to the company line on AT&T, the exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.S. (”I think it’s an excellent relationship and we’re very happy with it”), and provided no new details on when the iPhone might launch in China.

 Some analysts worry that T-Mobile USA may have missed a trick by opting for a new Android device, myTouch 3G, which is mostly the same as HTC’s first one, the G, except for its slimmer shape and lack of a physical keyboard.

According to T-Mobile USA Chief Technology Officer Cole Brodman, the No. 4 U.S. carrier currently has no plans to sell Hero, another HTC phone that runs Google’s Android but has an updated user interface that looks similar in some ways to Palm Pre.

From today until July 28, T-Mobile USA customers can order the myTouch online with the potential to have their phones deliverd before its national launch stores on Aug. 5. Brodman says myTouch, with its nifty travel case, personalizable covers and T-Mobile recommendations for hot applictions, will appeal to a broader audience than G1. The idea is that myTouch’s sleek shape and Android’s straightforward user interface will encourage T-Mobile customers who had never bought a smartphone before to now consider this one.

“We think it’s a great opportunity to bring them into the smartphone space with a portable easy to use device,” said Brodman in an interview at a myTouch demo event. “It felt like the right choice for the target we were going after.”

Brodman also promised that T-Mobile USA will have more Android devices later this year. He would not give any hints about the vendor but said integration of mobile social networking could be a key feature in a future Android phone. 

But Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart was not convinced by myTouch and questioned why T-Mobile chose it over Hero, which like Pre cleverly integrates social network services such as Facebook and it can operate multiple applications at the same time. “That’s just T-Mobile being shortsighted,” said Greengart who also worried about the myTouch’s $199 pricetag, which has to compete with a $99 iPhone that has twice as much memory. “You’re paying $50 to lose the keyboard,” said Greengart comparing it to the G1, which has a physcial keyboard and a $149 price tag. Brodman argues that T-Mobile USA customers would be able to make up the difference in a matter of months as its service fees are cheaper than those of AT&T, the exclusive U.S. carrier for iPhone. 

NPD analyst Ross Rubin says myTouch faces tougher competition but could still do better than G1, for which T-Mobile USA has more than a million customers. “This is a sleeker device. It will likely do better than the G1 did if T-Mobile continues to build out its 3G network,” he said. 

Another analyst Michael Gartenberg of market research firm Interpret was less than impressed by myTouch. ”It’s very evolutionary. In an era of new devices offering new functionality and new features this doesn’t feel particularly exciting,” he said.

As to the device’s appearance ahead of Hero, which a rival U.S. carrier is expected to sell, Gartenberg had this to say: ”It’s hard to introduce a product when your supplier has already announced the next update … It would have had a lot more excitement around it six months ago. It almost feels very dated.”

HTC has not said which U.S. carrier plans to sell Hero in the fall but Gartenberg sees AT&T as the most likely contender, since HTC has already built a version for Europe’s Orange based on the GSM wireless technology that AT&T supports. 

Sprint often sells HTC phones but since it already has an exclusive deal to sell Palm’s high-profile Pre phone until year-end at least, Gartenberg sees it as a less likely candidate than AT&T. ”Do they (Sprint) really want to take on another big device that requires a lot of marketing?” he said.

(Photo from T-Mobile USA: myTouch white black and merlot versions, T-Mobile CMO Denny Marie Post and CTO Cole Brodman at Wednesday’s event)

Haven’t got your hands on Apple’s new iPhone 3GS yet? In certain parts of the U.S., you may have to wait just a bit longer. Apple says retail stores in some states (such as Utah, Oregon, Alabama) and certain cities are sold out of the new device, which went on sale on June 19.

The full breakdown by location can be found here. The company notes that “shipments of iPhone 3GS arrive most days” and availability is updated hourly. The device can also be purchased at AT&T, Wal-Mart and Best Buy stores.

The news provides further evidence of healthy demand for Apple’s third-generation iPhone. The company sold more than a million of the devices in the first three days alone.

Hollywood has its blockbuster openings, and Baseball has Opening day: the gadget world has cellphone debut days — in particular iPhone launch days.

While the latest iPhone 3GS has not drawn the crowds that flocked to previous Apple phone debuts, a handful of shoppers were lining up a couple of AT&T stores in New York before dawn today.

AT&T employees at this store near Grand Central said that pre-orders would be satisfied at 7 A.M. and those walking in off of the street would get theirs at 8 A.M. if supplies last.

They wouldn’t say how many units were in the store.

(Photo: Reuters)

Apple fans whooped it up yesterday when the company announced its first sub-$100 iPhone and a pair of faster, improved iPhone models.

But if you’re an existing AT&T customer and you’re looking to get your mitts on Apple’s newest gizmo, you might not be so excited by the fine print.

It turns out that the $99 iPhone is actually $499 for many existing AT&T customers. The new 16GB iPhone 3GS -0 the one that features video capture, faster throughput and a digital compass — which Apple unveiled for $199, will cost AT&T customers $599. And the new 32GB version is available to AT&T customers for the very special price of $699, which is significantly more expensive than the $299 price tag that anyone else can buy it for when they walk into an AT&T store for the first time.

The higher prices require renewing a 2-year contract with AT&T.

Update: AT&T said on Thursday that existing AT&T customers who renew their two-year contract can purchase the iPhones for $299 (for the 8GB model), $399 (16GB) and $499 (32GB), rather than the $499, $599 and $699 prices listed on Apple’s Web site. The higher prices are to purchase phones without any contract.

And the folks at AT&T also throw in an $18 activation fee. This activation fee applies to all AT&T customers who get a new device, whether it’s an iPhone or a more basic gadget. The problem is that the iPhone is such a high profile device that it brings everything from the carrier’s network quality to its contract fine print right into the forefront.

In fairness, it isn’t unusual for a carrier to hold off on selling its existing customers heavily subsidized phones until they’ve been a customer long enough to have repaid the debt. AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel explained:

The key here is that the iPhone and our other devices are subsidized. The consumer is paying much less than the cost we will typically pay for devices.

As a way of offering those prices we ask them to enter a 2 year contract to cover the cost and give a return to our shareowners.

Siegel noted that certain customers may still be eligible for the low iPhone prices, depending on how far along they’ve gotten in their existing contract and how promptly they’ve paid their bills. But he said there wasn’t a specific cut-off point in in the 2-year contract that guarantees the better prices — the terms are different for different customers.

So, if AT&T likes you, you’re in luck. Otherwise, you may have to shell out more duckets than your neighbor for Apple’s latest goodies.

Next time a bartender draws a long, cool German brew on tap at your favorite U.S. bar, you might be sipping beer that made a mobile phone call along the way.
At the Reuters Technology Summit in New York, AT&T's Ralph de la Vega, who heads its wireless division, described a firm that has fitted its beer with mobile devices.

"We had a customer in Germany that wanted us -- and we have found a way -- to track their beer kegs as they were shipped," said de la Vega. He said the wireless devices track how cold the keg is, whether it was properly pressurized and its location.

"It helps to run their business better," he said of the beer company. AT&T uses the GSM system, which is the same one used in Europe, has roaming agreements with European carriers, and bills its client for the calls. De la Vega said that's only the beginning.

"You're going to have more and more devices connected to our network than you ever have before," he said, including everything from cameras to recorders.

De la Vega showed off two small Netbook portable computers that have built-in wireless device. They will be sold at AT&T stores across the country by mid-summer, with AT&T picking up part of the cost for customers who take a long-term contract -- the same way most mobile phones are sold in the United States.

As for the beer, de la Vega wouldn't say what brand had contracted with his company. So when you drink a German beer on tap in the United States, you might wonder if it's the one that phoned home.

AT&T says it sees a lot of promise for the netbook and the connection fees that come with the devices as a growing source of revenue as consumers look to take broadband connectivity on the road. But will consumers be as enthusiatic to sign another contract for the service? Click below to hear AT&T's President of Mobile & Consumer Markets talk about what he sees as the future of the netbook.

AT&T: Netbook popularity on the rise from Reuters TV on Vimeo.

The CTIA’s annual U.S. wireless technology showcase in Las Vegas was quieter than usual this year as vendors sent fewer employees and rented less floor space for their booths in an effort to crimp spending due to the recession.

Aside from a lot of talk about cellphone applications and a software store launch from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, the show offered few surprises.

A handful of operators and vendors, however, offered insights into their technology strategies — even if they were less than keen to indicate how their businesses were faring exactly. Some even launched new gadgets.
    
AT&T, the exclusive operator for the iPhone, used the show as an opportunity to talk up application sales for its less fancy phones, which have brought it $1 billion in revenue in the last few years. In comparison, it does not get a revenue share for iPhone apps, which kicked of the craze for application stores when they launched last year.

However, the carrier noted that its more traditional phones are a much bigger business than high-profile, advanced devices like iPhone.

“About 25 percent of our portfolio is smartphones. That means that 75 percent of them are not,” AT&T chief marketing officer David Christoper told reporters at a lunch on the sidelines of the show on Thursday.
    
AT&T, behind only Verizon in subscriber numbers, also talked about the need to offer new pricing options for mobile data in future. It is expected to be a year or more behind Verizon Wireless in upgrading its network to a high-speed technology known as “long term evolution”.

But when it does, likely in 2011, it expects to cut data access fees and stop charging for phone calls by the minute. Instead it may charge data access fees based on how much netwok capacity a customer uses up.

“It will be an environment where people buy the amount of data they need,” Ralph de la Vega, the head of AT&T’s mobility business, told reporters. “We’ll be able to sell them a lot more data than we do today for a lower price.”

Qualcomm investor relations executive Bill Davidson declined to comment on prospects for a general return for chip demand, but in an interview with Reuters, he said that the company is expecting big growth from markets such as China and India.

While China is often cited as the emerging market for wireless growth, Davidson said the expected award of licenses to build 3G high-speed networks in India, could bring even more growth.

“The Indian market is going to be a very good market for 3G, even more so than China, because its under-served on the wireline side,” Davidson said in an interview.

At its booth, Qualcomm showed a prototype consumer electronics charger called eZone, which could charge as many as five gadgets such as phones, cameras or music players simultaneously. The gadgets are placed in no particular order on a flat rectangular plate that is plugged into a power source.

Qualcomm said it is talking to different device manufacturers about incorporating the technology in their devices. If it brings the product to market it would likely have partner companies manufacture the device.

(Reuters Photo: Ralph de la Vega  at CTIA by David Becker)