SAN FRANCISCO — Google’s Voice makes it to iPhone
Google Inc.’s Voice calling application has won approval to be on the iPhone after more than a year of haggling with Apple Inc.
The breakthrough announced last week resolves a standoff that triggered a Federal Communications Commission inquiry into whether Apple and AT&T Inc., the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. service provider, were trying to stifle competition by keeping the app off the device.
Google Voice lets people sign up for a new phone number, then route incoming calls out to cell, office or home phones. It also lets users place calls, offering steep discounts on international traffic, and includes voice mail.
The free app already has been available for BlackBerry phones and devices running on Google’s Android operating system.
Google submitted the app to Apple about 16 months ago. In January, while waiting for approval, Google revamped its mobile website to make it easier to use the Voice app on the iPhone. Now the free app can be installed on the device.
Apple’s decision to finally accept the application comes more than a year after the FCC sent letters to Google, Apple and AT&T asking why Google Voice had not been approved for the iPhone. In its response at the time, Apple said it was blocking the app because it duplicated some of the iPhone’s built-in features. Apple would not comment on why it has changed its mind.
Facebook boasts net illegal hunter
MINNEAPOLIS - A 20-year-old Ham Lake, Minn., man faces nearly $2,000 in fines and restitution for recently poaching two bucks and shooting an over-limit of Canada geese - and then posting his exploits on his Facebook page.
“It was definitely not smart,” said Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Travis Muyres, who handled the case.
The hunter posted a photo on Facebook of a small buck he killed in September during the archery season, then posted a photo of an 8-point trophy buck he shot with a bow in October. In Minnesota, hunters can kill only one buck per season. The hunter later posted a photo of himself and two buddies posing with 12 Canada geese they had shot.
But the daily bag limit is three geese apiece, meaning they were three over their limit.
Someone spotted the postings and called a “Turn in Poachers” line. Muyres confronted the men with their own evidence.
The bowhunter will lose his bow and both deer. He faces $1,000 restitution for the trophy deer and faces charges for failing to tag the first deer, for shooting too many deer and for shooting too many geese. Fines could total about $800. His two friends will be cited for shooting too many geese.
MySpace adds Facebook ‘Mash Up’
News Corp.’s MySpace is adding more features from Facebook Inc., owner of the world’s biggest social-networking site, to draw users and boost ad sales.
MySpace subscribers may now coordinate accounts using Facebook “Mash Up,” a service that lets Facebook users export their preferences, MySpace Chief Executive Officer Mike Jones said Friday. There is no financial component to the relationship, Jones said.
“Mash Up” allows MySpace to use information from its users’ Facebook accounts to make better recommendations on subjects such as music, movies and TV shows.
MySpace is adding more Facebook features as Chase Carey, chief operating officer of New York-based News Corp., pushes the website to become profitable.
“It’s kind of a ‘Hail Mary,’” said David Bank, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in New York. “Trying these radical ideas is smart because the past playbook hasn’t worked that well. It’s time for very radical changes.”
Video-game sales slide in October
NEW YORK - U.S. retail sales of video-game hardware, software and accessories slipped 4 percent in October as demand for most gaming consoles declined from a year earlier, according to data from market researcher NPD Group.
Overall game sales were $1.07 billion last month, down from $1.11 billion in October of last year, NPD said last week. Year-to-date sales were down 8 percent at the end of October, at $11.07 billion.
“Keep in mind that these sales only reflect new physical retail sales,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in a statement.
“While down, there are revenues being generated from digital distribution, used game sales, rentals, social network games and mobile applications to name a few.”
Hardware sales tumbled 26 percent to $280 million from $381 million a year ago. With the exception of Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360, every gaming system saw a decline in unit sales, NPD said.
Business, Pages 22 on 11/22/2010