SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc. turned down a request by Google Inc. to put its voice application on the iPhone, a move that protects wireless-service partner AT&T Inc. from competition.
Google, owner of the world’s most popular search engine, said it submitted the request six weeks ago. Google Voice lets users place US calls, send text messages, and organize voice mails - without paying service fees. Both Apple and Google declined to say why the request was denied.
It is possible that AT&T saw Google Voice as a threat and put pressure on Apple, said Carl Howe, an analyst with the Yankee Group in Boston. Apple also is trying to keep its phone from getting too complicated, he said. The iPhone already comes preloaded with other Google applications, including the YouTube video-sharing site and Google Maps, and it uses Google as its search engine.
“The iPhone is a media player, it’s an Internet device, and it’s a phone,’’ Howe said. “They don’t want to mess up any of those three core things. There’s no war here.’’
Apple’s iPhone applications have helped it gobble up market share and buoy profits at AT&T, the sole carrier for the smart phone in the United States. Google Voice, unveiled this year, works on other smartphones, such as the BlackBerry and devices running the Android operating system.
