RSSGoogle kills free text message iPhone app
By Tim Conneally | Published March 11, 2009, 1:12 PM
Infinite SMS, an iPhone app that allowed free text messages through an experimental open Google protocol, has been shut down.
Google debuted the SMS in Chat lab at the very end of 2008, which allowed Google Talk users to send messages to mobile phones from their instant messaging window.
Just two months later, Seattle startup Innerfence released an iPhone application called "Infinite SMS" which utilized this Google Talk feature to let users send free text messages from their phones. The 99ยข app quickly became a top download, where it remained for a week and a half, then Google had to put an end to the party.
Google today issued this statement: "Infinite SMS is a third party app that has been using Google technology to provide free SMS for users, while we were paying for the cost of the text messages. While Google is supportive of third party apps, we've decided we can't support this particular usage of our system at this time. SMS chat is still just an experiment in the early testing stages in Gmail Labs. We're blocking all external XMPP clients from sending SMS; we're not singling out Inner Fence."
The Innerfence team (just two people) said that users should expect the service to go offline today. "Google has claimed no grievance with Infinite SMS other than its success. Their given reason for the block isn't abuse or wrongdoing; it's that we brought too many users (and thus too much cost) to an experimental service. We acted in good faith, accessing a feature publicly announced by Google over open protocols they made available. Other non-Google apps have been able to access the SMS feature since its launch. To us, this was no different from accessing Gmail's near limitless storage over the open IMAP protocol. We never could have guessed that the two of us would write an app too big for Google."
There's simply too much money involved (both expense and benefit) in texting to let something like that slide.
good thing I didnt waiste $1 on that now useless app!! I would love to cancel my $15 iphone txt plan!! but I found "iRealSMS" to be the best jailbroken sms app created, unfortunatley its not free :(
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|Sounds like Innerfence is trying to justify things. They knew the service was in testing and they choose to release a commercial product based on it. Their bad.
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|Correct.. and how come it got past iApp screen process. Product based on a beta protocol?? I bet ATT was not happy with losing all that SMS money also..
How about a Refund for everyone that purchased it??
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|this article title is really misleading.
aside from making the protocols available google had no association with this app.
if it were a situation where google put out a $2.99 app that made use of its free sms within gmail then they may have kept the service available or available longer.. because the profit from the app purchases could offset some of the charges incurred for the sms.
but it was simply that two guys made an app to take advantage of a FREE service provided by google and PROFITED from it while google ate cost.
Score: -2
|NO!!! Google, I love your products and your creativity. I especially love it that all of Google's major products are free for everyone to use. If they are heading into the land of greed I will be VERY disappointed. They're one of the few companies I don't mind because they don't shove advertising down your throat and yet seem to be doing well (financially) with it. I hope they don't change their tune, and I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.
Score: -1
|Another company used a free service that Google provides, currently in an experimental phase, and charged for it. The actual cost of sending a text message is something like 1.5 - 3 cents per message, so this app ended up costing Google money. The fact that Google didn't want to foot the bill for this isn't a sign of greed, it's about cutting unnecessary and frivolous costs.
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