Google On The Defensive As Well Regarding FCC Probe

It looks like AT&T isn't the only company refuting some kind of shady business, and while it may be Apple getting the majority of the news, Google had to refute some claims of denying a Skype application today too. It looks like an article published this morning in The USA Today targeted Google for doing the same thing Apple did to Google Voice, but with a full-featured Skype application. Apparently, as USA Today claimed, Google trimmed down the Skype application to be a "watered-down version of the original that routes calls over traditional phone networks." So now it's Google's turn to chase away the nay-sayers.

Andy Rubin decidedly disagreed with the USA Today article, and he decided to lay out out for everyone over at Google's Public Policy Blog. Firstly, he wanted to mention that the "lite" title was only included due to the limitations of the Android Operating System at the time. He went on to say that while the first iterations of Android were not robust enough to take on VoIP applications, it certainly is now, and future upgrades of the OS will only provide wider development tools for the services. Developers are currently able to develop and upload VoIP services. Rubin drilled in the fact that Google did not deny Skype, or any other VoIP services from the Android OS, or the Android Market, and at this point no developer has created a full-featured VoIP product, including Skype. Rubin is actually looking forwar to the day when VoIP can be accessed on any handset on any carrier.

So, while Apple is notorious for denying applications (do they have an app for denying apps?), it looks like Google is trying to do everything they can to make sure every application makes it to their Android Market. So, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Do you prefer closed walls and strict rules? Or would you rather have the possibility to have everything and anything?

[via Engadget]