Google, Apple Squabbling Over Possible iPhone App Code Theft

Silicon Alley Insider:

One of the more interesting recent questions in the iPhone geek circle: Is Google's (GOOG) neat, newish voice-powered iPhone search feature quietly breaking Apple's (AAPL) App Store rules? Yes. iPhone programmers figured out quickly that Google was using "private" code in its iPhone app, which is officially against Apple's rules.

Meanwhile, CNet scribe Tom Krazit thought to pick up the phone and see what Google had to say. He writes: "A Google spokesman confirmed Tuesday that Google Mobile uses undocumented APIs (application programming interfaces) in order to use the iPhone's proximity sensor to prompt a verbal search."

Read the whole story: Silicon Alley Insider

Comments

[Persnickety]

Whoever wrote the headline misunderstands what a private API is. There is no 'code theft' here.

[alansky]

Your headline is inflammatory and misleading. The original article says nothing about "theft." Rather, it states that Google used "undocumented" API's that Apple's agreement with iPhone developers forbids them to use.