Google’s carefully orchestrated launch of their new voice-recognition search application for the iPhone took a dive this weekend. The application didn’t appear as promised, and Google took down the YouTube video demo’ing the product (although it’s still on the Google Channel YouTube page and embedded below).
This is an extraordinary event. Other search app providers have told me they’ve been kept waiting months for approval of their app, with no explanation from Apple. But Google and Apple are close, even sharing Google CEO Eric Schmidt as a board member. Something definitely went sideways, most likely involving Apple throwing a fit of some sort (Apple is just plain weird about press).
Note our report last week that Apple seems to be working on some sort of search product of their own for the iPhone.
Meanwhile, lets all hope that the drama ends soon and that we wake up on Sunday to a fully available application. It’s reason alone to own an iPhone. Hell, I want it on my desktop.