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Yesterday’s iPad launch<\/a> continues to dominate the tech news today. Besides announcing the iPad, however, Apple also quietly announced a major change to its iPhone policies yesterday: Apple now allows developers to use a 3G connection to make VoIP calls<\/a>. The first application to make use of this feature is iCall (iTunes link<\/a>), but chances are that Skype, Truphone and other VoIP providers are already working on updated applications as well. <\/p>\nSponsor<\/em> Until now, Apple’s iPhone SDK prohibited developers from developing VoIP-enabled apps that used the carrier’s 3G network. Developers who wanted to use VoIP in their apps had to restrict themselves to using this feature over WiFi connections.<\/p>\n In our own tests, the iCall application worked just like advertised, though we did experience some lag and the application wasn’t 100% stable.<\/p>\n While the iPad won’t have any built-in telephony apps, some versions of the device will come with optional 3G connectivity. Thanks to today’s change in Apple’s iPhone SDK policies, the iPad – which features a built-in microphone – now has the potential to work as a VoIP phone as well. We still have to wait and see if Apple will allow this, however. <\/p>\n Discuss<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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This restriction was purely Apple’s decision. AT&T had lifted its own ban on VoIP apps over 3G last October<\/a>. Back then, Skype’s CEO Josh Silverman<\/a> praised AT&T for this move and called it “the right step for AT&T, Apple, millions of mobile Skype users and the Internet itself.”<\/p>\nWhat About the iPad?<\/h2>\n