Tag: iphone apps

The activities of applications from Google, Apple, and even Amazon are being examined.

American technology giants Google, Apple, and Amazon, as well as Gameloft, a game developer from France, are all being investigated by Italy for having allegedly participated in unfair commercial practices with respect to their mobile app marketplaces.

The allegation was made by the Italian antitrust and competition authority.

Now, the investigation into the practices is going to determine whether or not those four companies should be deemed to be misleading to customers when mobile app downloads are labeled as being free. This is specific to the applications that are marked as being free but which then require a player to have to pay a fee in order to be able to continue to use the apps beyond a certain point in the game or to unlock certain additional features.

The Italian authority feels that a free mobile app should never require a consumer to have to pay.

The antitrust watchdog released a statement that said that “Consumers could wrongly believe that the game is entirely free and, in any case, that they would know in advance the full costs of the game.” They added that “insufficient information seems to be provided to consumers about the settings needed to stop or limit the purchases within the app.”

Apple did not release a comment by the time of the writing of this article, but Gameloft issued a statement that it was conducting its own investigation into this issue, but had no comment beyond that. Neither Amazon nor Google could be immediately reached in order to obtain their response to this accusation.

An authority spokesperson explained that this investigation would likely take between seven and eight months to conduct and that if the companies are found to be guilty of the allegations, then the minimum fee that would be imposed on each would be €8.63 million.

This specific mobile app practice investigation follows closely on the heels of a previous one that was conducted by the European Commission earlier in 2014 which required companies to revise their rules for applications that can be downloaded for free but which then later require customers to pay for use.

I’ve talked about some apps people can use if they want to communicate with others from around the world without spending a lot of money.

Do you remember when you had to remortgage your home to make an international phone call because they were far too expensive? Things have changed and a big reason for the turnaround is some great apps that are being built at the moment. Being able to communicate with people abroad is obviously very important to some people, so let’s look at the apps they should be using.

WhatsApp Messenger (https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/whatsapp-messenger/id310633997)

WhatsApp is slowly becoming the biggest player in the instant messenger crowd and the reason people are moving over to it is because all their friends have it. Why would you still send messages through your normal phone network when you can send them through the app along with images, videos, and voice notes? You can even chat with multiple friends at the same time inside group chat. Even though you can’t make proper calls you can still get everything else for free.

Viber (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/viber/id382617920)

Viber is on a mission to let everyone in the world connect without having to pay a dime. You can use Viber to communicate with someone in almost any way possible with carrier pigeon messages being one of the exceptions. When you first join up you’ll be given an id number and this will be your phone number. The app will also dig into your contact list to find out of any of your friends use Viber too. You can invite anyone to join if you want to talk to them for free from anywhere.

Rebtel (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rebtel-cheap-free-international/id310755560?mt=8)

It feels like all these small startup companies are trying to give us as much benefits as possible so they’ll be the next company that stands out from the crowd, but I don’t think you’ll be complaining any time soon. Rebtel has HD sound quality which I know you’re going to love because it’s a lot clearer than what you’d get from a lot of other apps. There is also a push notification feature that will let you know when someone has tried to call or message you just in case you have the app switched off.

MilliTalk (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/millitalk-free-calling-texts/id418049135?mt=8)

You’ve probably not heard much about Millitalk yet, but when you download their app you’ll still be provided with a ton of value. A few things about there features are slightly different from the other companies including their powerful SMS platform. You will also be able to turn your iPad into a phone which will come in handy when you’re on a video call with someone. The key feature is obviously the fact their international calls are very cheap and you’ll save a lot of money using them.

Snapchat (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/snapchat/id447188370)

There is a lot of buzz around this startup too and it’s about to do big things in the social media world, but it’s also a very good way to communicate with people. The biggest benefit you’ll get when using Snapchat is the ability to save time. Instead of talking with someone on the phone for ages you can just record a short video and send it to them. The person will get your message when they’re ready and you will be able to work on other things.

Author Bio

Nancy Baker, the author of this article, is a freelance blogger who is currently writing for, Total Communication Services Inc, reputable providers of business telephone systems and solutions. She enjoys participating in art and graffiti competitions. You can also follow her on Twitter @Nancy Baker.