It was always curious that Google's response to the FCC inquiry about Google Voice and the App Store had been redacted, but now we're starting to see why -- El Goog and the FCC have just released the full text of the letter, and it flatly contradicts Apple's take on the matter. If you'll remember, Apple claimed that while Google Voice hadn't been approved, it also hadn't been rejected, and that its status was in limbo while the folks in Cupertino "studied" the matter. Not so, says El Goog: according to its letter, Phil Schiller himself told Google that GV had been rejected on July 7 for duplication of functionality, following a similar conversation on April 10th during which Schiller rejected Google Latitude in part because it might "offer new features not present on the preloaded maps application." Yeah, that's a huge discrepancy, and it makes Apple's version seem even more divorced from reality that it already is. Things are starting to heat up -- we'll see what the FCC makes of all this.

Update: And here we go -- Apple just pinged us to say the following: "We do not agree with all of the statements made by Google in their FCC letter. Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application and we continue to discuss it with Google."

Update 2: So we've been thinking about it, and here's our question -- if Apple didn't reject GV, and is still studying it, what exactly did Phil Schiller say to Google to make them think it had been rejected? The difference between "rejected" and "on hold pending further discussion" isn't a subtle one, and Google clearly thought GV had been explicitly rejected. For whatever it's worth, reports of GV's "rejection" are how this whole mess got started, so either this is all one huge misunderstanding, or someone here isn't telling the entire truth.

Read - Google unredacted FCC filing [Warning: PDF]
Read - Google Public Policy Blog explaining decision to release letter

The iPhone has finally caught up with its BlackBerry, Windows Mobile 5.0, and S60 competition, at least as far as Google Latitude is concerned. The stalker-centric program is now available for Apple's smartphone, but instead of coming as an App Store-approved download, it's actually just a web-hosted app that grabs your location through Safari -- a new trick care of iPhone OS 3.0. As to why, the Official Google Blog explains Apple had some concern that people would confuse it for the native Maps app. We still don't get why it couldn't simply be added to Maps itself, but we're not the multibillion dollar company, here. Go ahead, let your privacy cares away and direct your iPhone to the link below to see what all the fuss is about. Now it's time to wait (im)patiently for Google Voice.

Read - Google Latitude
Read - Official Google Mobile Blog

T-Mobile's decision to bundle Google's Latitude location-tracking service into the RC33 G1 update may have gotten all the attention this morning, but if you've got a BlackBerry, Window Mobile or S60 device, you can start oversharing right away -- Latitude is built into the newest version of the Google Maps app. Not only that, but it looks like iPhone owners will be able to get in on the fun soon -- Google says it's working on a Latitude app that will "hopefully" be available shortly. We're guessing that means El Goog is tied up in App Store approval shenanigans -- it's certainly been naughty before -- but what we're really wondering is if the next rev of Apple's Maps app will include Latitude, since it's basically just a really nice Gmaps implementation. We're guessing the developers of Loopt and Whrrl are equally eager to find out -- "duplication of functionality," anyone?

Keeping frighteningly close tabs on the current locations of your friends, enemies, ex-lovers, bookies, and dealers is one of the hotter trends in the mobile space these days with products like Loopt, Whrrl, and Helio's Buddy Beacon making location-based contact tracking a breeze. Now that Google's getting into the game, though, that business model might start to dry up for everyone else -- especially considering that its so-called Latitude tech will be built into Android going forward and available for every other platform that supports Google Maps. T-Mobile has announced that Latitude will be built into the G1 starting with the RC33 maintenance release that's getting rolled out to customers this week -- and yes, granted, it's not Cupcake, but at least we have some new functionality to toy around with. And yes, we promise we won't mention virtual keyboards in this post... er, dangit. Video of Latitude in action after the break.