Google Voice App, one of the most popular voice and calling applications, made a transient disappearance from the iPhones in the last few weeks. At least a section of the users of the app complained of the app crashing immediately after logging in and Google reacted swiftly by taking the app off the shelves. Though many users did not report any problem with the app at all, it was obvious that Google did not want to persist with something even remotely perceived as defective. The remedy though, was as swift as the withdrawal when Google introduced another version of the app claiming that the reported bugs had been fixed. Feedback on the most recent version is yet to arrive though.
What is the problem users faced?
Many customers have complained of the Google Voice App crashing in the iOS each time they have attempted to log in. The complaints were all registered in a Google Voice support forum. One such user could not view any push notification after updating on iOS 5 as the Google Voice App crashed immediately after logging in. The Google Voice App could not even display any graphic before crashing.
However, it is not that every user of the Google Voice App has faced the problem. So this probably points to a problem with the most recent patches or updates the Google Voice App might have had.
What caused the problem?
Nothing can be said conclusively though it seems that the Google Voice App update 1.3.0.1771 was the root cause behind the crash. This is because Google Voice Apps with preceding updates were not reported for similar problems. However, there are also many instances of users using Apple phones with the Google Voice App version 1.3.0.1771 without any problem.
What is Google doing to address the problem?
Without taking the risk of customer ire any further, Google has withdrawn the Google Voice App version 1.3.0.1771 and introduced a new version 1.3.1.1891. Google claims that the most recent version is problem-free and promises the user of a smoother experience with the app. Vincent Paquet, the senior product manager with Google Voice App, refused to accept that the Google Voice App was generally problematic because there are instances of happy users as well. However, keeping in mind the inconvenience of the affected users, Google will fix the bug and introduce an improved version.
As on October 21, the Google Voice App was back at the App store with the promise of a smoother experience. The new version is 1.3.1.1891 and iTunes website explicitly states that it is a fix for the 1.3.0.1771 version.
Google has acted swiftly on the grievances without sitting on the issue. That the problem affected only a portion of the total number of users did not deter it from taking the issue seriously. This speaks volumes of the product quality policy of Google. However, customer feedback on the most recent Google Voice app version is still awaited and time will tell how effectively the problem was addressed.
About the guest author:
Rebecca is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on environment and technology. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently bought a book on Urban Design from a fare. These days she is busy in writing an article on celebrity hairstyles.
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