Google Voice application is on its way to the iPhone

The App Store review office at 1 Infinite Loop has officially frozen over: we’ve gotten word that the official Google Voice application is on its way to the iPhone in the next few weeks. In fact, we’ve heard from a source close to Google that it’s already been approved — Google just needs to revamp the application to work with the iPhone 4 and iOS’s multitasking capabilities. If you’re a Google Voice user and you’re on an iPhone, this is great news.
It’s been a long, long road to get here. Last July, we broke the news that Apple had blocked the official Google Voice application, which eventually sparked an FCC inquiry into the matter. Apple claimed that the application “duplicated existing functionality”, which didn’t do much to convince anyone as it subsequently accepted similar apps. Nothing happened for well over a year, and the odds of Google Voice ever making its way to the iPhone, at least as a native application, seemed bleak.
Everything changed on September 9, when Apple published a set of guidelines telling developers which applications would not be allowed into the App Store — and none of the rules seemed to apply to Google Voice. Rumors started swirling that third-party Google Voice apps might soon make their way to the App Store, and sure enough, a handful of applications have since been approved.
But the existing applications, nice as they may be, are all provided by third parties. We haven’t gotten the chance to use the official Google application, but it’s possible that it will include functionality that the others don’t. Namely, push notifications for inbound SMS and voicemail messages (Google doesn’t provide an API for these, so third parties would have to route these messages through their own servers to offer push notifications).
Reached for comment about the upcoming iPhone application, Google offered this non-answer of a statement:

“We currently offer Google Voice mobile apps for Blackberry and Android, and we offer an HTML5 web app for the iPhone. We have nothing further to announce at this time.”

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AOL reportedly in talks to acquire TechCrunch

Points for timing if this rumor is true: Tech blogger Om Malik reports on GigaOm that AOL, the Internet giant struggling to reinvent itself as a Web content powerhouse, is in talks to acquire TechCrunch, the technology-news website currently holding its Disrupt conference in San Francisco.
TechCrunch co-editor Erick Schonfeld declined to comment on the report. Malik said AOL CEO Tim Armstrong might appear at the conference to make an announcement of the rumored deal.
An acquisition by AOL would bring to an end TechCrunch’s spiky independence. Founder Michael Arrington, a former lawyer, is known for stirring up Silicon Valley with his outspoken views on startups and technology investing.
AOL, originally an Internet service provider, has increasingly emphasized Web content since its 2005 acquisition of Weblogs Inc., the parent company of blogs like Engadget and Joystiq. Under Armstrong, that strategy has gotten sharper emphasis. The acquisition of a tech-business site would complement Engadget, a consumer-oriented website which emphasizes hardware, while TechCrunch focuses on consumer-website startups.
AOL had previously been reported to be in talks with Mashable, another rival tech blog, as well as earlier discussions with TechCrunch. But TechCrunch is at a considerably more developed stage than at the last round of talks, with its Disrupt conference series and an expanded writing staff (including VentureBeat alum MG Siegler and witty former SF Weekly editor Alexia Tsotsis, who joked about finding a new job as word of the deal spread. Arrington himself has moved out of Silicon Valley, commuting to the Bay Area from Seattle.
Update: The Wall Street Journal says it also has a source confirming the deal. Meanwhile, Arrington was absent from the stage of his TechCrunch Disrupt conference for the entire afternoon, and we’ve heard that CEO Heather Harde was seen backstage in deep conversation with a lawyer.
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Apple shares hit all-time high, bordering on $300

Shares of Apple this week have been on an absolute tear. Over the past few days, Apple's share price has steadily increased, reaching new all-time closing and intraday highs day after day.