Google Voice VoIP to Come to Android Phones?
Skype is currently working on apps for Android phones (such as the app for Verizon’s Droid), but it looks like a Google Voice widget for Android is currently on the works, according to androinica.com. The Android fan site just released a YouTube video that shows an unreleased preview version of the T-Mobile G2, the provider’s first Android device in two years. The video shows off an embedded interface with a phone icon with a label $2.86. This probably indicates Google Voice credits, as suggested by the words “International calls only” on an unmistakable Google Voice interface. No official announcement from Google and T-Mobile has been made about the Google Voice service for Android, but it definitely shows that mobile VoIP is making huge waves this year.
Google Adds VoIP Calls to Gmail
For loyal Google users, Gmail has everything they could ever need – simple access to email, reminders about appointments and events, a convenient chat feature, and more. It didn’t take long for Google to realize that their users do like VoIP because it’s cheap and virtually free so today, they added a VoIP client that lest you make phone calls directly from your Gmail account.
The new VoIP client is different from Google Voice because it allows you to call phones directly from your web browser, rather than users in front of their desks. All you need to do is look at the lefthand side of your Gmail, where your contacts appear, and you’ll be able to call your contacts. Calls within the USA and Canada will be free for 2010 while rates for international calls start at $.02 a minute. That’s really cheap! The service gets even better for users of Google Voice because your number gets displayed as the outbound caller ID when you call from Gmail, allowing everyone in your contact list to know who’ll be calling them next. You can also receive calls to your Gmail account through your Google Voice number.
Unfortunately, this service is only available to US-based users, which means we from the Philippines will have to wait a bit longer before we can use this nifty feature. Still, Google says they’re working to make this service more available elsewhere.
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Google Buys Gizmo5 for Google Voice
Looks like Gizmo and Google Voice users have a new service to look forward to. This month, Google acquired Gizmo5 for $30M after negotiations with a Skype merger fell through. It looks like the two services are a great fit for each other’s products. For instance, Google Voice is a great phone identity and VoIP service, but they have no endpoint for calls. Gizmo5 already integrates with Google Voice as a softphone for Google Voice users. This means you can make and receive calls to your Google Voice Number from your PC.
Although there’s no news as to what new product the two companies will release, it looks like Gizmo5 will allow Google Voice and Google Talk to become a single product, giving Skype and traditional phone companies a run for their money.
VoIP for the iPhone: Toktumi Line2
When Apple App Store rejected the Google Voice app several weeks ago, it seemed as if Apple was completely resistant to VoIP apps for the iPhone. However, San Francisco-based company Toktumi’s Line2 VoIP app was recently added to the App Store three months after it was submitted. Like Google Voice, Line 2 also lets users have two numbers: one that they can give to friends and family, and another that can be used for business, with features like a professional voicemail system and call filtering. However, Toktumi’s Line2 is also different from Google Voice in many ways. Whereas Google Voice was marketed to everyone and anyone who wanted VoIP on their iPhone, Toktumi is trying to reach small business owners and employees who’d like to use two numbers in the same phone. The Google Voice App was also to be provided for free, whereas Toktumi’s Line2 costs $14.95/month to use. And unlike the Google Voice App, Toktumi has no support for SMS.
Check out Line2.Com to try out Toktumi for yourself. The first 200 US-based users to sign up with the promo code 743623718 can access 3 months of unlimited US/Canada calling and cheap international calls. You can download the iPhone app here.
Google Voice: What is it and how can I use it?
We’ve all been hearing a lot of news about Google Voice lately and those who haven’t been following every single development may be a bit confused about the service. What exactly does Google Voice do? Is it VoIP? A phone redirecting service? Voicemail? We’re hoping this short guide on Google Voice will enlighten you a little on the service and why you might want to use it when it becomes available to the general public.
Before Google acquired the service in 2007, Google Voice used to be GrandCentral, a service that essentially worked as a personal switchboard operator. It let users register a number that can be redirected to ring multiple phones, as well as collect messages, listen to voicemail, and tell a specific number that your phone number is no longer in service (perfect for those avoiding stalkers). When Google bought GrandCentral and relaunched it as Google Voice, they did more than just put a pretty logo on it; they’ve added a couple of useful features and made it into a must-have for early adapters who could use the service by invitation or as a former GrandCentral user. Let’s take a look at what Google Voice can do.
Google Voice Speed Dial for the iPhone
Apple may have made a bad move rejecting the Google Voice application, but that doesn’t mean you can’t integrate Google Voice with the iPhone. The Google Voice Speed Dial Bookmarklet generator allows you use your Google Voice number to make calls. Just head over to http://www.ironicsans.com/gv/ and follow the instructions, then enter your Google Voice code, your iPhone number, and the number of the contact you’re calling.
Once you’ve entered all those numbers you’ll hit Generate, and the tool will give you more instructions to follow. In the end, you’ll end up with a quick-dial bookmark in your mobile Safari that you can use to speed-dial specific contacts, making it faster to call people than going to the mobile Google Voice site.
Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile Lets You Talk to Colleagues on VoIP
Microsoft just released the 2007 version of their Office Communicator Mobile program and its interface looks a whole lot like Google Voice. This handy software allows fast and easy inter-office communication over VoIP, and even lets you receive calls from your office number even when you’re not at your desk. One of the development team’s goal for this update is to make it easier to join conference calls on the go. Instead of dialing a number, the new UC Conferencing capability lets you join a conference call just by clicking the Join Conference button. This automatically authenticates the participants and lets them join the conference call.
Users can also avoid roaming charges when they are outside their provider’s network. When you need to make a call, Office Communicator will not log you into a roaming network, but it will automatically log you back onto your provider’s network when you return. Simply select the option and the program will take care of the rest.
Finally, a new plug-in for Windows Mobile 6.5 will integrate Communicator with the home screen. Through the plug-in, you’ll be able to see the number of ongoing conversations and your presence status. The plug-in will also enable you to make a call through your work identity right from your phone dialar, allowing users to dial extension numbers to reach their colleages.
The Windows Mobile 6.5 plug-in won’t be available til the fall, but you can download the Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile from the Microsoft download site.
Could Skype be in Danger?
The millions of users who depend on Skype as their alternate to a landline phone may have something to worry about. The creators of Skype and its new owner eBay are in a little bit of a tiff right now. eBay purchased Skype way back in 2005 but its creators Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis still retained some of the rights to the VoIP’s peer to peer technology. Now they want to pull the peer-to-peer software they own from Skype, which would pretty much render it useless. To prevent this, eBay filed a lawsuit against Niklas and Janus and is working on a new software that can run Skype without the original peer-to-peer client. But not only is eBay’s new software expensive; they also admit that it is unlikely to work. Of course, shutting down Skype is not even an option eBay would consider, but with the way things are looking it’s probably best to start finding alternatives to Skype.
Fortunately there are many other free VoIP providers that can provide the same voice chat and video chat features, like Oovoo, Google Voice, TeamSpeak, and Fring, to name a few. Still, I hope it doesn’t come to the death of Skype.
Google Voice for iPhone Gets Rejected by Apple
In this morning’s drama, Google Voice apps just got rejected by Apple’s iPhone Store. The developer Sean Kovacs reports that the Google Voice mobile, along with Google’s official iPhone app, was turned down because it “duplicates features that already come with the iPhone.” People are currently speculating that AT&T is behind the rejection because it will mean less revenue for the carrier. The App Store is already full of alternative SMS apps and applications like Skype, which already has a phone dialer, making the duplication excuse a very flimsy one.
Anyway, it’s not like Google will be seriously scathed by this. They already own a competing platform, Andriod, not to mention that they’re pretty much a monopoly these days. According to Gigaom, this was Google’s official statement on Apple’s rejection of Google Voice.
We work hard to bring Google applications to a number of mobile platforms, including the iPhone. Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple App Store. We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users, for example by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.
Though the absence of Google apps from the iPhone will make the device less attractive to some Google Voice users, I hardly doubt it will make a significant amount of people drop this device for a different, Google-supporting one.
Free Outgoing Calls with Google Voice and Gizmo5
Did you know that Gizmo5, the Skype-like VoIP service, provides convenient, straight-up dialing through your Google Voice number? If you have a Gizmo account, you can make US and international calls through your Google Voice number by going to your account settings and entering your Google Voice email address and password. Then you can log onto the desktop client or the mobile site using your 1+10-digit Gizmo 5 number and password. Making outgoing calls in this manner won’t use up any of your Gizmo credit – the outgoing call gets automatically routed through your Google Voice number.
Currently, Google Voice is still in its beta phase, meaning you can only use it upon invitation. Gizmo5, on the other hand, is free to sign up and use.
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