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Google Shutting Down Gizmo5 On April 3

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:21:52 +0000

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) acquired VoIP company Gizmo5 in November 2009. Gizmo5 lets people dial and receive calls from computers and mobile apps. Google has informed Gizmo5 users that the service will be shut down on April 3, 2011. Gizmo5 technology has been integrated into Gmail and Google Talk. Below is an e-mail that Google sent to Gizmo5 users:

Gizmo5 is writing to let you know that we will no longer be providing service starting on April 3, 2011. A week from today, March 11, 2011, you will no longer be able to add credit to your account.

Although the standalone Gizmo5 client will no longer be available, we have since launched the ability to call phones from within Gmail at even more affordable rates.

If you purchased calling credit and have a balance remaining in your account, you can request a refund by logging in to http://my.gizmo5.com. If you are in the United States, you can instead choose to transfer your credit to a Google Voice account, so it can be used for calling from Google Voice or Gmail. If you don’t have a Google Voice account, please create one so that we can transfer your credit.

Please request a call credit transfer or refund by April 3, 2011. If you don’t request a call credit transfer or refund by this date, we will automatically refund your remaining call credit via the payment method you originally used to purchase the credit. Note that if you paid via Moneybookers or if the credit card on file has expired, we will not be able to automatically refund your unused credit, so please log in to initiate the refund process.

Thank you,

The Gizmo5 Team

[TechCrunch]

Google To Integrate VoIP Service Into GMail

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:28:24 +0000

Google is testing out a new feature that would make GMail more useful for communication. Google is integrating a VoIP service into GMail.

A new phone icon opens up a GMail chat window with a dialed. There is also an option to find contacts. Currently if you want to call someone with Google Voice, you need a phone. The way Google Voice works is that you visit the website through your computer, enter the phone number to call, and then wait until Google calls your phone to connect you for free.

Google created the Google Voice service through the acquisition of Gizmo5. Right now Google Voice on GMail is not available yet, but we can expect it to happen sometime soon.

[Google Operating System]

Google Rumored To Be Acquiring Gizmo5 For $30 Million

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:18:06 +0000

Skype was very close to buying out a VoIP firm called Gizmo5. Since Skype ended up passing, Google moved on in according to a rumor. Gizmo5 was founded by Michael Robertson. The company uses the the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) for VoIP communication.

Google will be spending roughly $30 million in cash on the deal according to TechCrunch. It is likely that Gizmo5 would be rolled into Google Talk. Gizmo5 started in April 2003 and raised about $6 million in total funding. Before starting Gizmo5, Robertson founded MP3.com and MP3tunes.