Tag Archives: Google Voice
Google Voice Now Available For Everyone In The U.S.
Google Voice is a service where you are assigned a phone number that can make all of your phones ring (landline/cellphone/etc.). Voicemails are sent to your e-mail and free calls and text messages can be made within the U.S. and Canada. To get access to Google Voice, you needed an invitation, but now Google is offering the service for free. However Google Voice is limited to everyone in the U.S. for right now. Below is a video about what Google Voice does.
(more…)
Categories Google, Google Voice
Leave a comment
Google To Integrate VoIP Service Into GMail
Google is testing out a new feature that would make GMail more useful for communication. Google is integrating a VoIP service into GMail.
(more…)
Categories Gizmo5, GMail, Google, Google Voice
Leave a comment
Over 500,000 Users Are On Google Voice Every Day
Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has been having some success with Google Voice. The service has about 1.42 million users and 570,000 of them use it every single day. The numbers were revealed in an FCC document filed by Google and discovered by BusinessWeek.
The same document revealed Google’s plans to expand the Voice service abroad. Google Voice allows users to have a universal number that forwards to a person’s mobile phone, work phone, or home phone. Google Voice was developed through the acquisition of GrandCentral. Google supposedly payed close to $50 million for GrandCentral in July 2007.
Categories Google, Google Voice, GrandCentral
Leave a comment
Google And Verizon Launching Two New Android Phones, Powered With Google Voice
Apple may have decided to reject Google Voice, but Verizon Wireless plans to embrace the application. Google and Verizon have an Android partnership and the results of this deal will appear in the next few weeks. The first two Android powered phones will be available on Verizon later this year.
“You either have an open device or not, and this will be open,” stated Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam in a conference call with journalists today.
“In Verizon, somehow, the leadership has decided to embrace a very different philosophy, which works very, very well with the Internet,” added Google CEO Eric Schmidt on the conference call. Verizon and Google started their partnership discussion about 18 months ago. Verizon was the third telecommunications company to launch a phone on the Android operating system. T-Mobile and Sprint were the first two companies. Verizon is the largest wireless carrier based on the number of subscribers.
Apple Responds To FCC About Why They Did Not Approve Google Voice iPhone Application
In late July, Google Voice was not approved for the iTunes App Store. Up until now, it was unclear over why the application was rejected. People did not know whether it was Google’s fault, AT&T’s fault, or Apple’s fault. The FCC then decided to investigate the matter which may be one of the reasons why Google CEO Eric Schmidt stepped down from Apple’s Board of Directors.
AT&T wrote a letter today to Ruth Milkman, the Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at the FCC. The letter stated the following:
“Dear Ms. Milkman: On behalf of AT&T, I am writing in response to the Bureau’s July 31, 2009 letter, which asks a series of questions about Google Voice and the Apple iPhone in order to inform Commission policymaking in certain pending proceedings. As discussed below, AT&T had no role in any decision by Apple to not accept the Google Voice application for inclusion in the Apple App Store. AT&T was not asked about the matter by Apple at any time, nor did it offer any view one way or the other. More broadly, AT&T does not own, operate or control the Apple App Store and is not typically consulted regarding the approval or rejection of applications for the App Store or informed when an application is approved or rejected.”
Shortly after this letter was sent, Apple revealed why they did not approve the Google Voice application. The full letter is pasted after the jump. The answer to question 1 is the most interesting to analyze.
Categories Apple Inc., FCC, Federal Communications Commission, Google, Google Voice
3 Comments
Post-Rejection, Google Voice To Be Designed In iPhone Web Format
Google Voice was rejected by iTunes last month. The FCC is looking into the reasoning why Google Voice was rejected as of right now. Since the Google Voice application was rejected, Google CEO Eric Schmidt stepped down from the Apple Inc. Board of Directors too.
Instead of designing another iPhone application for Google Voice, the search engine company is planning to launch a web-friendly version of Google Voice for the iPhone. The web version of the application will have the same features as the rejected application. The web version of the application will work exactly like the iPhone application and can even have an icon installed on the phone.
If Apple and AT&T decides that they want to block the web version too, then the only way to prevent the service is by blocking the URL. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next between Apple, Google, and AT&T.
[via Mashable]
Categories Apple App Store, Apple Inc., AT&T, AT&T Inc., Eric Schmidt, Google, Google Voice
Leave a comment
Google Voice iPhone App Rejected
Apple is not allowing Google to have a native Google Voice app on the iPhone. This news comes a week after Google said that Apple did not allow a native Latitude app on the iPhone. The Latitude app was rejected because it was supposedly too similar to Maps on the iPhone.
Google said, “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.”
The Google Voice app was most likely rejected by AT&T because it competes against some of AT&T’s paid services. Google Voice allows users to send free text messages, make cheap international calls, and make free domestic calls.
Google Voice is available on Android and Blackberry. iPhone users however will have to settle for a web based mobile browser version.
Categories Apple Inc., AT&T, Google Voice
2 Comments
Google Voice Reserves One Million Phone Numbers
Google is making use of the GrandCentral VoIP service that they acquired back in July 2007. GrandCental has been rolled into a service called Google Voice. Google Voice includes all of the features that GrandCentral had when the property was acquired plus several additions.
Google Voice allows users to sync phone numbers and transfer calls to all of their devices. Voice calls can be converted into text messages and there is the ability to call multiple parties. Another feature that Google voice has that gives Skype some competition is discounted international calls.
Through Level 3, Google has already reserved 1 million phone numbers. “If you are a GrandCentral user, over the next few days you will be prompted to upgrade to Google Voice. Currently only GrandCentral users have access to Google Voice, but we will be opening up the new service to new users soon,” stated the GrandCentral website.
[via ReadWriteWeb]
Categories Google, Google Voice, GrandCentral
Leave a comment