Google plugs free PC-to-phone calling into e-mail

[TotallyOz]

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Google Inc. is adding a free e-mail feature that may persuade more people to cut the cords on their landline phones. The service unveiled Wednesday enables U.S. users of Google's Gmail service to make calls from microphone-equipped computers to telephones virtually anywhere in the world.

 

All calls in the U.S. and Canada will be free through at least the end of the year. That undercuts the most popular PC-to-phone service, Skype, which charges 1.2 cents to 2.1 cents per minute for U.S. calls. It also threatens to overshadow another free PC-to-phone calling service called MagicTalk that was just introduced by VocalTec Communications Ltd.

 

Skype, Google and many other services have been offering free computer-to-computer calling for years.

 

Google hopes to make money on its PC-to-phone service by charging 2 cents or more per minute for international calls. The international rates will vary widely, sometimes even within the same country. Google posted a rate chart at https://www.google.com/voice/b/0/rates.

 

People also will be able to receive calls on their PC if they obtain a free phone number from Google or already have one.

 

The phone numbers and technology for the new PC-calling service are being provided by Google Voice, a telecommunications hub that the company has been trying to expand. It had been an invitation-only service until two months ago when Google Voice began accepting all number requests.

 

Google disclosed last year that it had assigned about 1.4 million phone numbers through its Voice service, which can field calls made to a person's home, mobile or office number. Craig Walker, a Google product manager who helped develop Voice, said the service has expanded its reach since then, but he wouldn't provide specifics.

 

Besides planting Voice's technology into Gmail, Google also plans to promote the service by setting up red phone booths at universities and airports scattered across the United States. People will be able to make free calls from the booths to U.S. and Canadian numbers and save on international calls.

 

Google also plans to enable people to transfer, or "port," their existing home or mobile phone to Voice to widen the service's appeal. Walker said Wednesday that flexibility will be available soon.

 

The PC-to-phone calling option initially is being offered only to consumers who have accounts on Google's Web-based e-mail, but the company left open the possibility that it will be expanded to the millions of businesses and government agencies that rely on Gmail as part of an applications suite that includes other programs such as word processing.

 

The added competition comes at an inopportune time for Skype S.A., the Luxembourg-based company that recently filed plans for an initial public offering of stock. Skype has 560 million registered users, including 8.1 million paying customers (most people use the free PC-to-PC service). After four years under the ownership of eBay Inc., Skype was sold to a group of private investors last November for about $2 billion. The company has been doing well since the sale, earning $13 million on revenue of $406 million during the first half of this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest travelerjim]

GT,

 

It is amazing for me to see just how many US residents

STILL have a land line with an old phone...

(and they still pay monthly equipment rent to AT&T -

maybe have been paying it for 30 or 40+ years)...

it is in the $$$Millions of $$$ annually in "rental fees" for the OLD phone.

 

People just do not bother to read each line

on their phone bill...to see the rental fee.

 

The elderly are most often the victims of this as they assume all is OK..

and do not realize a couple of dollars telephone equipment rental fee and

in home repair fees have been charged to them since they originally got

their phone service.

 

If they do not call AT&T or their provider, and cancel the rental

and line repair service, they continue to pay the fees.

 

tj

[Guest RichLB]

This Google option sounds great, but I would recommend the MagicJack instead. It is a simple device which plugs into your computer on one end and a regular phone on the other. You are given a US telephone number, and use that to call anywhere in the US (and maybe Canada, I'm not sure) for free. Also, friends can call you via your new US number for free as well. The service includes voice mail so if you miss a call MagicJack will send you an email instantly with an attached .wav file - even if you don't have the thingy plugged in. I've been using mine for two years now, and the line is clear and it's just like calling next door.

[Guest]

I tested this today. As always, Google kicks ass! The phone quality was amazing. It was easy to use. And, it was totally free.

 

BUT, if you are in LOS, you will have to have a proxy from USA to see it show up in your gmail account after you download the app.

 

My proxy slows down the speed. However, still the clarity was fantastic!

[Guest GaySacGuy]

This Google option sounds great, but I would recommend the MagicJack instead. It is a simple device which plugs into your computer on one end and a regular phone on the other. You are given a US telephone number, and use that to call anywhere in the US (and maybe Canada, I'm not sure) for free. Also, friends can call you via your new US number for free as well. The service includes voice mail so if you miss a call MagicJack will send you an email instantly with an attached .wav file - even if you don't have the thingy plugged in. I've been using mine for two years now, and the line is clear and it's just like calling next door.

 

I am with you RichLB. I have a MagicJack, and am very happy with it. I can take it with me when I travel around, and make US and Canadian calls free from any computer anywhere in the world...just plug into the USB, plug in your phone, (I carry a really light small plastic phone with me) and call your US numbers direct dial free. So far the service has been fine.

[Guest beachlover]

Apparently getting free calls to landlines in the US is possible for Australians (and I presume for people in Thailand) if you just set your language settings from "UK English" to "US English" (as much as I would loathe to do this).

 

"Google gifts Aussies with free US calls through Gmail" : http://www.news.com....0-1225910897786

 

It'll be good when they expand this overseas.

 

In any case, I get free calls to landlines in Australia where my business is located with Skype.

 

It's not just the ability to make outgoing calls, which is great. These services (like Skype) let you have a fixed line local number.

 

This means staff, clients, friends, family, whoever can call you like they normally would - making a local call - and still reach you wherever you are in the world. If your laptop is connected and you are online, you can pick up the call just like you would if you were in your office back home.

 

If you're not online all the time, you can also accept voicemail messages and return calls just as you would if you were in your office back home.

 

 

 

This Google option sounds great, but I would recommend the MagicJack instead. It is a simple device which plugs into your computer on one end and a regular phone on the other. You are given a US telephone number, and use that to call anywhere in the US (and maybe Canada, I'm not sure) for free. Also, friends can call you via your new US number for free as well. The service includes voice mail so if you miss a call MagicJack will send you an email instantly with an attached .wav file - even if you don't have the thingy plugged in. I've been using mine for two years now, and the line is clear and it's just like calling next door.

 

I'm trying to work out if this has any advantage over Skype.

 

Skype seems to do all this, without the hassle of having "a simple device which plugs into your computer on one end and a regular phone on the other".

 

With Skype you can buy a local number (costs about $5/month). People can call you on that local number and you pick up the call on your laptop just as you would a regular phone back home. All the voicemails are accessible on the simple Skype interface (no need to download attachments in e-mails etc.). You get free calls to landlines in your home country and competitively priced calls to mobiles and other countries.

 

There's no need to plug in devices or be near a "regular phone". You just need to be connected to the internet... so you can be anywhere... in your hotel room, in the lounge, in a cafe, anywhere with internet.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

Apparently getting free calls to landlines in the US is possible for Australians (and I presume for people in Thailand) if you just set your language settings from "UK English" to "US English" (as much as I would loathe to do this).

 

"Google gifts Aussies with free US calls through Gmail" : http://www.news.com.au/technology/google-gifts-aussies-with-free-us-calls/story-e6frfro0-1225910897786

 

It'll be good when they expand this overseas.

 

In any case, I get free calls to landlines in Australia where my business is located with Skype.

 

With Magic Jack, you could have a US phone number and call anywhere in the US or Canada free for now five years at $69.95 US...not bad.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

I'm trying to work out if this has any advantage over Skype.

 

Skype seems to do all this, without the hassle of having "a simple device which plugs into your computer on one end and a regular phone on the other".

 

With Skype you can buy a local number (costs about $5/month). People can call you on that local number and you pick up the call on your laptop just as you would a regular phone back home. All the voicemails are accessible on the simple Skype interface (no need to download attachments in e-mails etc.). You get free calls to landlines in your home country and competitively priced calls to mobiles and other countries.

 

There's no need to plug in devices or be near a "regular phone". You just need to be connected to the internet... so you can be anywhere... in your hotel room, in the lounge, in a cafe, anywhere with internet.

 

With Magic Jack, you can use any computer anywhere...and you have the ability to receive calls on a regular phone with a ringer and all.

[Guest beachlover]

With Magic Jack, you could have a US phone number and call anywhere in the US or Canada free for now five years at $69.95 US...not bad.

 

$70 to rent a line for 5 years isn't bad.

 

With Magic Jack, you can use any computer anywhere...and you have the ability to receive calls on a regular phone with a ringer and all.

 

AlI right, I see. So the laptop plugs into the phone. And you use the phone to make and receive calls. I thought it was the other way around.

 

With Skype, I just use a headset plugged into my laptop to do phone calls. I actually prefer the Skype interface to a normal phone because you can transition between calls quicker when you don't have to keep dialing numbers. It takes a second to hang up and click on the next number.

[Guest]

I use Skype and Vonage and love them both. But, the free calls to the USA for the rest of 2010 is great! I am using it every day to call friends and family in the USA. Amazing clarity!

[Guest GaySacGuy]

$70 to rent a line for 5 years isn't bad.

 

 

 

AlI right, I see. So the laptop plugs into the phone. And you use the phone to make and receive calls. I thought it was the other way around.

 

With Skype, I just use a headset plugged into my laptop to do phone calls. I actually prefer the Skype interface to a normal phone because you can transition between calls quicker when you don't have to keep dialing numbers. It takes a second to hang up and click on the next number.

 

With MagicJack, the MJ plugs into a USB port, and the phone line to the Magic. On screen you have a magic jack screen with your contacts and calls. You can click on the person you want to call, and in about two seconds their phone is ringing. You could attach a headset to some phones if you like. There is also voice mail, and if a new message is left for you it is sent to your email and is available through the MJ.

[Guest RichLB]

I'm trying to work out if this has any advantage over Skype.

I suppose it's a matter of personal preference. I don't like talking over a microphone hooked up to the computer or listening via a head set or over the speakers. With the Magic Jack it's just like a normal handset and that's what I'm used to.

[Guest beachlover]

Really? I mean, I don't like using the laptop speakers and mic to talk either.

 

I have a good Seinheiser or Logitech headset I use.... This is actually much better than a normal phone handset because I get sound in both ears and I can talk hands free.

 

I even headsets connected to my phones in the office and at home now...

[Guest GaySacGuy]

Really? I mean, I don't like using the laptop speakers and mic to talk either.

 

I have a good Seinheiser or Logitech headset I use.... This is actually much better than a normal phone handset because I get sound in both ears and I can talk hands free.

 

I even headsets connected to my phones in the office and at home now...

 

I think RichLB pretty much covered it when he said "I suppose it's a matter of personal preference."

[Guest beachlover]

Yeah, but it doesn't make sense that you would prefer a normal handset over a laptop skype headset because there is no advantage in the normal handset... you have to hold it and everything.

[Guest]

I think all should make calls on the same phone I did in my childhood. I do miss the round dialing.

 

[Guest beachlover]

I wonder how they used those... I've seen them used on TV but not up close. It looks like someone is winding something up.

[Guest]

I wonder how they used those... I've seen them used on TV but not up close. It looks like someone is winding something up.

 

LOL You must be young. You stick your finger in the number and wind it all the way around and then you do the next number. I still have my grandmother's and it is a nice piece of history as she was the first in our family to get a phone and we would go to her house and use it for calls. Not often as it was not cheap to use.

[Guest beachlover]

Right... I see they are finger holes but would need to see it work up close.

 

YouTube to the rescue!

 

I guess you just do it for every number you have to dial LOL:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chRfq0SpATw

[Guest GaySacGuy]

Right... I see they are finger holes but would need to see it work up close.

 

YouTube to the rescue!

 

I guess you just do it for every number you have to dial LOL:

 

 

I am sure you would be amazed, but some have push buttons!!

[Guest beachlover]

Most phones have push buttons now... except smart phones. But it's frustrating, you can't dial on a touch pad anywhere near as quick as you can with buttons.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

Most phones have push buttons now... except smart phones. But it's frustrating, you can't dial on a touch pad anywhere near as quick as you can with buttons.

 

Me..I use the number pad on my computer keyboard to dial..or just click on it if it is on the screen.

[Guest beachlover]

I have all my client, business partner and staff numbers/profiles listed and organised in my Skype contacts list... It makes it a dream to get all my calls done quickly. I actually prefer calling off Skype than using my office phone, even when I am at home.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I don't have a photo, but the phone we had when I was a kid didn't have a rotary dial. You just picked up the receiver and clicked the button until the operator came on the line with, "Number please". You verbally told her the number you wanted to call and she would plug you through. She remained on the line until the receiving party answered, sometimes a bit longer.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I found a photo, but I don't know how to add it here.