
Gmail phone calls remain free of charge in 2013 for US and Canada - redDragon
http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/26/gmail-google-voice-free-2013/
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dkhenry
This is by far the most overlooked feature of being a part of the Google
ecosystem. I don't think Microsoft or Apply can match the ability for me to
give out a number to someone, not a special username and not something that
requires you to have a particular device, Just a plain old phone number.
People can call me on that number and I can pick up on

1\. My Phone 3\. My Tablet 3\. Any Computer I am logged into <\- This one is
special

In addition I can call other people using any of those devices and pay nothing
for the privilege.

~~~
mtgx
Too bad Google has never been that serious about these VOIP options. I mean,
where's my "VOIP Call" button next to the normal Call button in my Android
phone? Why isn't the "Video Call" button there as well, like Facetime is in
the iPhone? I've been expecting this to happen since Froyo in 2010, and I'm
still waiting for it to happen.

Google only keeps them deep in the Google Talk app, and I bet most people
using Android phones have no idea they are even there, so it's almost like
they don't even exist. Google needs to do a better job of deeply integrating
VOIP into Android, and I don't care that carriers won't like it. Same goes for
their "Google Voice" service.

~~~
nodata
I've used other people's Android phones and seen the voip call option, perhaps
it depends if you have a sip account configured.

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jeffool
I love Google Voice; I do. It may not be smart, but I put it on my resume and
as my primary contact info. But at the same time, that you can't receive mms
is just crazy. I mean, forward it to my email even. I'm fine with that.

Partial sidenote: If I were, say, Yahoo, and looking to do a few big projects,
this is one I'd tackle. Google has shown people will use it if it's simple,
but there's not wide adoption. Yahoo Phone could supplant GVoice and things
like SnapChat in one fell swoop.

~~~
timothya
> But at the same time, that you can't receive mms is just crazy

To be fair, I don't think I've ever sent or received an MMS. I'm pretty sure
it's not that common, so most people probably don't really miss it.

~~~
jeffool
Really? You've never had anyone send a picture or video to your phone?

Maybe it's that I live in southern Georgia (though in a city of 77k) but I
tried explaining to people a few times that "if you're going to send a picture
or video, send it to my email." The reply was usually the same, and hostile.

"I don't know how to send things to email on my phone!"

"You just type in my email. Or choose it from the contact list you chose my
number from."

"Nevermind. I don't know why you have to make it complicated." And this is
from 26 year olds who grew up with computers and use them daily.

~~~
dylanvee
I could make myself remember to special-case you fairly easily, but I really
don't want to have to special-case anyone. That's why I love iMessage--it's a
progressive enhancement, not a separate app. When that breaks down, like when
I can't fall back to SMS when sending from my Mac, I get annoyed.

~~~
jeffool
Absolutely; I wouldn't WANT anyone to have to special case me. It's silly, and
no one should have to. That's why I think Google (and anyone wants to get into
the phone-number game) should be handling that behind the scenes like I
presume Apple's iMessages does.

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lucian1900
But in the UK, I can't call at all from my phone (because Voice is only
available in the US). I can only call from Gmail (with money).

It's annoying how many services are US-only.

~~~
hnriot
I moved to San Francisco, I wanted to base my career on where the world's
computing is centered. I could have stayed in the UK and always been on the
periphery, but felt that since my first love was technology, rather than good
beer or tea, I just moved where the action is.

If you find it annoying, move.

~~~
k-mcgrady
I understand where you're coming from but no user should have to move country
to get improved internet services. The internet is global and the services on
it should be also. Did you think about staying in the UK and trying to address
problems like this yourself (you would actually be better positioned to do so
there)? [serious question]

~~~
3825
I was told skype phones were pretty big in the UK. Is that not the case? I
talked to someone on skype while he was on the bus (or so he told me)

~~~
justincormack
one of the networks sells with it as a selling point, or you can install the
app. In London buses have decent bandwidth.

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benguild
How I remain on the lowest AT&T minute plan, and have no plans to switch. If
I'm logged into email all day, why kill my phone's battery? :thumbup:

~~~
jdonahue
Agreed. And this might be just me, but I greatly prefer talking on a computer
(laptop or desktop) to holding a phone in my hand up to my ear. Especially for
long personal calls or calls to businesses where I know I'll probably be on
hold forever (e.g. Comcast) - it is INSANELY handy for that. Speaker phone
would probably accomplish something similar but the audio quality in and out
is lower on my phone than on my laptop, and it also (like you said) uses
minutes. The calls are also more reliable in my experience - I've never had a
call dropped or had the audio cut out over Gmail on a good WiFi connection.

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EwanG
Since I didn't see this in any of the comments at the time I wrote this...

While GMail/Google Voice calls are free, they are much more susceptible to
noise, echo, etc due to the main codec (G.711) that they use. If you have a
newer smartphone with a good 4G or WiFi connection you may be able to get by
with this, but in my personal experience I had to move to Skype (and be
willing to pay a few dollars a month) to get people to want to talk with me
for any extended period of time.

With your homies, probably not a big deal. For a sales call or interview, or
when you and your SO are trying to arrange to meet at a hospital due to an
emergency, yeah you want the clearer call.

~~~
mtgx
They should hurry up and use Opus then.

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lftl
Google Voice stopped delivering push notifications to my phone about a month
ago. I have to open the voice app, or website occasionally to check if I have
SMS or voicemail. I don't mind using Gmail for free because the service is
generally top notch. For Google Voice, I'd rather be paying some money so I
would have someone to complain to when it's not working. Since that's not an
option, I've stopped giving out my Google Voice number to anyone.

~~~
josh2600
You should look at Kazoo. We do all of the Google voice stuff (and a lot more)
in a fully open-source package :).

Disclaimer: I'm the community manager for <http://www.2600hz.com> the makers
of Kazoo.

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woodchuck64
To place a call to a phone number in Gmail ...
[http://support.google.com/chat/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answe...](http://support.google.com/chat/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=187615)

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barking
I don't mind paying for gmail calls here in Europe but what i really don't
like is that I can't receive calls.

So I only ever use it when there's a problem with my mobile.

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plg
I'm not sure I would call it "free". Sure, you don't have to give google
money, but on the other hand, you have to give them them all sorts of other
info. This is not free. It's time people started acknowledging this.

~~~
hnriot
free is defined in termed of payment of monies. You're thinking of no string
attached, or some other word or phrase.

While this may seem like semantics, it is the basis of communications, that we
all agree on the definition of certain words, otherwise we have linguistic
chaos.

So, yes, while it doesn't require any monetary payment (free), there are
strings attached.

~~~
plg
True that's how most consumers think of "free" ... I think it's high time that
consumers start thinking more deeply about the transaction(s) they are
engaging in with companies like google, facebook, etc when they use "free"
services. These are not charities, they are for-profit businesses (and there's
nothing wrong with that) ... But I think consumers should inform themselves
about the full nature of the transaction(s) they engage in when using "free"
services. I know, there are terms of services, eulas, etc that people click "I
agree" when signing up... But I would bet that 95% of people read NONE of that
stuff. Buyer beware? Maybe.

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ryanhuff
Equally as important (for some people), is that these free services are
sometimes only free up until they gain enough mass to become a real business.
People should consider these free services as limited time offers, which may
require switching sometime later.

