Gear Diary » Google Voice

The ObiTalk Obi110 Review

Carly Z — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:00:24 +0000

Sarah and I didn't have a landline for a long time. If people needed to reach us, they could call our cell phones. However, when we switched cable providers this summer, we found it was one of those "it's cheaper to get the phone+WiFi+cable" bundle. Great, but we weren't about to give away the new phone number to anyone, since people knew to reach us on our cell phone numbers or my Google Voice number. But it was handy to have a dedicated handset...that's where the ObiTalk Obi110 comes in. First, the ObiTalk service does a great deal more than just Google Voice. A LOT more. But let's start with my primary use, and Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Google Now Lets You Call Any Phone Right From Your Email

Francis Scardino — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:30:29 +0000

Image courtesy of Google

Does Google's free app goodness ever end? Whether you're a fan of Google or not, you must admit that the free services they offer are among some of the best. Google is constantly adding new apps and upgrading existing ones to their huge lineup. Google chat expanded a few months ago with the addition of letting you communicate via video and voice (plugin required) to someone right from the chat window. Google announced this morning that now you don't even need to pickup your phone anymore to make free calls to the US and Canada directly from your Gmail. Since your contacts are fully integrated into Gmail, you can just call Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Google Releases Voice Actions for Android

Douglas Moran — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:30:47 +0000

Although I'm an iPhone guy (right now), I'm always happy to see new Android apps hit the world. After all, as much as I like Apple (right now), competition is a pretty good thing, and with technology companies, it helps keep them on their toes and avoid arrogance. And it helps keep the pace of innovation brisk. So I was pleased to see that Google had released Voice Actions for Android. Google tells us:

Voice Actions are a series of spoken commands that let you control your phone using your voice. Call businesses and contacts, send texts and email, listen to music, browse the web, and complete common tasks, all just by speaking into your phone.

Are Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Google Voice available for iPhone and Palm

Amy Zunk — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:36:16 +0000

Well, the war over Google Voice on an iPhone is over...and Apple has won! Starting today, Google Voice will be available for both the iPhone and the Palm Pre/Pixi via a mobile Google Voice web site. According to TechCrunch:

The new Google Voice mobile site shows your inbox with transcribed calls, which you can play from the browser. You can also send SMS messages or dial from the browser. The application ends up making a local call through your cell phone to Google Voice, which then routes your call through its own lines. When someone gets the call, they see your Google Voice number instead of your AT&T number. And when you

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Truphone Gets Kicked Off Android Island… For Now

Dan Cohen — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:38:57 +0000

One of the main reasons for using an Android powered phone is, in my mind, the remarkably tight integration with Google Voice. The ability to have Google Voice take over the phone functionality of the device, so that outgoing calls come from it rather than there needing to be a callback is a homerun. It makes a huge difference if, like me, you are looking to move to Google voice full-time. That's a good thing.

Yesterday Jason posted about the new release of Truphone for Android. As a new Nexus One owner I was excited to see the availability of what I have found to be the best VoIP client for mobile devices. That's a good thing too.

Here's the not so good thing... Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

News from the Google Front

Amy Zunk — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:25:59 +0000

Here we go, all the news about Google that is fit to print: Dont Call it the GDrive: Users of Google Docs rejoice! You can soon upload any file type into Google Docs, whether its an office document or not. The only restriction is that the file cannot be more than 250MB. This feature is rolling out over the next few weeks. And remember, if you need more than the 1GB of storage, you can always buy more from Google. Third Party Memeo connects to Google Apps for sync: Memeo Connect now offers a way to sync your Google Docs to your desktop. Users can now have offline access to all Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Google’s floating in the clouds, predicts no voice plan needed in the future

Francis Scardino — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:30:42 +0000

Photo courtesy of jupiterdigital

Google is furthering their quest for world domination by getting more involved in voice communication. Google is already adding new services and products daily to the already huge list of whats available. According to eWeek, they will soon be adding VOIP services to their Google Voice client. Currently you must be tied to a carrier to use voice but soon they hope to change that with VOIP. This would allow calls to mobile phones and landline using Google Voice via the internet instead of using up your voice minutes. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Sprint to discontinue most charges for call forwarding – embrace Google Voice

Wayne Schulz — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:58:35 +0000

Sprint announced yesterday at their 2009 Ope\n Developer Conference that they'll be doing away with extra charges for subscribers using conditional call forwarding to connect their cell phones to third party voice providers such as Google Voice. Previously the carrier was one of the few who charged a per minute fee to their subscribers who programmed their phones to forward incoming calls that were unanswered. The new policy:
Although no charges will be applied for conditional call forwarding (meaning busy calls or calls not answered), some Sprint customers may incur a $0.20 per-minute charge if they choose to forward calls directly into voicemail or to another number without first allowing the call to try to

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Use Your Cell Number With Google Voice Thanks To A New Mashup

Dan Cohen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:40:54 +0000

Larry is on duty today but that doesn't mean he isn't keeping his eye on things. He just emailed me with great news... Google Voice now has its own mashup that allows you to use thew service without having to give everyone a new number. It is an awesome new mashup, and I for one am thrilled. Let me explain... Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Google Voice begins allowing you to invite friends

Wayne Schulz — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:31:22 +0000

The Google Voice service had been operating as a closed invitation only service. Users who joined were provided with a free phone number from which they could direct all incoming calls to any of their regular numbers. That phone number also provided voice mail where the messages were transcribed and also received (and reply to) SMS text messages. Starting today Google is giving existing Voice users three invitations so that they can invite their friends to try the service. When you log into your account the invitations will be listed in the lower left. Google Voice Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Inconsistency … Skype App- Yes, Vonage App- Yes, Google Voice App- Nope…

Dan Cohen — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:30:34 +0000

Leave it to Michael Arrington to hit the nail on the head. In a post over on TechCrunch, Arrington points out how the recent approval of an iPhone app for Vonage merely serves to highlight the total nonsense Apple spewed when trying to explain their Google Voice rejection. The gist... Apple said the Google Voice app was rejected because it

appears to alter the iPhone’s distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone’s core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls…

All good and well until you take a closer look and see that many apps do just that. Numerous camera apps all but replace the "core" camera functionality. And phone apps like Skype, Truphone and the recent Vonage app have.. gasp... dialers of their own. That's when Arrington nails it. He writes... Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Apple To FCC: “You can’t handle the truth!”

Dan Cohen — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:10:41 +0000

Hold on to your hats because this one is going to blow your mind... with regard to the whole Google Voice debacle it turns out... wait for it... okay, ready?... it turns out APPLE LIED!!! Shocked? Amazed? Dumbfounded? Yeah, neither are we. But the hubris Apple has to bold face lie to the FCC is pretty amazing. Not sure what we're talking about? Let's go back a bit... Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

OneDialer: Google Voice on Windows Mobile

Allistair Lee — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:36:29 +0000

Google Voice, if you have been missing out, is the Internet based phone forwarding service by Google. It gives you a separate phone number, which you can give out as if it is your regular phone number. You can then change your settings to have calls forwarded to any of your phones. Best of all, it is free except for international calls. Now, OneTouch Solutions has developed OneDialer, a solution for Windows Mobile users to use this wonderful feature on their phone. It is a fully featured Google Voice dialer, SMS and Visual Voicemail client. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gmail now able to play Google Voice voicemails directly

Thomas R. Hall — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:42:37 +0000

Google Voice is already a useful system, but Google is now expanding their Google Voice offering by now offering the ability to listen to your Google Voice voicemail directly in Gmail. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Google Voice can now forward text messages to your inbox

Wayne Schulz — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:32:38 +0000

Google Voice activated a new feature yesterday. It allows you to check a box in your Google Voice settings and have all of your SMS Text messages received by the service forwarded to your email. This means dedicated Google Voice users can stop receiving (or sending) any text messages on the phone and instead route everything through email. Can you say "Bye Bye Pricey Unlimited Text Messaging Plans"? Once a text message is forwarded to your email it can be replied to via email as well (Google creates a special email address for each person's phone that you text). Use a service like Pushmail and you'll get instant pop-up alerts that are as fast as text messaging. Google Voice Blog Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

More On The Google Voice v. Apple

Dan Cohen — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:15:59 +0000

Newsy has a report posted offering different perspectives on Google Voice v. Apple. I understand that it is not cut and dry, and that it is a complex issue; but it is one that I suspect Apple will ultimately lose. My biggest issue these days is Apple approving an app and then either removing or changing it AFTER people have bought it. If they are going to do that, then they should have a system to AUTOMATICALLY reimburse people who bought it in good faith. Who is in the right? Who is in the wrong? Who will win in the end? What do you think? Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gear Diary Translates Apple’s Response To The FCC

Dan Cohen — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:11:04 +0000

photo credit: JaeYong, BAE AT&T's did their very best to make it totally, unambiguously clear that they played no part in GoogleVoice-gate. Yes two apps were rejected after they were approved but it was all Apple. So what can Apple do after being thrown under the bus by their "partner"? Why throw the truth under the bus as well, of course. Seriously, they have some pretty smart lawyers but even I read some of this and thought "you're kidding right?" Then I read it a second time and the "REAL MEANING" began to emerge. As a service to our readers We have run Apple's response to the FCC through our Gear Diary Translator. What emerges is a letter that has a far truer ring to it than the one originally submitted. Let's take a look at the letter without the "Apple-speak". What was written... "We are pleased to respond to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s inquiry dated July 31, 2009"

What was meant... "WTF? Don't you know we're Apple??? Questioning us? Challenging our decisions? Seriously? We're Apple!"

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

AT&T To FCC On Google Voice- “It Wasn’t Us… Seriously”

Dan Cohen — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:31:29 +0000

If AT&T's initial response to the FCC over the removal of two Google Voice apps and the outright rejection of Google's own app from the App Store wasn't clear enough the first time around they are out to make it perfectly clear...

We Did Not Do It!!!

Actually their own words went something like this...

...let me state unequivocally, 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 we offer any view one way or the other.

So maybe AT&T wasn't behind the GV debacle. Still, by Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

If You Use A Mac and Google Voice This Is A MUST-HAVE!

Dan Cohen — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:02:18 +0000

I am slowly making my way to using Google Voice full time. It remains a bit of a hassle to make calls from my iPhone but the upside of using GV far out weighs the downside.

The biggest use I have for it is being able to initiate calls from my iMac or MacBook Pro and then, as soon as I finish the call, I can make notes or set a followup task for myself. I hated having to go to the GV website each time, however, so I went in search of a desktop widget that would serve the same function. I found it, and it is fantastic.

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

A Must-Read From David Pogue

Dan Cohen — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:45:50 +0000

I'll keep this brief... If you missed this NYTimes piece on the first round in the Google-Apple boxing match when it was published a few days ago, I recommend it as a "MUST-READ". In it David Pogue does a great job of putting the whole Google Voice debacle in context.

You can find the article HERE.

Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Google opens the gate immediately – offers free Google Voice for active military personnel

Wayne Schulz — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:19:12 +0000

Google's now inviting all military personnel (must have a .mil email address, be in the US and have a US phone number) to apply for a Google Voice account. They're promising approval within a day or two. The popular Google Voice service is free and provides a replacement phone number for subscribers to distribute to their contacts. Currently in a closed beta the service has been slowly trickling out invitations over the last several weeks and presently has a waiting period of several weeks for non-military users. Google Voice via RWW Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Google Voice + iPhone, but no native app? Call frequent contacts with less clicks

Wayne Schulz — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:56:44 +0000

So, you have a Google Voice account and an iPhone, but don't have any of the native applications (GV Mobile, VoiceCentral) because Apple pulled them from the App Store before you downloaded them? While there are other options out there, such as running GV Mobile on a jailbroken iPhone, there is another option that may work if you have a few contacts that you want to frequently call via Google Voice. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Schmidt Resigns From Apple Board- Think Google Voice Had Anything To Do With It?

Dan Cohen — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:31:32 +0000

No surprise here, but Apple just announced that Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, is resigning from Apple's Board. This is a major turn around from back when Schmidt said he had no intention of resigning. Then again, a good deal has happened since May that seems to be putting the two companies at odds with one another. The latest, Apple's handling of the Google Voice apps, may have been too much. We'll see how this one unfolds. Ooooh the drama. Read Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

25 Free Google Voice Business Cards

Wayne Schulz — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:33:32 +0000

I've already migrated nearly all of my voice calling over to Google Voice. Since I use a new cell phone a maximum of about 6 months before trying another - I'm finding it very useful to have one phone number that any of my contacts can reach me at. Even better that the number also works for texting (both receiving and sending). Google now has an offer for Google Voice account holders. Get a free 25 pack of business cards by logging into your account and clicking the logo in the lower left. Google Voice Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

FCC looking at Apple and the decision to pull Google Voice

Wayne Schulz — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:18:51 +0000

Maybe just maybe the government does get some things right after all. The FCC announced today that they are launching an inquiry into AT&T and Apple over the rejection of Google Inc's voice application for the iPhone. Apparently this request is part of a broader inquiry by the FCC into exclusive deals between cell phone carriers and handset manufacturers. Part of this request for information is also expected to cover why Apple and possibly AT&T had related third party Google Voice applications pulled from the store as well. Could Google Voice be the crack that starts the mighty iPhone dynasty tumbling? WSJ Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Could Google Voice boost Palm Pre sales?

Wayne Schulz — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:10:04 +0000

As we all know by now Apple recently yanked all Google Voice applications from their App Store. These programs made using the iPhone in conjunction with a Google Voice account much simpler. While people have been arguing over who is to blame for the sudden yanking - the Palm Pre development community has been working on their version of a Google Voice application. One of the first, dkGoogleVoice has reached early testing. The interface looks smooth and while it still has some beta bugs - the ability of a Google Voice application can't hurt Palm's Pre fortunes. A quick video of the application in use after the break. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Google Voice apps yanked from iTunes App Store

Wayne Schulz — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:10:52 +0000

Yesterday Apple removed both GV Mobile and VoiceCentral from the App Store. These two applications work on the iPhone to make using the free Google Voice service easier. Both programs allow users to seamlessly place and receive calls via Google Voice. They accomplish this in a way that makes your outgoing calls appear to come from your Google Voice account. In addition users were able to send and receive SMS text messages through Google Voice while avoiding the need to purchase a messaging package from AT&T. According to several online reports, Apple removed the application because it duplicated existing functionality. The GV Mobile application had been available since April 24, 2009 which seems to lend credibility to some theories that AT&T's Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gizmo5 and Google Voice now equal unlimited free voice calling

Wayne Schulz — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:04:57 +0000

Gizmo5 is a web based calling service similar to Skype. In the past users connected Gizmo5 with the older Grandcentral (now Google Voice) online calling service to create a completely free unlimited incoming and outgoing phone service. When Google bought Grandcentral the integration to Gizmo5 was interrupted. Google Voice already provides free incoming and outgoing calls - except you must provide your own phone number to initiate or receive the call. Now you can once again use a free Gizmo5 number to serve as your phone line to receive or make calls on Google Voice by configuring Gizmo5 to automatically accept and make phone calls without any need to purchase calling credits. Gizmovoice instructions to setup Gizmo5 with Google Voice Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

VoiceCentral- Must-Have iPhone App For Google Voice

Dan Cohen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:30:42 +0000

Now that Google Voice invites are going out at a good clip (heck even DOUG has one now!) the real question is, How do you use it to get maximum benefit? We have a few suggestions and we'll start off with this one for iPhone users... get VoiceCentral! It is amazing. Here's why... Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Google Voice shows ringback advertising intent with patent application

Wayne Schulz — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:25:35 +0000

Google Voice is a free service from Google that enables one number access to any of the different phone numbers you use throughout the day. By distributing your single Google Voice number to contacts they always have that one number to reach you at. When they call Google Voice their call is forwarded to any of your "normal" phone numbers (business, office, cell). Behind the scenes of Google Voice you setup special rules so that business contacts only ring to a certain number during a certain time period while family might ring to another during any time period. Currently the service, operating in a closed beta, is completely free. A Patent has however just been filed that shows how Google Continue reading on Gear Diary ...