Friday 30 March 2012

Make Free Phone Calls with Google Voice

       
Google Voice currently provides free PC-to-PC voice and video calling worldwide between users of the Google Voice and free outbound calls for users resident in the US. Incoming calls can be received on an optional Google Voice phone number in the US and on any additional phone numbers of the subscriber.

Other features available to users resident in the US include voicemail, call history, conference calling, call screening, call blocking, SMS text messaging, call forwarding (to your other phone numbers), and voicemail transcription via email or text message.

You don’t need to sign up for a phone number or a Gmail account to start using Google Voice to make free calls in the US from your PC. An optionalGoogle Voice phone number would allow anyone to call your home and/or mobile phones and your PC from their phone. Your PC needs to be turned on and you need to be signed into Gmail to receive calls on your PC.

The optional Gmail plug-in allows you to make and receive calls from your Gmailaccount (part of the Gmail Chat feature). It appears you can only make calls from your Google Voice account webpage (not receive calls) and manage the voicemail and alert messages. Messages and alerts can forward to any email address if desired.

Google Voice is not a substitute for a home or cell phone number and does not support 911 calls. I use it to integrate my cell phone and home phone calls without affecting either of those services.

Here's what I recommend:

1) Sign up for a Google Voice phone number in your area code while they are still available and free or you can use any area code and select an available number.

2) Sign up for a Google Voice account and configure settings, including your home and mobile numbers, and record your name, etc. You could start with the defaults and experiment.

3) Download and install the Google Talk browser plug-in for Gmail. It’s not obvious that this needs to be installed or where to find it but you can download it here: www.google.com/chat/voice

You could start using Google Voice by opening a Google Voice accountwithout a Google Voice phone number. This would allow you to make free calls to any US number from your computer with speaker and microphone, or a headset. No one could call you from a phone though because you don't have a number. They can call you from their PC using their Google Voice account or the Google Talk browser plug-in if they have Gmail.

I recommend getting a Google Voice phone number while they are currently available for free. You can use a different area code if most of your calls are from that area code for your Callers to save on long-distance charges. You can browse for an available number by area code search for numbers that contain certain digits that you desire. My Google Voice number has the same last four digits as my cell phone number to make it easy to remember.

The first time I called my Google Voice number I was surprised and impressed when my cell phone, home phone, and PC started ringing. Email messages and transcribed emails keep me informed about all me calls and voicemail messages. I put my Google Voice number on my business cards and my email signature block to start porting callers to my new number. Google Voice should help me to not miss incoming calls, whether I’m at home, work, or away.
View an Explanatory video from Google on YouTube.

See the Google Voice article on Wikipedia for a summary of features.

Learn more and sign up at www.google.com/voice.

From the Official Google Blog:
12/16/2011 01:57:00 PM

More free calls right from Gmail
Last year we introduced free domestic calling in Gmail within the U.S. and Canada, and we’re extending this free service for the whole year of 2012. We’re happy to help you keep in touch with those special people in your life, for free.

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