Google on Tuesday announced that calls placed within the United States and Canada using Google Voice will continue to be free through the end of 2012. “This is our way of helping you connect with friends and family across the country,” Group Product Manager Vincent Paquet wrote on a company blog. Google stated last year that calls made within the U.S. and Canada would be free through 2011, but the company is extending the promotion through 2012 for reasons unknown. Google Voice was born from Goog...

Google updated its Google Voice client for Android smartphones on Tuesday with support for group texting. In addition, the client now supports the ability to prefetch voicemails so that you can listen to them when you’re outside data coverage. Google also says the app should now offer better notifications, although we didn’t notice any immediate difference in our preliminary tests. The update is free and is available in the Android Market now.  (more…)

Google may be preparing to take its mobile efforts to the next level as it tests a Google-branded MVNO in Spain. Unconfirmed reports accompanied by photos of a Google SIM card and a Nexus S running on a “Google_Es” network suggest that Google is toying with the idea of becoming a Mobile Virtual Network Operator, or a company that provides cellular service by leasing capacity from existing wireless carriers and piggybacking on their networks. The photos suggest that testing is in the late stages as...

Despite leaked information that Sprint and Google would launch Google Voice integration services on April 26th, multiple sources have confirmed that the service is already being rolled out to users. Sprint and Google announced the partnership last month, and the new service will allow Sprint users to access calls and text messages, or place calls through Google Voice’s Web interface using their Sprint number. Alternatively, users can opt to have their Google Voice number replace their Sprint number on ...

Intel gathered by blog Android Central indicates that Sprint and Google will make their Google Voice partnership ready for prime time on April 26th. The venture, which was announced last month, will allow Sprint customers to seamlessly integrate their current wireless number with Google’s Voice service. Calls and texts sent from your mobile device will be logged by Google Voice’s online system, and calls can be made from the browser using the service’s VoIP feature. International calls mad...

Now this, is awesome. Sprint and Google have just announced that they have worked together to give practically all Sprint wireless subscribers the ability to start using Google Voice immediately without any effort. It will literally be as simple as entering your number into your Google Voice account; the system will recognize that it’s a Sprint number and ask you if you’d like to use it as your Google Voice number. The best part? Google Voice apps aren’t needed anymore, and this works with p...

Google is taking its sweet time adding new features to Google Voice, but it looks like some big pieces of the puzzle are finally starting to fall into place. Google finished rolling out incoming number portability to all users this past January, and now it looks as though it may soon begin tying in VoIP services. Last week, Gizmo5 users began receiving notification emails saying that the service will soon be shut down. Now, VoIP blog Disruptive Telephony has discovered that VoIP calls can be placed to a Googl...

Now that Google has finally brought incoming number portability to its Google Voice service, we wanted to ask: how many of you have taken advantage of the new feature? It’s a difficult call to make and many people have reached out to us to ask us what our thoughts on it. Since you’re porting your existing number, you’ll need a new number for your actual cell phone and that’s where things can get tricky for some people. Also, many people have early termination fees to consider, so that ...

Palo Alto, California-based start-up SayNow announced on Tuesday that it has been acquired by Google for an undisclosed sum. SayNow’s platform facilitates voice messaging between individuals or groups, and the company provides access to its services through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Android and iPhone applications. The start-up claims to have over 15 million people currently using SayNow apps and services, which include SayNow Phone, SayNow Broadcast, Big Call and Chit Chat. While details surrounding...

Last week we reported that Google had finally begun rolling out support for incoming number ports to its Google Voice service. Lack of the feature, as any Google Voice user will likely attest to, has been a sore spot for Google’s telephony product since the company first acquired GrandCentral in 2007. Today, Google has announced that the new feature is now available to all current Google Voice users. Number portability allows users to transfer their cell phone or landline telephone numbers between servi...

If you’re a Google Voice user and you’re not TechCrunch founder Mike Arrington (who was able to port his number into the service a long time ago), odds are pretty good you’ve prayed for incoming number portability at some point. And for years, your prayers have gone unanswered. Well, no more — Google has officially implemented incoming number portability as of Wednesday evening, and it is in the process of being rolled out to all users. Rejoice! To port your number into your Google Voice ...

In a blog post today, Google announced an update to the iOS version of its official Voice application that supports the iPad and iPod touch. The two most notable feature additions, as defined by Google, are: the ability to use the application on both the iPad and iPod touch to send and receive free text messages and a new feature dubbed Click2Call. As Google explains:While you can’t use your iPod or iPad as a phone, you can use it to initiate Google Voice calls with your phones. We call this feature Clic...

TechCrunch is reporting that popular voice service, Skype, is gearing up for a big cloud-based play. This would presumably include web-based voice-calling, and possibly even video and chat services as well. In addition to the web move, it seems that Skype is starting to focus and set the company’s sights on the enterprise world. With Google Voice now available for Google Apps customers (and some sort of Enterprise-styled Google Voice service possibly coming soon), we’re wondering Skype’s nex...

Microsoft is making good progress in its efforts to woo developers to the new Windows Phone 7 platform, but we hope the company is equally devoted to keeping devs on board once they arrive. As the Redmond giant struggles to become a leader once again in the mobile space, developers and the apps they build are integral to Microsoft’s success. But in a blog post last week, developer Nicholas Yu made some troubling comments. Yu found that the number one feature users are requesting of his app — a Google ...