Google Develops its VoIP Presence with Free Calls to US Gmail Users

On Wednesday Google unveiled its new VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls offering, Google Voice, via their current Gmail messaging service. In a move which enables Google to compete with more established internet telephony providers, the search engine company will hope to vie against the continued success of Skype, who recently filed for a $100 million flotation on the US stock market.

Though the service is currently exclusive to US users, some in the UK have discovered an ability to make free calls to the United States through some technical oversight on Google's part. The calls are expected to remain cost-free at least until the end of this year within the USA and Canada, with international calls incurring small charges dependent on the location of the recipient. The costs charged by Google for international calling are hoped to fund the free calls made within the USA and Canada.

With the continued success of the Skype brand, whose 560 million members narrowly surpasses those of Facebook, it will be difficult for Google to overcome the dominance of the industry leaders. Senior writer with CNET.com Tom Krazit commented on the Skype obstacle in a BBC News interview. He explained that:

"Skype is a well known company in this place and they are almost like a verb in the internet calling world in the way Google is with search. You Skype someone. So I think there is some inertia there to get over and I am interested to see how Gmail users respond,"

Currently, there are over 1.4 million individuals signed up to the Google Voice application, however, with the presumable roll-out of the facility on a global scale, it is likely that this number will undergo a drastic increase in the coming months.

The latest offering from Google boasts a plethora of innovative features aimed at the reinvention of telephony. Some of the more interesting applications include the ability to call multiple numbers attributed to one person simultaneously, access automated textual transcripts of voice-mail messages, and receive SMS messages via one's e-mail.

Google claim that the aim of their latest venture is the enhancement of the telephony experience, insisting that “there are still things that don't quite work the way they should.”

To further promote the usage of their new product, Google plans to install red telephone booths in various university campuses and airports from which people are able to experience the newfangled means of telecommunication. This expansion of the search engine goliath is ominous of a new era of Google powered communication.

Search, e-mail, mobile, television (the arrival of Google TV is imminent), and now international telecommunication are all falling under the auspices of the most popular website on the globe, with the social shift towards the reliance on Google for increasing levels of information and communication showing no signs of slowing.