Make phone calls from Gmail

[Cardiac]

For those of you with Gmail and a Google Voice number, you can make calls right from your computer, as long as you have a microphone. My laptop has a mic built in, and I called the wife today and she said it sounded fine. Free calls to all 50 states and cheap international rates too, I think. You do need a broadband connection. Dial right from your Gmail page...

Bob

[dollymadison]

I have posted a couple of articles in another thread that started out as a question of forwarding PP to Google Voice. I tried the calls on my laptop and my husbands cell phone and they did great. I will repost the articles in this thread.

[Kitty]

How long is voice calling going to go before it just becomes completely free? Seriously.. how long can Unlimited Plans really get? It's such a commodity now, everything is racing to the bottom on pricing. 10 years from now is going to be very very interesting.

Kitty

[FullThrottle]

It depends at what point they stop making money.

I had this discussion at a Entertainment message board today about dvd sales. Are the stores willing to take a loss anymore? Year or two ago stores had dvds at bargain prices (taking a loss) just to get you into the store in hopes you buy big ticket items. Since most people are watching their wallets stores are not doing bargin (taking a loss) anymore. They know most people will only come to buy that dvd and leave. They won't be making those impulse big ticket purchases. So now they cater to the market they know. They know the price point and what they can sell. So rather then selling 100 copies, they are settling for only selling 50 at the higher price.

So what is the price point for cell phone companies to still turn a profit.

[DROID]

How long is voice calling going to go before it just becomes completely free? Seriously.. how long can Unlimited Plans really get? It's such a commodity now, everything is racing to the bottom on pricing. 10 years from now is going to be very very interesting.

Kitty
well for some people its already free

google voice + Sip means free incoming and outgoing for those who and internet access

[Cardiac]

Fullthrottle, I think that Netflix cut into that market pretty heavily. We do the $9.99 plan, and we have a distribution center about 40 miles from us. I send a DVD back to them on Monday, and I have the next one on Wednesday. Then we also can stream about 1/2 of their movies at any time. My boys watch tons of movies on their XBOX360, as it and their Wii are set up for Netflix.....

rrb, how do you get Google Voice to call my landline, then connect with another number? (I am old - type slowly).... ;)

Bob

[dollymadison]

We use redbox. We had netflix for 2 years and we finally just ran out of movies to rent! So now we just use redbox as the new movies come out.

As far as Google Voice, if someone else calls your landline, you can have it forwarded to Google Voice which you can answer from your computer, or they can leave a voicemail. You can have voicemail text alerts sent to your cellular phone. Its pretty neat.

[Micallen]

I can't get a local-local number with GV so I haven't done anything with it myself. I can get one for the next town over - it's not L.D. but still, it's not my city. And now that I've accepted that #, if I ever do get a local #, I have to pay for it.

[groze]

Free calls to all 50 states and cheap international rates too, I think. You do need a broadband connection. Dial right from your Gmail page...

Bob

You are correct, it does not work very well with dial-up. It breaks up. I called the local weather line.

[rrb]

rrb, how do you get Google Voice to call my landline, then connect with another number? (I am old - type slowly).... ;)
Bob
Perform these six (6) instructions verrryy slooolyy and check your work ;-) :

1. Log in to Google Voice.
2. Click the Call button on the top left corner of the page.
3. Enter the phone number you want to call in the "Number to Call" box.
4. Tell Google Voice to call "Home" in the "Phone to Call With" box* (use the drop down menu, assuming you have more than one phone choice).
5. Click the "Connect" button.
6. Answer your landline phone, which just started ringing.

GV will then dial the number you entered as the "Number to Call."

*You have previously set up Home in the Google Voice settings page as your landline, right? You can set separate numbers for Work, Cell, Personal, or any name you want.

[groze]

I can't get a local-local number with GV so I haven't done anything with it myself. I can get one for the next town over - it's not L.D. but still, it's not my city. And now that I've accepted that #, if I ever do get a local #, I have to pay for it.

I just noticed what you said. You said you got a number in the next town but it is not long distance. So, you do have a local number. People calling from a landline in your town to that number will be a local call.

[jclendineng]

Honestly I'm still not satisfied with Google voice. I tried it, and they seem to have a bit of work to do. Kudos though to them for trying...I just thought it wasn't reliable enough...any thoughts? How do you all like it?

[DROID]

Honestly I'm still not satisfied with Google voice. I tried it, and they seem to have a bit of work to do. Kudos though to them for trying...I just thought it wasn't reliable enough...any thoughts? How do you all like it?

Define not reliable enough.

google voice works great for me, the only thing that that i look like a crazy person when both my cell phones my skype and my gmail ring at the exact same time every time a phone call comes in

[pdxgirl]

I have been using Skype for a while on a Nokia 5800. It is not free but very inexpensive on monthly rate. Of course, you have to have internet but where ever I go it connects easily... everyone says it sounds great. I can't use the Google Voice application as it doesn't seem to work on my phone. I keep my Page Plus phone for times away from internet connections and emergency. I am still amazed at how much people are paying for cell phone service from the Big Guys. I think Google Voice will charge eventually. Wondering if anyone has used Skype or even GoogleV on a Page Plus phone with internet??? It would be nice to have one phone using internet VOIP and Page Plus.

[chapchap70]

Google has waaay too much info stored on their computers about people. I'm not subscribing to GoogleVoice even if it is free. They'll figure out how to use all the info we exchange for the "freebies".

[pdxgirl]

Yeah, sorry to say, but nothing ever is really free... especially when it is too good to be true. I would always rather pay something.

[tmason68]

I have been using Skype for a while on a Nokia 5800. It is not free but very inexpensive on monthly rate. Of course, you have to have internet but where ever I go it connects easily... everyone says it sounds great. I can't use the Google Voice application as it doesn't seem to work on my phone. I keep my Page Plus phone for times away from internet connections and emergency. I am still amazed at how much people are paying for cell phone service from the Big Guys. I think Google Voice will charge eventually. Wondering if anyone has used Skype or even GoogleV on a Page Plus phone with internet??? It would be nice to have one phone using internet VOIP and Page Plus.

I am in the process of trying to cut over to Google voice on my phone because I am around WIFI virtually all the time. My strategy is to try to limit my voice minutes significantly by having my GV # ring on my home or work phone depending on a time schedule. I am going to use my google voice # for texting, and pretty much only text when I am around WIFI. Still trying to figure the whole thing out... Eventually, if it works, I will switch over to Pay As You Go and try to stretch my voice minutes. Not sure if there are any VOIP solutions that I could use for Voice when I am around WIFI. I know that when I call out with my GV # it ticks minutes of my PP account.

[pdxgirl]

tmason....If you have a WIFI phone have you tried to download the GV application to your phone? If you can do this it should work to make free calls over the internet just like you can do on your computer. My Nokia (GSM) is not a Verizon phone, but if you have a Verizon cell with PP and WIFI and can download the application, you should be able to make free calls using your GV account. I find GV a little more complicated than Skype at this point and I can't seem to use it on my WIFI phone, but maybe you have a phone that it will work with. It would be great to have one phone working with PP and WIFI (GV or Skype).

[tmason68]

Yes I do have a WIFI phone (an Android that says GOOGLE on it no less), but GV still burns minutes from my cell phone. That's just the way it works. Texting is free...but there is a hitch. You have to go into the GV app and check for text messages, it does not support push yet. So it's not really worth it for me. Financially it was going to be close anyway based on my usage and knowing that I would have to pay for voice minutes along the way. There were too many inconveniences doing it that way, so I am scrapping it and sticking with my 1200 TNT plan.

[azcactus]

This is really cool stuff. I tried the Google "Call Me" feature on one of my site's, but it didn't work out too well. I do use Google Voice though and like that I can access all my voicemails by email, and not worry about deleting them because they are always backed up.