Google Voice Comes To The UK – Landline and Mobile Calls
Finally the UK and 38 other countries can now benefit from the convenience of VOIP calls to landlines and mobile phones via Google voice…this is a distinctly different service than Google chat which also has VOIP and webcam support.
Should mobile operators worry?
With Google owning an operating system and a VOIP facility, it would not take a genius to see a little deeper into a crystal ball and predict that all a user may need in the near future is an internet connection and a smartphone with an ability to multi-task to be able to have an on-demand phone service via the internet and VOIP.
Would this kill mobile phone operators? Well potentially yes, if they did not offer a convenient and affordable data service. Money made from per minute calls have been diminishing for a long time, so flat rate fees seem to be the way forward, the likelihood is they would be the winners of this kind of service unless Google were to offer a data service also, though this would have competition legislation and monopolies issues written all over it, not being a lawyer though I could not rule it out.
Missing functionality:
There seems to be some functions missing from the US version as similar to Skype you are able to have your very own number in the US version. Making it a serious replacement for a landline.
Calling rates:
So in line with Skype and for me much more convenient as I use Gmail as my email provider.
Anthony Munns