NOTE: My bad. Apologies for screwing this up. Google Voice is not a VoIP service on the iPad, but a call-forwarding service. It only works as a VoIP app on the iPhone. I got confused with Line2 from Toktumi, which is what I used to make a call this morning, not Google Voice (see below). My memory is totally shot. I was convinced it was Google Voice, until I got a bunch of emails and comments. Again, apologies for being flaky.
Google just opened up Google Voice to the public, the company just announced. You no longer need an invite to use the free VoIP service.
This is very handy for iPad 3G iPhone users. Your iPad iPhone is now a low-cost VoIP phone that works wherever there’s service. It’s also very handy for adding voice call-management features to Wi-Fi-only devices like the iPad and iPod touch.
Google Voice is a free service that offers free calls to the U.S. and Canada and low-cost international calls (and SMS). The Google Voice app also features several advanced call-handling features. For example, when someone rings your Google Voice number, it will ring multiple lines — home, office, cell — until it finds you. It transcribes voicemails and emails or texts messages to you (very handy, but spotty). There’s also conference calls and Web-based voicemail.
Apple and Google got into a fight over the Google Voice app last year; a scrap that attracted the attention of the FTC. Apple refused to add Google’s Voice app the App Store, saying it replicates core iPhone features and may confuse users. Google responded by making a kickass web app that works great on the iPhone and iPad.
I’ve been using Google Voice for several months, and it works great on the iPad, even over 3G iPhone. I just used it this morning when I was too lazy to get up and find my phone. (I actually used Toktumi’s Line2 app to make the call on my iPad. Apologies for the mistake).
Here’s a quick tour:
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
30 responses to “Google Voice Turns Your iPhone Into Free VoIP Phone”
Thanks for sharing.
You may check out the article below on the Best Free Call Apps for iPhone and iPod Touch. cheers.
http://www.quertime.com/articl…
would google voice in the caribbean
Freephoo seems to be the voip app for me. I started making calls using this app and I’m so happy it works well. I downloaded it for free from http://www.freephoo.com and installed for free. Calls between freephoo users are absolutely free and unlimited. whats more you can even call up any land or mobile numbers from your iPad.
I recently replaced my AT&T cell plan with Google Voice, a Verizon 4G LTE MiFi hotspot, and Talkatone. I wrote an article about it on my blog.
http://sebetich.com/blog/
I found the app i was looking for. Freephoo has all the qualities of a voip app i expect. Its quick, simple and easy to operate. In no time my iPad turns to a phone using this app. It feels great making calls to all my dear ones and whats more its free. Do try it once at http://www.freephoo.com
My iPad comes alive with the help of a cool voip app called Freephoo. I feel very happy, free while making calls using this app coz it offers free calls to users. thats not all… Freephoo works on WiFi+ 3G, gets installed for free, no disturbance during call, voice is clear. Check out their Premium pack for international calls at http://www.freephoo.com
Google Voice does NOT make VOIP calls from iPhones. It just acts as a front-end to your regular iPhone caller and consumes minutes.
I just installed it and confirmed it. I was quite disappointed since I have an unlimited data plan on my business cell but not for voice calls. So I have to avoid personal calls on it. I was hoping that I could use Google voice to make personal calls without any cost to my employer. And carrying 2 phones is a royal nuisance.
On the good news side, there are noises about Google adding a VOIP option to Google Voice sometime in the near future.
If you add a third-party SIP service to the mix, you can make VoIP calls from your iPhone. I set this up using Fring, Google Voice, SipGate, and the GV mobile site.
Instructions here: http://www.sneakyreader.com/ho…