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Google Offers Phone Calls Via Gmail
If you are a Google Gmail user, you probably know you can do Google chat and even video chat from your Gmail page. But how about making phone calls? Yes, that is possible now as Google has announced a new service that allows user to make phone calls over the Web to landlines or mobile phones.
First it was Google chat within Gmail, followed by video chat. And now, Google has introduced a new service that allows you to make phone calls from Gmail to landlines and mobile phones, which could pose as a direct competitor to Skype.
According to online sources, Gmail has voice and video chat for two years, but for these to work, both parties must be at their computers. Google said the new service would work well for users at locations with poor mobile phone reception or for those making a quick call from their desk.
Calls to the U.S. and Canada will be free for at least the rest of the year and calls to other countries will be billed at very low rates from $0.02 per minute to countries including U.K., France, Germany, China and Japan. Of course, you will need to have a microphone and speakers or headset to work. Google is slowly rolling out the service to all users, so if you don't see this in your Gmail yet, be patient.
You will have $0.10 in your account to make test calls, and you can add credit via Google Checkout.
Source: Official Google Blog, New York Times
