Google Voice for iOS adds nifty new features, but it’s buggy (updated)

Google has released a feature-rich update to its popular Google Voice app for iOS, but unfortunately it also comes with numerous bugs.

The application catches-up the iOS app to where the Google Voice Android app was a month ago. The iOS app adds welcome features like group texting, multi-line text entry, one-touch copy and paste in the dialer and integration with Sprint phones. The Sprint integration is especially good because it lets the company’s new … Continue Reading

1 billion people have officially ignored you using YouMail, yay!

YouMail, a startup that promises to help you screen creeper-calls, announced Thursday that it has answered over one billion phone calls, with 500 million of those calls occurring since September 2010. The company has also received an undisclosed round of funding, which brings the total raised to date to $12.5M.

YouMail estimates that over 50 million people have interacted with a YouMail user and reached 15 million unique callers per month last October. To check … Continue Reading

Secondary Google Voice numbers can now be made permanent for $20

Google on Wednesday announced that users who want to keep a previous Google Voice number permanently will now have the option — for a small fee.

The feature is not a major new offering, but it could help a select number of users who want or need two different Voice numbers. Any user who changed their Google Voice number, ported their number to Google Voice, or merged their number with Sprint used to lose the … Continue Reading

Google Voice integration renders Sprint family plans useless

Sprint subscribers who chose to integrate their service with a Google Voice phone number may discover a higher bill this month caused by overage fees.

The overage is due to a glitch in the integration process treats the Google Voice phone number as if it’s from an outside carrier, according to Google Voice Senior Product Manager Vincent Paquet, who posted the information on the official support forum.

Sprint customers who rely on free mobile-to-mobile minutes, … Continue Reading

Google Voice can act as your only number — on Sprint phones

Google Voice, the search giant’s very useful Internet-calling application, has just removed one large reason some people hesitate to use it.

At least, on Sprint phones.

Google and Sprint said they will soon start offering (they didn’t specify a date) an option to let you use your Sprint mobile phone number as your Google Voice number. In other words, Google Voice no longer requires you to sign up for an extra number in order to … Continue Reading

TwoSixty launches TellFi, a Google Voice for companies

TwoSixty Inc, an online phone management service backed by Y Combinator, announced today that it has launched TellFi.ca — a version of its virtual phone service specifically for Canada.

The phone service is a lot like Google Voice — it gives companies phone numbers that employees and customers can access and manage from anywhere. The company is focusing on keeping the quality of each phone call high in order to compete with voice-over-Internet programs like … Continue Reading

Google Voice tests cellphone number porting for $20

Google is expanding its testing of a long-awaited feature for Google Voice, the ability to port your current mobile number to the service, Engadget reports.

Number porting on Google Voice has been talked about for years now, but Google tells Search Engine Land that it’s only recently gotten over some back-end technical hurdles that will make the porting process easier.

Porting your number costs $20, and it will also end your current cellular service plan … Continue Reading

Finally, the official Google Voice iPhone app hits the App Store

It’s been a long haul for Google, but now iPhone owners can finally download an official Google Voice iPhone app – giving them access to even more Google Voice features than the current web app, although still not as many as Android users enjoy.

We reported in late September that Google was possibly working on the app, spurred on by Apple’s relaxed app development rules announced earlier that month.

Google had submitted a Google Voice … Continue Reading

YouMail's "digital secretary" for voicemail reaches 15M unique monthly callers

YouMail, a startup that provides next-generation voicemail services like visual voicemail, voice-to-text transcription, and custom greetings, announced today that it has reached a new milestone with 15 million unique monthly callers.

That number represents “five percent of the U.S population’s phone system,” the company says. The average YouMail user in the U.S. gets 50 or more calls that they can’t answer — a sign that users also trust the service to accurately deliver their messages. … Continue Reading

Official Google Voice app finally headed to the iPhone?

A few weeks ago, third-party Google Voice apps for the iPhone started getting approved by Apple. Now it appears that we may soon see the official Google Voice app on the iPhone, sources tell TechCrunch.

Apple’s earlier refusal to approve the Google Voice app, which used the phone’s normal voice service for calls but integrated with its address book and other core features, proved contentious, sparking an outcry from app developers and government investigations in … Continue Reading

Google Voice co-founder leaves for Google Ventures to do it all again

Craig Walker, a co-founder of Google Voice developer GrandCentral, has left the company to join Google Ventures as entrepreneur-in-residence and begin working on his next company.

The other co-founder of Google Voice, Vincent Paquet, will take the helm and lead the Google Voice project after Walker’s departure, Google Ventures partner David Krane confirmed to VentureBeat.

“We’re thrilled that Craig Walker will be (Google Venture’s) first EiR — he’s precisely the kind of passionate, talented, and … Continue Reading

DEMO: Touchring lets you make phone calls from social networks

Touchring is one of 70 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Fall 2010 event taking place this week in Silicon Valley. After our selection, the companies pay a fee to present. Our coverage of them remains objective.

More than 500 million people use Facebook to communicate through text, pictures and videos. A startup called Touchring wants to add voice communication to that list, and is unveiling its service to the world today … Continue Reading

T-Mobile hopes for a big splash with new G2 Android phone

It was almost two years ago that I got my hands on a G1, the first cellphone that used Google’s Android operating system. Now, a couple of hundred thousand Android phones are being activated a day.

T-Mobile hopes to reignite some of the excitement from those early days by launching the T-Mobile G2 Android phone later this month. The company just took the wraps off the HTC-built cell phone, which uses the Android 2.2 software … Continue Reading

Gmail users place 1M calls in 24 hours

It looks like Gmail users are already taking advantage of the cheap calling that Google launched yesterday. The company announced via Twitter that there were 1 million calls placed from Gmail in 24 hours.

The feature is particularly attractive if you’re contacting someone in the US or Canada, because those calls are completely free. Google says it’s subsidizing those calls through its international rates, but those are pretty low too — you can call many … Continue Reading

Google's latest (promotional) product: Phone booths

It looks like Google is getting a little old-fashioned to promote its Google Voice service. It is installing telephone booths with the classic red look in airports and universities.

Which airports and libraries? Google said it’s still finalizing the deals, with the goal of installing the booths over the next few months. It sounds like the plan isn’t to make these booths ubiquitous, but rather to pick a few key locations. Passersby should be able … Continue Reading

Google brings free US calls to Gmail

Google announced today that it will allow users to make phone calls directly from Gmail — because, apparently, I don’t spend enough time in Gmail already.

Cnet first broke the news yesterday that Google was working on this feature. It was demonstrated this morning at a press event in Google’s San Francisco office. The interface seems pretty straightforward. After you’ve bought credits to pay for calls, you just hit the “call phone” button and Gmail … Continue Reading

Google Voice opens up to all

After more than a year of being an exclusive invite-only affair, Google today has opened up its Google Voice service to everyone. The news comes after Google began prioritizing college students last month for access to its innovative phone service.

VentureBeat’s Matt Marshall called Google Voice “a killer phone application” in his review of the service. After signing up, users are given a Google Voice phone number that’s intended to last for life. The number … Continue Reading

Google to invite college students to Google Voice first, a wise decision

After more than a year of being an exclusive invite-only affair, Google today has opened up its Google Voice service to everyone. The news comes after Google began prioritizing college students last month for access to its innovative phone service.

VentureBeat’s Matt Marshall called Google Voice “a killer phone application” in his review of the service. After signing up, users are given a Google Voice phone number that’s intended to last for life. The number … Continue Reading

Google Voice finally sneaks onto the iPhone

After more than a year of being an exclusive invite-only affair, Google today has opened up its Google Voice service to everyone. The news comes after Google began prioritizing college students last month for access to its innovative phone service.

VentureBeat’s Matt Marshall called Google Voice “a killer phone application” in his review of the service. After signing up, users are given a Google Voice phone number that’s intended to last for life. The number … Continue Reading