The wait is over! Those of you who haven't been able to get a Google Voice account are in luck. Google has opened the gates and now the web-based Google Voice communications management platform is open to the public.
Google Voice offers a single phone number that can ring on all of a user's phones, voice mail that can be sent to email as sound or text as well as the ability to listen in to a caller's voice message while they are leaving it. The public release has some businesses excited to use the features, although at the moment it would mean adopting new Google Voice phone numbers.
The services was previously invite only like many of Google's test products. With its resent purchase of Gizmo5, we can only hope more VoIP-style features will be added as membership to the service grows.
For more:
- read Google's Voice blog [1]
- see this Google Voice video intro to get started [2]
- read about the business promise of the software [3]
Related articles:
Rumor Mill: Google testing Voice integration in Gmail [4]
Rumor Mill: Google Voice desktop app being tested [5]
Google to release enterprise Voice in 2010 [6]
Links:
[1] http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/google-voice-for-everyone.html
[2] http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/video-intro-google-voice/2010-06-24
[3] http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/199631/google_gives_small_businesses_a_big_voice.html?tk=hp_blg
[4] http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/google-testing-voice-integration-gmail/2010-06-09
[5] http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/rumor-mill-google-voice-desktop-app-being-tested/2010-04-08
[6] http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/google-release-enterprise-voice-2010/2010-02-08
[7] http://www.fierceenterprisecommunications.com/story/google-voice-launch-google-still-low-key-its-ip-comm-strategy/2010-06-24
[8] http://www.fierceenterprisecommunications.com/special-reports/rise-googles-enterprise-empire
[9] http://www.fierceenterprisecommunications.com/story/google-testing-voice-integration-gmail/2010-06-09