Google VoIP goes live in your Gmail

After a little mix of rumor and denial earlier this week, Google has made the launch of their Google Voice Calls live. CNET, earlier this week, had reported spotting some testing being done by Google in their Gmail inbox which the Internet search company denied. The denials were of course just a way to prolong the announcement they were already planning.

In typical Google fashion, the new call feature that is embedded with GMail for Google Voice users was announced on the Google Voice Blog with an accompanying silly video to explain the service. The video begins with cavemen throwing rocks at each other as an earlier form of communication and chronicles through the centuries the various advances in telephony finally culminating in an office worker using Gmail to call their friend and interrupt their vacation on the beach. (Wait, is this progress? Perhaps the worker should have been using Gmail calls to ask for a vacation or something rather than show that the service will be integral in ending all future beach relaxation! Poor marketing choice!)

The new call service will allow users to take calls to their Google Voice number right from their Gmail inbox or even opt to listen to the Voicemail as it's left. A new link to 'Call Phone' is available with a pop-up number pad where users can type a phone number or the name of a person in their contacts. The calls to the U.S. and Canada are free at least until the end of the year with calls overseas being offered at a competitive VoIP call rate.

The service is supposed to be rolled out to all Gmail users over the next couple days so look for it in your chat box even if you are not a Google Voice user.

For more:
- read the CNET coverage
- read the Google Voice blog
- check out the GMail calls video

Related news:
Frost & Sullivan: Google moving into UCC
The Rise of Google's Enterprise Empire
Google Voice: Now for everyone
Rumor Mill: Google testing Voice integration in Gmail