Google Voice Introduces Google Call(Gmail Phone)

Google Voice Introduces Google Call(Gmail Phone) : Google Inc. on Wednesday said its Gmail service will add a feature that allows users to call any phone directly from their computers., with the service available to Americans and Canadians.

Unlike Google’s nearly two-year-old Gmail voice and video chat feature, which gives users an audio and visual experience online, the new calling feature allows users to dial phone numbers. With this move, Google is competing with Skype, which has long dominated the market for Internet phone service.

Google promises  that phone calls will remain free “for at least the rest of the year,” while calls to other countries start at $0.02 per minute. The voice service for Gmail will roll out to users over the next few days. To get started using the service, you will have to install the free “voice and video chat” Web-based service to your Gmail account here.

“Starting today, you can call any phone right from Gmail,” wrote Robin Schriebman, a Google software engineer in a blog post. “We’ve been testing this feature internally, and have found it to be useful in a lot of situations, ranging from making a quick call to a restaurant to placing a call when you’re in an area with bad reception.”

Here’s how it works: First, you’ll need Google’s Voice and Video plug-in. Within Gmail’s “Chat” window, a “Call phone” option will appear. Up pops a little number pad, on which you can dial the phone you’d like to call. Your Google Voice  number, if you have one, will appear as the outbound caller ID, and can be used to receive calls within Gmail. Otherwise, a generic number is shown, Search Engine Land reports.

Google’s new voice service is a direct competitor to Skype, which offers various types of internet-based calling services. Skype offers free computer-to-computer calling, as well as paid services that allow users to call landlines and cellphones. Skype is partly owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Users can call any phone in the US and Canada for free for at least the rest of the year, while Google also promised cheap international calls. Calls to Britain, France, Germany, China, Japan and many other countries will be billed as low as two cents per minute, Google said.