Will Gmail Phone Call Become Skype Killer?
Google Gmail announced that now you can call landline and mobile phone numbers using Gmail voice and video chat. Yes, Gmail is now VOIP service provider!
Calls to the U.S. and Canada will be FREE for at least the rest of the year 2010. Calls to other countries will be billed at a very low rates, starting from USD$0.02/minute.
To dial a phone number, you click on the “Call phone” menu in the Gmail sidebar chat list and dial a number or enter a contact’s name. Google call phone works with your Google Voice phone number, if you have one.
Google phone call currently only available for U.S. based Gmail users. You will need to install the Google voice and video plugin. Google Apps users need to wait a little bit longer.
Outside US? Pray harder so that Gmail make it available to you soon.
Skype killer wannabe?
I sensed that Google Gmail wants to be the next Skype, the current largest Internet telephony provider. Gmail call phone rates are mostly, if not all, cheaper than Skype’s rates.
For example, calling Malysia mobile number is 4 cents/minute using Gmail phone call, but Skype will charge 6.7cent + connection fee.
Plus, Gmail has the competitive registered users. According to BBC, there are 400 million registered Gmail users (Feb 2010). Skype have 560 million users at end of 2009, it should have over 600 million users by now.
It is also very convenient that you can make a call straight from your email inbox (Gmail or Google Apps).
If Gmail call phone wants to kill Skype, then Google needs to have native client for desktop and mobile devices, either official developed or 3rd party software.
Skype has done a great job in cross platform support. They have official Skype client for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, even on TV!
Do you agree?
Certainly Google is making headway in the telephony sector by their latest move. I gather that they have stocks of dark fibre to build internet infrastructure in the UK. Certainly they are expending from their search engine core business. They still have have a long way to go to beat Skype as their business model for the rest of the world is still not clear. There is also this worry if they will use their voice recognition algorithm to listen in to our conversation, not really to spy on us but to detect which ad to push to us user.
In the meantime, I’ll be praying that they will scale up the service to us. Certainly interesting times ahead.
gmail call is already in my email box! gonna try it today!
Yea
Hopefully google wouldn’t monopolize the market, a competition is always healthy to consumers…we can get it cheaper..
Very nice, I can call all my friends in Canada for free now and to Msia too.
Cheap at 2ct/mins plus video.
It will kill Iphone facetime too
this is really an awesome addon to gmail functionalilty.. hope to see it in my gmail accounts already so I could try calling all my friends abroad. Great News!
Gmail Phone Calls Are All About Facebook, Not Skype
Read More http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/08/gmail-phone-calls-facebook-skyp/#ixzz0y6Vmd9hS
//Outside US? Pray harder so that Gmail make it available to you soon.//
If you set Gmail’s language to English (US), you should see the “Call phone” option in the chat roster in all countries.
http://blogs.elangovanr.com/post/Dont-click-Upgrade-your-account-Button-on-Gmails-Call-phone.aspx
We just need to wait ..after that time will tell whether it can kill skype or not
I’ve tried it myself, it’s very clear.. but there is a lagging time when the other party pick up the phone.
i am waiting for it when it will come and we can use ti directly rather than doenloading a software..please make it fast in india also..waiting
but it does work in Malaysia, I manage to use to call Malaysia house and mobile numbers. But question is how to use it on iphone