The days of waiting for an invite to the coveted land of Google Voice are now over! This VOIP service offered by Google is now available to everyone. To take advantage of everything Google Voice has to offer, visit voice.goole.com, create an account and download the Blackberry app at m.google.com/voice from your Blackberry.
Although Google Voice for BlackBerry isn’t as comprehensive as I’d like it to be, it’ll definitely suffice. Enjoy!
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eVoice yesterday announced that they have released a free BlackBerry app that makes it easier for eVoice subscribers to manage their virtual phone number services while on the go. For those of you not familiar with eVoice, think of it as a business class Google Voice like service with a monthly fee.
eVoice answers your calls with a professionally recorded greeting and routes them to any employee or location. It also transcribes your voicemail to text allowing it to be sent to you via email or SMS.
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In an effort to help U.S. based families reach relatives in Haiti, Google has made Google Voice calls to Haiti free for the next two weeks.
Additionally, Google has created a Google Crisis Response page from which you can donate directly to to unicef or Care via Google Check Out. They have also listed the organizations accepting SMS donations.
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Google Voice for BlackBerry version 0.1.5 is available for download… again. I don’t think that we even mentioned it the first time that it was released because by the time we found out about it, it had already been recalled.
As usual, Google supplied no release or change notes, so, other then telling you that I had to reboot after installing Google Voice 0.1.5, I am not quite sure what the improvements are. Google definitely didn’t pretty up Google Voice for BlackBerry so I still think that there is a real opportunity for a third party developer to release a Google Voice client that could become insanely popular.
As plain a BlackBerry application as Google Voice 0.1.5 is, I highly recommend that every BlackBerry user with a Google Voice account download and install it. If you don’t have a Google Voice account, sign up for one.
Google Voice 0.1.5 OTA Download Link: http://m.google.com/voice
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As you read the title of this post you may be thinking, “But, isn’t there already a Google Voice client for the BlackBerry”, and, you would be correct. Google released both Google Voice for BlackBerry and Android just over a month ago.
The Google Voice for BlackBerry application works and does what it is supposed to do, however, there are no bells and whistles, and, judging by the polish that most other Google Apps for BlackBerry have, one could reasonably assume that Google purposely made the official Google Voice for BlackBerry app as drab as humanly possible while still maintaining what little functionality they did include.
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I knew that this wouldn’t be the last that we heard of the Apple ban against Google Voice apps on the iPhone. The Federal Communications Commission has launched an official inquiry as to not only why Apple rejected the official Google Voice app for the iPhone, but why they kicked off every other third party GV app for the iPhone as well.
The FCC sent out letters to Apple, AT&T, and Google, and, to make a long story short, they asked Apple why they did what hey did and if AT&T had anything to do with it. They asked AT&T pretty much the same thing as they asked Apple and they also wanted to know if AT&T get to dictate what applications Apple can put on the iPhone. They asked Google if they knew why Apple rejected Google Voice.
AT&T has already responded publicly and they are pretty much allowing Apple to fall on their own sword.
AT&T does not manage or approve applications for the App Store. We have received the letter and will, of course, respond to it.
Customers can use any compatible GSM phone on our network, not just the ones we’ve approved and sell. And they also can use apps we don’t approve. We don’t approve iPhone applications.
I am sure that there will be much more to come.
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When we first heard that Apple was pulling third party Google Voice applications for the AppStore, we didn’t think that the ban would apply to the official Google Voice App created by Google. As it turns out, Apple and AT&T are banning Google Voice period.
A Google representative told this to TechCrunch:
We work hard to bring Google applications to a number of mobile platforms, including the iPhone. Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple App Store. We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users — for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.
To make a long story short, Google Voice gives SMS to users for free, something AT&T, and all the carriers, quite frankly, have been over charging customers for, for years. A lot of iPhone users are questioning why BlackBerry users on AT&T still get to have the Google Voice App for BlackBerry. I am going to go out on a limb and assume that this is because BlackBerry devices require a special type of data plan, BIS or BES, both which generally include unlimited SMS. Seeing how my previous assumption was completely untrue, I have no clue why Apple is anti GV.
I am sure that this is not the last that we will be hearing of this story…
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I just read a bit of news that will make a lot of iPhone users unhappy. Apple has decided to pull all third party Google Voice clients, err, ugm, GV Mobile and VoiceCentral from the AppStore. We know that there is an official Google Voice client coming for the iPhone. Clients for Android and BlackBerry devices have already been released. We still, however, aren’t quite sure why Apple would pull third party GV clients regardless of if an official GV client is coming out or not.
[Source]
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According to the official Google Voice Twitter account, Google Voice for BlackBerry and Android devices will be available this morning, July 15th. There was no word on when apps for the Palm Pre and iPhone would be available.
We have yet to see either app in action, however according to other reports the one for Android is going to be more full featured as compared to the BlackBerry version. That said, both apps will allow the user to make as well as receive calls from their Google Voice number as opposed to their cell number. Additionally, users on either Android or the BlackBerry will also be able to send and receive text messages, check voicemail and view their call history.
Android users will be able to download Google Voice from the Android Market. Google Voice for BlackBerry will be available via Google’s website as it will not be listed on App World.
[Via Gadgetell]
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