Around the Net
Google Voice Desktop App Blow To Skype?
- TechCrunch et al., Thursday, April 8, 2010 2:38 PM
The news follows Google's acquisition of Gizmo5 last November. The service stood out for its ability to make P2P VoIP calls as well as make and receive calls with POTS (normal landlines) and mobile phones. Crucial to Google existing Google Voice product, Gizmo5 provides an endpoint for calls.
"Google Voice, now with a few million users, is still in a private beta of sorts, but it has the potential to greatly disrupt the entire market," writes Softpedia. "For it to succeed, though, it still needs a couple of things, among which is a way to bypass the voice carriers altogether and, to a lesser degree, a desktop client."
Independent sources tell Download Squad: "We're looking at a full, free, VOIP/SMS desktop client ... It's amazing," to which the blog enthuses: "This will unchain Google Voice numbers from physical phones ... This could be the coolest thing to happen to phone calls since Google Voice itself."
According to Download Squad, users of the new service will be able to use their Google number the same way that people use SkypeIn numbers now; they won't need an actual phone; but they will be able to receive any kind of incoming call via desktop. "So if you are Skype, this news can't be good," reasons Marketing Pilgrim. "Of course, if you are Skype and you see Google making a move to become a player in yet another business there are options ... In fact, you are likely to start revving up the law team of 'Dewey, Screwyou, and How' to see how you can most effectively cry monopoly and get the feds involved."
Sources tell TechCrunch that Google started testing the application internally earlier this week, and its broader launch is contingent upon the success of those tests.
