Make calls to fixed-lines and mobile phones using Gmail

In an official Blog post, Google has announced that Gmail users will be able to make “regular” phone calls using the company’s e-mail and chatting service. So far, this service is only available to users in US (surprise, surprise); however, Google have stated their intention of making this service available in other countries too. Local phone calls will obviously be free and international calls made to select countries will cost as low as 2 US cents. After installing the voice and video plug-in, a Gmail user will be able to make and receive voice and video calls locally and internationally.

Between the impressions coming out of the official demo and later followed by independent reviews, we have some idea about the quality and effectiveness of this new service. With the launch of this new service, Google will be in direct competition with current market leader Skype. So, it was inevitable that all reviews drew comparisons between Skype and Google’s offerings. Engadget has reported that the general quality of service offered by Google is better, mainly due to crispier and clearer sound quality. On the flip-side, they observed that Skype handled background noise-cancellation better than Google. On the other hand, a reviewer at CNET found little difference in quality of service, both when it worked smoothly and also when experiencing inherent VoIP issues like voice-jitter.

 

 

 

So far it looks like Google’s advantage over Skype is going to be the same as it always has been — its massive existing user-base and its ability to integrate all major services on a single platform.