Hands-On: The Official Google Voice App for Android
Today's Best Tech Deals
Picked by PCWorld's Editors
Top Deals On Great Products
Picked by Techconnect's Editors
The Android Google Voice app doesn't replace the default Android dialer application; instead it allows the default dialer application to route all outgoing calls through Google Voice. The official app dials out via Google Voice both more quickly and transparently than the third-party Google Voice Android app "GV" without an intermediate audible call.
The voicemail features work as expected: Audio plays back either via the handset or its external speaker. The text transcription is clear and simple, with some added bonuses. For example, while using the text view and audio playback simultaneously, the playback position is indicated by highlighting the current word. If you touch a word, playback will jump to that point. Like many communication applications on Android, Google Voice receives notifications for voicemail and SMS automatically, even when the app is not active. But unlike carrier-provided notifications, the application pulls notifications from the Google Voice Web service, so you'll need constant data coverage.
On Android, Google Voice logs into the service via stored credentials instead of requiring the user to re-input their password via a third-party app and integrates with the default contact list (assuming a user's contacts are managed via Google Contacts).
I can see many people using the Google Voice application to use their Google Voice-provided phone number full-time. Integration is simple enough, and with most handsets you can even set Google Voice as the voicemail recipient for your carrier-provided mobile number. Google announced availability on their mobile blog for both Android and BlackBerry today; an app for the iPhone should follow soon.
If you're not a heavy SMS user and don't mind the loss of MMS messaging, the Google Voice Android application is a great compliment to the already feature-packed Google Voice service.
Coupon Codes
-
eBay Coupon
$5 eBay coupon for any order
-
Overstock Coupon
15% off Exclusive sign up with Overstock coupon
-
Walmart Promo Codes
Save up to 70% on new rollbacks at Walmart's winter sale
-
Target Promo Code
Target promo code - Save 40% online
-
JCPenney Coupon
Additional 30% off every single thing with JCPenney coupon code
-
QVC Promo Code
$10 off first purchase - QVC promo code