Google Voice open for everyone (In the US) | Hacker News Reader

Google Voice open for everyone (In the US)

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109 pointsyanw69 comments

Getting everyone to use my GV number is really paying off these days.

I don't pay any carrier anything for SMS service. I use Google Voice, generally via my gmail inbox, for all SMS>

Then my iPad is running a soft phone, configured with Gizmo5 SIP credentials. So at home, calls to my Google Voice number ring both my iPad and iPhone. I'm using the jailbreak `backgrounder` app now, but iOS4 will offer a sanctioned solution.

This is my mashup for shitty AT&T cell service, fast cable modem, no land-line, and nice and shiny but power efficient Apple hardware.

When you write "generally via my gmail inbox, for all SMS" do you mean it's all email based, or is there a magical Google Voice/Gmail integration I'm not aware of?

Not exactly sure how he has it set up, but in Settings -> Labs there is a Google Voice player gadget and two SMS in Chat gadgets.

SMS to Email: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka3T0RXwIbw

I use this and on the whole it's very reliable, however sometimes messages seem to get lost. Maybe if they're too long, it's not 100% clear to me.

You just go to GV settings and check forward all SMS to gmail. From there on all your SMSs go to your Gmail account for you to read and reply. I have Boxcar which notifies me of a new SMS via a pop up in which I then go to the iPhone's mail client(configured it to work with my gmail) to respond to the SMS.

although you can reply to a sms from gmail, there is still no way to initiate a sms converstaion directly from gmail.

There is, I have plenty of saved Joe Schmoe (SMS) email addresses in my address book now. Writing a fresh email to this address sends a txt.

again, that person had to have text-ed you for you to be able to reply.

Yes there is.

Which soft phone app do you recommend for use on the iPad?

Whistle for iPad is good and free. It just has a walgreens advertisement in the middle of the screen.

Acrobits Softphone is quite nice too, for $6.99 I think. It offers tons of official support for lots of SIP providers, and push notifications for incoming calls. Though I've found push to be worthless for actually receiving a call in time.

Then there's Siphon in Cydia but I haven't really used that.

I am definitely seeing GV joining the playing field of these carrier companies. I can't wait.

Just forwarded all of my text messages to GV. Sweet!

The combination of a Nexus One <-> SIPDroid <-> PBXes.org <-> SipSorcery <-> Gizmo5 <-> Google Voice is a complex one but pretty damn amazing. As long as I have a half decent wifi or 3g (or sometimes GPRS) connection, I can make and receive calls for free to and from the US wherever I'm at, worldwide. Pretty sweet.

You could cut out the middle pieces and use Guava: http://gizmo5.com/guava.html?loc=guava

Guava looks cool, but seems to () cost you outgoing call fees in Gizmo5. SipSorcery allows you to configure the routings back through Google Voice so your outbound is free in the domestic US as well as inbound.

http://androinica.com/2009/07/24/android-google-voice-guava-...

I read that Guava is a fork or a simple copy of Sipdroid, which probably explains why Gizmo was ashamed to market it.

Do you know of a good guide for setting up all of this? I see Gizmo5 is not accepting new customers, but perhaps there is some other free SIP provider that will let me cut my land line.

This was the best guide I found. It's a bit verbose but covers all the key parts you need.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Ae8glDUXDsh9ZGR2eG43cjRfMz...

There are definitely alternates to Gizmo5 as well, but none integrate with Google Voice now unfortunately. You can find some very cheap however.

What are PBXes and SipSocery for?

A SIP client can talk to Gizmo directly, the catch is a 3 minute limit on call out. But initiating the call from GV, where it calls into your Gizmo # then connects to the other number, works like a charm.

I hate not being included in "everyone".

(Google Voice is not available in your country.)

I'm in France and was able to sign up. You just need access to a US phone number for a few minutes, and there are many ways you can get one. One is to signup for 3jam for one month, another is to get a SkypeIn number. It's probably possible with Twilio as well.

That having been said, you don't get as much use out of it as if you lived in the US. But I use it for free unlimited SMS (incoming and outgoing) to my friends in the US, and for voicemail with an American number .

Are you able to forward to your French number(s)?

No, I can just use SMS and voicemail. It is really nice to have these two features, though, because it makes it super easy to communicate with people in the US for free.

If you want a Google-voice like service that works in Europe, then try 3jam (although it's not free).

wow, didn't know all you need is a number!?

when I'll get the US number, what should I do next?

Use a US-based proxy to sign up (to get past the geolocation) and give them the US number when they ask for your cell number. Then you'll get your own US number from GV and can drop the other one. You also won't need to use a proxy after signup. After that, you can use it for free US-based SMS and voicemail.

Well, the US proxy thing I was contemplating about myself. The OP seems to imply that all you need is US phone number, no proxy or anything.

(I'm the OP) Yes, but I also needed a US number to get started. The reason I didn't mention a proxy is because that's super easy, and I figured it was too obvious to mention (although I should have said that you only need to use the proxy for about 5 minutes while signing up). Getting a US number to get started is the hard(er) part.

How do you jump the enter-digit verification via 3jam? Tried linking 3jam to my Skype account, to no avail; do you forward it to your mobile phone?

Yes. With 3jam you can forward to your (European) mobile, although there's a per-minute charge (Of course if all you're using it for is GV signup, then it shouldn't be much - 1 or 2 minutes of talk time).

I wish they supported number porting - that's the only thing preventing me from completely switching to it.

They do, but not for all features:

http://googlevoiceblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/google-voice-wit...

That's not true number porting, just auto-forwarding. It's like changing the email header on your email to say it originates elsewhere (and changing the reply-to). In the end, dialing in directly to your old PSTN number and having it go straight to Google isn't supported (yet).

Apparently Michael Arrington was able to have his number ported, it's probably just a PITA to automate currently.

The best thing about Google Voice is Gizmo SIP support. It makes Google Voice almost useful. I say "almost" because Google Voice carefully limits the user's ability to make pure VoIP calls (to protect the wireless carriers). For example, the Google Voice app for Android requires a cell signal to place calls.

Hm, I'm not sure they're trying to protect the wireless carriers. When an Android device makes a Google Voice call, it works the same way any call would, except that it dials the Google Voice number first, which then connects you to whomever you're dialing. The call is never routed over the Internet.

"works the same way any call would" is the problem. The Google Voice app could easily work better. Why doesn't it?

You do realize that it's possible to initiate a call through the Google Voice website, which then rings a soft-client (Gizmo or Sipdroid)? This scenario obviates the need for a phone line or a wireless voice plan. Google and the carriers are not morons. The decision to limit the Google Voice Android app was intentional.

A computer does not need to have a voice plan to browse the Google Voice website and initiate a Google Voice call. The official Google Voice Andorid app, however, does require a voice plan to initiate the call. It's an artificial restriction. 3rd party Google Voice dialers on the Android Market, including Evan Charlton's unofficial "GV" app, are able to place GV calls from an Android device without voice service, presumably by interacting with an undocumented API or via http requests to the Google Voice web site.

Blocking this feature is an example of how Google bent over for the wireless carriers at the expense of their users and contradicts Google's position on good/evil. Curious how it can be spun in any other way..

I disagree that it's evil. If you're a company doing business with other big, powerful companies (telcos), you can't just attack their business model and expect to keep doing business with them unless you're in a really strong position. Say Google removed this restriction, and AT&T et al just stopped supporting Android phones due to some unspecified "technical issue". Then where are we?

It's undesirable, definitely. Evil, I don't think so. Evil, IMO, is if Google can remove the restrictions, and doesn't.

Oh, I see. A decision that is motivated by convenience, i.e., business and profit, is not evil. Thanks for this insight into the Google newspeak

No one is forcing Google to impose the restriction. They have free will. Google already blocked new account creation in Gizmo5 (one of their small acts of goodness) so very few users could ever make use of this scenario, in any case. So the restriction is unnecessary and overkill.

Google's decision means that my android device can't place a Google Voice call from my house which has no cell phone reception. Thanks Google, for wrapping the AT&T user experience in your colorful world-changing logo.

A decision that inconveniences you isn't necessarily evil. I agree it's unnecessary.

Hence SIPSorcery and the related stack, which do let you take advantage to call over 3G/GPRS or Wifi

SIPSorcery looks useful, based on what i've pieced together so far. The web site could use a little less (or more) emphasis on the Silverlight UI (depending on the vision for the project). edit: i need to read the sipsorcery docs. it's not clear to me how sipsorcery helps in placing the call from a wifi-only android device, for example.

I just played around with this last night, and it seems like SipSorcery, through the Ruby dial plans, have hacked up a way to make the sip call appear to come from your GV number.

It works for me (though I used Sipgate since you can't sign up for gizmo5 anymore). The only problem I had was that when people call my GV number, the Caller ID when sipdroid rings says that it's from my own Sipgate number, which the original number displayed in brackets. (And perhaps that when you have both a sim number and the sipdroid one, both the normal phone app and sipdroid rings at the same time, so you have to make sure you answer the right way...)

It would be nice if they would release an api now. It is one of the only products that doesn't have one.

There sort of is one, it's just not documented and not as complete as it should be. But besides for that it's great :)

Here's a python library http://code.google.com/p/pygooglevoice/

And here's a post by the buy who wrote the Google Voice Firefox extension somewhat documenting it: http://posttopic.com/topic/google-voice-add-on-development (it's the first comment in that thread)

Same here (from Canada) : Thanks for visiting Google Voice. We're not yet open for users outside the US.

Guess they should specify it in their communication.

I know that the availability as a free service more or less depends on free local calls, which is probably why it's not available outside the US.

Still. Voicemail and call routing alone would be something i'm willing to pay for. If I had a wish, it would be for-pay google voice in Switzerland :-)

* everyone = US users

is there a list of numbers somewhere that is still blocked by Google Voice?

Everyone in the United States only :(

Since using Google Voice to create a phone number to track call responses or do some A/B testing for call response on a specific campaign is tough to pull off (You can only forward calls from a single Google voice number per line) What would be a suitable alternative?

Twilio (I work there)

Cloudvox (I used to work there)

http://cloudvox.com/

Kall8 (complex routing rules available) or ifByPhone (ditto + API) Twilio (all about API)

ifbyphone.com can do the trick. We have call tracking numbers (so you can put one unique number on each ad) that work with online or offline ad campaigns, then real-time reports showing how many calls you get on each ad.

For a case study, check this out: http://www.widerfunnel.com/about/media/ifbyphone-and-widerfu...

When I sent an SMS to a GV number, and it was forwarded to their iPhone, they saw a number other than mine as the sender. Is this an inherent limitation of the service?

Yes, but it's not a limitation. The "from" number is re-written so that the reply will go back through the Google Voice infrastructure. In this manner, text messages are free, at least for the Google Voice user who is receiving the message.

I've used google voice for over 3 months, and have switched away from it.

My main goal was to replace my voicemail. I never check it (currently have 10 messages). Most of them are hang-up messages from my mom or family member, so I mostly ignore them. I almost never get useful voicemail. So. Google voice to the rescue.

First apparent problem (not so bad). The speach to text is horrible. Maybe 40% of the voicemail was correctly transcribed. maybe less. But never really useful. Ever. I only got the gist of if I should or should not listen to the voicemail, which really is good enough for me because it solved my voicemail problem.

Second hidden problem (maaaaaaaajor, the reason I quit): Calls are not instantly forwarded. This might sound like I am picky, but check this out: If for 3 out of 4 rings the call is being forwarded, I only realize someone is calling when they hang up. (this feature was necessary so that people calling my regular cell would immediately get my google voice voicemail vs my regular voicemail). Actually often the forwarding would be so slow that the person already got to voicemail by the time my cellphone rang. People mostly thought my cell was off.

So overall until their speeds SIGNIFICANTLY increase I can't use gv. And I am not even doing this as a business. So their little graph of how google voice revolutionizes telephony is kinda bs. Wait 5 years and the pudding will tell.

What is nice is if I DONT use my gv number, then I can switch away from it without problem. If people start only calling my gv phone number I will be trapped in the crappiness of google voice. I am glad they let me use my regular phone number vs gv phone number.

Google Voice transcription is a (really bad) toy. If you hate checking voice mail but want transcription that's immediate and even better than deciphering audio yourself, try http://www.phonetag.com/

PhoneTag is more accurate than our most human receptionists.

Agreed on the lag. I had to change cell phone voice mail to delay 30 seconds before answering or calls were going to GV voicemail for "no answer" before I could get to the cell phone. To the caller it had rung 5 times, to me, once.

I experience the same issue with call forwarding lag. It's pretty horrendous.

I find that the SMS experience is pretty shoddy at times as well. >75% of the time I try to send an SMS in GV, I get a "SMS has failed" error and have to retry a few times to get it to go through. Incoming SMS also often lag by 15-30 minutes.

My main goal was to replace my voicemail... Most of them are hang-up messages from my mom or family member, so I mostly ignore them.

Is that voicemail through your cell provider or Google Voice? I think every provider I've had since 2000 has filtered hang-up messages (presumably messages < n seconds.)

Who cares about the rest of the world? Everyone = the USA in the eyes of Google.

I was going to say that...or I was going to say that it's probably just simpler to open to one market where all issues are resolved then open it to other markets as issues in those markets become resolved.

Can't decide which one sounds more logical. Were Gmail, Picasa, Buzz, Wave, and Google Docs available only in the US first when they were first released?

No, but none of these require dealing with telcos and probably governments.

That's the key point. It's hard enough dealing with one regulatory environment, and one set of threatened incumbents.

Skype was available Worldwide since launch, my dear US friends!

But, unless I am mistaken, Skype does not represent the same threat that GV does. Skype does not offer services like voicemail and personal hunt-groups that potentially undermine telco value-added services.

There'a no SkypeIn in Canada, I'm sure we're not the only forsaken country. (Or has the CRTC really screwed us that bad?)

Also, it probably doesn't help that calls to non-US mobile phones come with ridiculously high per-minute rates. (Often 10-15 times as much.)

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