Go ogle Gmail's vastly expanded Internet phone service

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Wednesday, 03 August 2011 15:19

Your IT - Home IT

If you've wanted to make phone calls using Google's Gmail Internet phone service, and haven't been able to because you haven't lived in the US, there good news as Google expands its service.

Google has finally expanded the Internet phone calling service contained within Gmail, promising that Gmail users speaking one of 38 languages will get access either now, or over the next few days.

Gmail doesn't seem to specify which countries and which languages will see Gmail calls switched on, but it does state that: 'Last year, we made it possible for those of you in the U.S. to call any mobile phone or landline directly from Gmail and starting today, we are making this available to many more of you who use Gmail outside the U.S. by offering calling in 38 new languages.'

For those who wish to call actual telephones, call credit is now available to purchase not only in US dollars, but also Euros, Pounds and Canadian Dollars.

In addition, there's no 'flagfall' or 'connection fee', which is a good sign, especially seeing as these types of charges are just a simple way for telcos to cream cash from its customers.

Better still is Google's claim that its rates for calling over 150 destinations have also been lowered, with all the rates available here.

I don't know what Australian calling prices were previously, but landlines can be called for US 2c per minute, while mobiles are charged at US 15c per minute, with those prices naturally being a bit cheaper when converted to Aussie dollars.

And while US and Canadian Gmail users can call US or Canadian phone numbers free of charge over Gmail calling, if you're outside those two countries calling in, you'll be charged at US 1c per minute, 1 Euro cent per minute, 1 pence per minute or one Canadian cent per minute.

That means those paying in Euros or pence will be paying more than US or even Canadian users, but that's the way the penny tumbles and the cookie obviously crumbles.

At least most grumbles over Gmail's calling service not being more widely available will finally be silenced, presumably quite unlike Gmail's newly phone-calling enabled user base!