Google plugs free PC-to-phone calling into e-mail

n3312 : Don't we need those telephone cords

I haven't had a copper line / NTT phone since I cancelled my ADSL back in about 2001 and got fiber optic. There is no need for telephone cords any more.

elbudamexicano,

Your American friend is wrong. I've made Skype calls to Philippine phone lines from America.

Anything to bring down the prices of phone calls domestic and international is just music to my ears! About Skype, my American friend said he can not use it to his Filipina wifes country, no Skype to the Philippines, the national telephone carrier will not allow for this cheap Skype to undercut their revenues, so I guess Google will also not be allow to use this PC to phone technology in PI either.

Don't we need those telephone cords to have reliable broadband compared to wireless? Or is WiMAX already comparable?

knowitall, yeah, I tried to sign up, but google said it wasn't available yet in japan. There was no indication whatsoever of when it will be.

@knowitall - Sorry! My Japanese isn't that good. I took the Japanese article to mean it was COMING here, but I guess the nuance was that CALLS from the Google Voice will come to Japan from the U.S. and Canada and not the actual service for consumers in Japan.

I love Skype. Its userface is intuitive, its rates quite reasonable, and I have never had problems with connections. I see no reason to switch to Voice other than consolidating accounts - and since I spend zero on Google now, there is nothing to consolidate.

That could change, though, if and when the Android PC comes out.

Movie guy, where exactly in that does it say Google Voice is coming to Japan? I'll answer my own question: Nowhere!! Read it again. That is just a Japanese language translation of an overseas article. It even gives a link to the original English article. Just because the article is in Japanese doesn't mean it has anything to do with Japan.

I don't know why this article doesn't mention it, but they finally announced today as well that Google Voice is coming to Japan, but this story doesn't say when. I'm guessing the beginning of September. http://bit.ly/bv290R

k...so how to I Google phone from my iPhone?

Alladin - skype have already gotten into bed with Apple/iPhone and snubbed Google/android. This is googles response.

Google is trying to take over the show. I wonder what Skype will do to compete with google.

Interesting...

Google charges $0.11/minute to call a mobile phone in Japan, while my Softbank "W White" (Double White) discount plan charges 21 yen/minute (actually 10.5 yen/30 seconds) to call a non-Softbank phone, such as Docomo or au.

For anyone with a smartphone, this is a much cheaper way to make mobile-to-mobile calls, especially given current exchange rates.

Please make this work with android google!

Skype is frequently hopeless, PC to landline overseas is piggybacking on the back of spare bandwidth and often is unusable. Horrid quality.

Skype works well enough for me. I put 10 bucks on my account last year and still have $6.50 left. Real good deal with video to boot.

Sounds great, but will all this internet telephone stuff affect the speed of the internet? Just curious if anyone knows. It would be nice to get lower rates on calls to the States.