By Manikandan Raman: Subscribe to Manikandan's RSS feed
August 28, 2010 3:44 AM EDT
Search giant Google has integrated Gmail and Google voice allowing free phone calls, including international calls.
Using Gmail account, callers in the US and Canada can make free calls and Google said the feature will be available for free for at least a year.
Users can also make international calls but for a small fee starting from $0.02 per minute to landlines in the UK, France, Germany, China, or Japan.
Following are some tips to make effective use of the service in Gmail.
Save cellphone minutes
The best feature of Gmail phone calls is that one can save cellphone minutes by transferring calls to and from phone to his personal computer. This could be done by adding one's Gmail chat account as a number which will be reached by Google Voice.
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To use it:
It helps to save cell phone minutes. Suppose, you are talking on your mobile in the car. After reaching home, press * (asterisk) button on the mobile keypad to transfer the ongoing call to another Google Voice phone.
If the Gmail is open, the inbox will start ringing and you can hangup your mobile and continue talking in Gmail, thereby saving several cellphone minutes.
In addition, if one has a Bluetooth headset, he can stay mobile, even if he is talking from the computer.
All-in-one feature:
Another feature of Google Voice is that it allows the user to select one single number that he can link to all his other numbers. It does not disclose the address or cell phone number and allows the user to set a schedule of when he would like to receive calls and also when to block annoying cold calls from telemarketers.
Gmail could be your caller ID
If you are logged into Gmail and get a call on the Google Voice number, you can see the caller ID without responding to his call. This thing works when one has a landline with Google Voice or for a person who spends lot of time on the computer.
Follow-up calls to email
Suppose you have an email from a colleague and it requires a quick follow-up. Rather than typing a reply to that mail, you can directly call that person through Gmail without interrupting the workflow.
Use Gmail as a speaker phone
Google Voice is pretty good at setting up conference calls. Now, you can call from your computer, you can use Gmail as a speaker phone for the group of people sitting around you.
Gmail calling helps find misplaced phone
Don't remember where you have kept your mobile in the house and don't have another phone on hand? Just log in to Gmail, dial your mobile number and one can find the device by following the ring tone.
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