Google Voice is free to everyone, but still busted on webOS 48
Google Voice is now open (and free) to everybody, so if you haven't signed up yet now's your chance to get the best darned online voicemail, text-message, and call-redirection service out there. There's also a darned-slick web interface for the whole thing that works quite well on webOS devices.
Of course, if you really want to use Google Voice to its fullest, you need a native app for it. We once had several of those that worked nearly as well as Google's own app does on Android, including my personal favorite gDial Pro. Unfortunately, way back in February a sad coincidence of changes in Google Voice's API and webOS's functionality has seriously hurt the chances of any Google Voice app for webOS working without intervention and help from Google, Palm, or both.
We once mentioned that you could suggest a feature for Google Voice and one option was a "Palm application." We're hoping that some of our readers will go suggest that Google and Palm make friends and make Google Voice work again on webOS (and, hey, we wouldn't complain if Google Maps got an update). By "some of our readers," we mean "executives at Hewlett Packard" - in case that wasn't completely clear.
Source: Google Voice Blog
48 Comments
I don't think they will because Webos is competition to Android.Plus we have to factor in that it's free so google wouldn't make any more profit it
was to let it be on Webos.Its about money and competition.Money over-riding competition.This is one of the ways google wishes to have an advantage over Webos.
So is BlackBerry, but they have a native app.
It's nothing to do with money or competition with Google. It's about Palm not getting the APIs together to allow for genuine development on the platform.
Yet one more way that Palm *could* have beaten up on Apple and fell down on the job.
I'm hopeful WebOS gets the features and APIs it needs to compete as a genuine smartphone in the next year. I'm planning to check back then as the core interface (multitasking) is amazing. In the meantime I'm switching to Android on the Evo, which allows me to so such amazing things as:
Record a voice memo! Seriously. You can't record a flipping voice memo on the Pre!(zcoder makes me sound like Max Headroom and isn't available except via homebrew, which means it doesn't count for mainstream)
Also, scan barcodes, voicedial, shazaam, any augmented reality applications...
Dito. I love multi tasking on webOS and have rally been trying to hang in there with Palm but I think I might go with the EVO until Palm gets it together. From the looks of thing it seems like Palm will not be putting out anything til next year. Maybe the end of this year if we are lucky. In the mean time I on the verge of getting my 6th Pre. If carriers are allowing customers to get a new phone every year the only phone makers who are really gonna make it are those who can produce a new phone at least once a year. Even if it's just upgrades to thire existing phones models.
I'm really curious if the PalmOS gVoice client works in Classic. I host the PRC for the author on my site (boraware.com under downloads). If someone has Classic and a gvoice account let me know.
I am not able to get to the boraware.com site. Otherwise I'd love to try the gVoice client in classic.
Takes so long to load classic though.. that's the only problem even if it did work.
gVoice didn't work. It will verify my gvoice account, but kicks back an error checking the phone. Plus it won't let me dial a number, classic must not interface with the Pre phone features which makes this app pretty useless in Classic.
Glad to see its open to everyone now. Very happy to always be using Gvoice. Hope Palm and Google work things out to enable Google Voice for you webOS users. I won't brag how great it is on Android ;)....DOH! New GV users, go out and get your own number, I loved this feature as when I signed up, I wanted a phrase and thankfully got it ^_^
I use GV all the time on my Pre, the web interface is great. A native app would make it better, but really, it's damn good as it is.
How do u use it without the app? Please give me a hint cuz I really love GV. I felt so bad when the app stoped working. I make international calls all the time and GV rates are really good (one of the lowest I've found). Now, I have to buy phone cards which are not good. I also think that GV makes money by selling those minutes for international calling.
open your browser on your Pre and go to voice.google.com and sign in. It'll ask you to ID the phone number the first time, then works great (abeit fairly slow compared to a native app).
Thanks gamble6x...i'll try that.
Although I love the pre and webos, the lack of support from google is one of my biggest concerns and is causing me to ponder switching to the EVO. I would have thought that google with it's "do no evil" mantra would be happy to continue updating it's apps on webos to truly adhere to the open market system. However, there has been a complete lack of updates and in fact loss of functionality of the various palm google apps. Take google maps for instance. When the phone first came out, the app was very functional, relatively fast, etc. However with each successive update of webos, google maps has become slower and almost unusable. There has been no update whatsoever to the original app. This is supposed to be one of the phones "stock apps," but is, in my opinion almost unusable in it's present state. If google won't update it's apps, I can see many other companies dropping it's support as well. That's why I think it's extremely important that palm get a good usable version of a google voice app. It's an important step to show that developers are continuing to work with palm to help make functional apps that makes future phones more marketable.
actually, there has been a number of improvements to the webos version of google maps, but all of the updates were server side.
That's funny, as an over the road truck driver I use G.Maps on my Pre daily with no problems. I'm all over too,about 2800-3200 miles a week.
Thumbs Up on that notion and I also have no problem with Google Maps or otherwise.
Yes, we may not have 'Augmented Realty' or whatever they call it where I can view my surroundings and find a coffee shop selling brew for $1.50/cup instead of the usual $2.50/cup, but then how many people really do this???
I'm excited for Google and it doesn't mean it isn't interesting. I'm honestly looking forward to Google getting off their high horse and joining the Open Sourse community like they used too before they began launching attacks at everyone they classify as competition.
Either way, Google will probably GPL it sooner then later opening the door to Palm, HP, and otherwise. Sorli...
Oh, and it's worth mentioning that Apple/ATT not only don't have a GV app, they refuse to have one.
Best? hardly. get back to me when I can configure the damned thing as I see fit, and not how google wants me to use it (disabling voicemail, for example).
i dont even care about GV anymore. it was nice when it worked, but since then i've found youmail via youview, which meets most of my needs. i'd be happy to see GV return, but im not anxious for it.
I just purchased YouView and I still prefer Google Voice. If I paid for transcriptions, that would be the only way YouView wins. Half the time, the ok Google transcription is enough that I can act on the call without listening to the message. With YouView, I am forced to listen, which can't happen while I'm in a meeting, for example. (I can peek at the email or SMS from Google voice.)
Its not open yet, i just tried to create one, it will only give me a google voice page, when signed in my gooogle account, but the setup process never starts. however my friend got his school invite yesterday, and when he signed into his google account from the invite link it started the setup process. someone please please please please please send me an invite. Now more then ever before, millions of people get on it and take all the good numbers. please please pm or email me invite, to knucklex9@gmail.com
Oh, and it's worth mentioning that Apple/ATT not only don't have a GV app, they refuse to have one.
Is it just me or does the current GV mobile website NOT provide functionality to stream / download (somehow actually listen to) our voicemail messages?
I can navigate to inbox, and click on a message transcript, but I cannot get it to play the message without clicking on the "older version" button at the bottom of the page (which brings up the previous GV mobile page design -- correction: that approach no longer works either. It allows the file to stream / download [using appropriate browser patchwork] but says "filetype not supported").
What am I missing??? I would just drop GV for YV but the free transcripts by txt message are very helpful for me (generally).
You are not missing anything. Neither version of the Google mobile web pages allows message playback anymore. You have to use your desktop browser.
I have read that YouMail transcripts are way more accurate than GV's transcripts since they use actual people to transcribe instead of computer translation a la Google. Drawback is that it takes a bit longer to get the transcription (e.g., 5 minutes via human vs. 30 seconds via computer) and there is a certain loss of privacy.
If that doesn't bother you nor the $4/mo charge, go for it.
Is it just me or is the Goggle Voice web interface STILL busted. Pics and videos I have seen of it talk about being able to tap on the voice mail in the inbox and go to that voicemail screen and play it by hitting the play button at the bottom of the screen. Problem is, there IS NO PLAY BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN! To play your voice mails within the Google Voice web interface you have to go to the "Older version" site to see a link for "Play message." Why has no one else commented on this? I'm with ya, Greenwayj!
So the Older version does actually play your vmail? I'm using the browswer multi-mod patch that brings up the Stream / Download option when I click the play button there and neither option actually plays the message for me??
I use the p2 googlevoice app and it works wonderful
I use the p2 googlevoice app and it works wonderful
1. to Headgamer- yeah, Google Voice voicemail IS still nonfunctional unless you roll back to "Older version".
2. Everyone, click on the Palm OS Suggest button (on the Google page) they mention in this article!
3. Has anyone tried using Google voice with the iPhone spoof patch? Perhaps then the Play button will be there.
I have the iPhone spoof enabled. It gives you the Voicemail button, but tapping it only opens up the phone application with your voicemail number pre-dailed. Which is annoying, because viewing the voicemail transcription counts as it being read, and so if you then dial your voicemail, it doesn't think you have any new messages.
If you just want to use the Google 'VOICEMAIL' on the Pre, get the YouMail app for the Pre. It integrates.
I have a GV number, but have yet to use it due to no native app (I'm sorry, but the web app is just to slow to use, or more accurately, too many steps.)
Will any of this change with the new APIs in the fall? I hope so.
What irritates me about the mobile web page is if you hit buttons to fast, the Palm thinks you've double-tapped, and zooms in.. Lame.
What is the p2 googlevoice app? What am I missing?
Getting awfly tired of hearing about "ANDroid" how about we drop the AND & replace with "HEM".. Much better sounding word for a google OS
product.
The html5 web interface for google voice is fine with me. No complaints. don't see what the fuss is about.
rgraham8: there's no PLAY button anywhere unless you go back to the old version of the site. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a nice web layout for a voicemail site if you CAN'T PLAY THEM.
No, it is NOT open to EVERYONE...in Canada you get this:
Google Voice is not available in your country.
Thanks for visiting Google Voice. We're not yet open for users outside the US, but are planning to expand our service to additional countries in the future.
Oh joy, something else for canadians and other international users to complain about. I'll make you a deal, you guys get GV and the Palm App 50% off sale, we get your healthcare system...
I use GV all the time to call abroad, I just use the web interface. I put the bookmark on the launcher... it is one extra click to hit "dial". I think that is what the iPhone folks have to use as well (is there an app for that?)
Ahhhh I thought you were talking about all of us ;(
I just use MobiOS to run Gvoice and it runs like a dream! Its also a great program because it lets you run Google Wave w/out running on a PC or Mac or Iphone.
if you get email notifacations there is transcription and a link to listen streaming and it works pretty well on webos
That is how I primarily use it. I also have SMS on for it. Works great. Although, I would love the APIs to make gDialPro available again for easier call out than the Web interface.
I never use the number I just use voicemail redirect that sprint offers
"Thanks for visiting Google Voice. We're not yet open for users outside the US, but are planning to expand our service to additional countries in the future"
Honestly, I use voxofon. They've made a highly reliable app for Palm Pre and the rates are virtually identical (makes me wonder if Google and Voxofon are using the same telephony services). I'm almost mad that I paid for $10 worth of Google Voice minutes I'll never use. App lets me call and text.