People gave me a hard time for hoping that Google Voice might eventually lead to contract-free phone calling. We're not there yet, but here's one more step in that direction:
Call phones from Gmail
People gave me a hard time for hoping that Google Voice might eventually lead to contract-free phone calling. We're not there yet, but here's one more step in that direction:
Call phones from Gmail
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saw that on my gmail at work today, and something told me it'd be up when I got home. Looks good. Have you tried it yet?
Yes, I did. It worked great.Originally Posted by Shea Zellweger
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I think I was probably one of those people... and I still don't understand how you think that would work. To make a call, you have to be connected, and if you're connected by one of the cell networks (3G, 4G), you'll have to be paying someone for that privilege.
Rich -
Don't you have free access anywhere near you? Library? Airport? McDonald's? Coffee shops? Even the Starbuck's around us are finally free. And surely you've heard of towns and cities adopting DASes and other wireless systems to provide internet access.
You have an iPhone, right? I assume that you pay for a contract to use that phone. As a phone.
And you have data access, right? I also assume that you're paying for that access. As internet access. You (like most including me) probably pay this twice - once for your mobile phone and once for your residence. You can't imagine that phone-calling could someday (very soon!) be possible with data service only (even over WiFi)?
I don't have all the words to describe it, but I can certainly imagine a scenario set up such that a call is made over a data connection to a data connection using a phone number. I don't care how it happens (Google may have to set up some kind of data-phone switchboard somewhere), but I can imagine that it could happen. Again, I don't have words, but really I think what would be happening is that a phone number would be directed to the IP number where I'm signed in to my Google account. Every internet-connected device has an individual IP number.
When I use the new feature they unrolled yesterday, it works such that the person I'm calling from my computer (over a data connection) sees my GV number on their caller ID. It's kind of like "halfway there."
So the eventual hope is that one could just be paying for data access (or not at all in free WiFi areas, which are growing in number all the time). I'm not sure why that's so inconceivable.It's already available on things like the iPad, Kindle, etc. ("contract-free"). If a tablet (like the iPad or an Android device) has that data access, it's certainly imaginable that you could use it (with Bluetooth...or not) for phone calling.
Why would something like Facetime be so imaginable (and now possible) that uses so much bandwidth, but you can't imagine a simple voice call to be?
There was even a time when Google was rumored to be trying to set up a national network (possibly working through existing towers) to bring the access and then give it for free (based on ad revenue). If I remember correctly, this fell dead with the either FCC, the collective voice of phone carriers, the government, or some collective of those three.
Capitalism might make this impossible, but technology won't.
I'd love to see your scenario play out, Jeremy.
If you're mainly concerned about doing these things "contract free," then that's available right now through pay-as-you-go plans.
If you're mainly concerned about not paying for the voice portion of a cell phone bill, and relying only on the data plan... well, maybe the phone companies will go for that eventually. As you pointed out, they're doing it for other devices like the iPad, on a month-to-month basis.
Perhaps that's the future for mobile phones -- you pay for a data plan only and no voice plan. Instead of watching your minutes, you'll be watching your megabytes.
And if you're in an area with abundant free wifi, that's even better under your scenario, because you won't have to pay the carriers for a data plan at all. Most of us, however, want to have access to a mobile phone when we're nowhere near free wifi -- in the car, on the highway between cities, etc.
That's what it boils down to for me: if you want your device to be connected, you're going to be paying someone for that connection. Or you're going to be relying on extremely limited free wifi coverage.
It's closer than you think. A combination of WIFI + Sipsorcery + Sipgate +Google Voice is supposed to provide two way calling without using any landline or cell minutes. Sad to say, Sipsorcery is maxed out and no longer taking clients.
On the flip side, I've spent quite a bit of time trying to get it all to work on Jackie's phone with no success. It's a very tech intensive setup. Anyway, it's in the works, coming to a phone near you!
http://code.google.com/p/google-voic...ery-dialplans/
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I know a guy who jail broke his ipod touch and uses it as his cell phone. Is this close to what is being discussed?
Not exactly. And I think you have to add hardware to the Touch to do that, like this, but I could be wrong.
Couple interesting things to address here:Rich -
Don't you have free access anywhere near you? Library? Airport? McDonald's? Coffee shops? Even the Starbuck's around us are finally free. And surely you've heard of towns and cities adopting DASes and other wireless systems to provide internet access.
You have an iPhone, right? I assume that you pay for a contract to use that phone. As a phone.
And you have data access, right? I also assume that you're paying for that access. As internet access. You (like most including me) probably pay this twice - once for your mobile phone and once for your residence. You can't imagine that phone-calling could someday (very soon!) be possible with data service only (even over WiFi)?
I don't have all the words to describe it, but I can certainly imagine a scenario set up such that a call is made over a data connection to a data connection using a phone number. I don't care how it happens (Google may have to set up some kind of data-phone switchboard somewhere), but I can imagine that it could happen. Again, I don't have words, but really I think what would be happening is that a phone number would be directed to the IP number where I'm signed in to my Google account. Every internet-connected device has an individual IP number.
When I use the new feature they unrolled yesterday, it works such that the person I'm calling from my computer (over a data connection) sees my GV number on their caller ID. It's kind of like "halfway there."
So the eventual hope is that one could just be paying for data access (or not at all in free WiFi areas, which are growing in number all the time). I'm not sure why that's so inconceivable.
Why would something like Facetime be so imaginable (and now possible) that uses so much bandwidth, but you can't imagine a simple voice call to be?
There was even a time when Google was rumored to be trying to set up a national network (possibly working through existing towers) to bring the access and then give it for free (based on ad revenue). If I remember correctly, this fell dead with the either FCC, the collective voice of phone carriers, the government, or some collective of those three.
Capitalism might make this impossible, but technology won't.
Data only- as it is now cell phone deals with data and voice separately. In the case of verizon they can't do it at the same time where as GSM can, but in both cases they are separate protocols. The impending "4g" is a major change, not because it can handle a more band width (theoretically) than GSM, but because voice is just done through the data connection. So the next gen phones will have a phone app that uses the data connection. This opens up a whole can of worms like when you are on wifi you are not using the cell datanetwork. So what you suggest is not only posible, but is on the way.
Contracts are not as evil as you may think. You can get an Iphone with out a contract, it just cost $700. The ipad is $629 with out a contract, and is not a sophisticated as an iphone. Contracts are really just a way to spread the cost of the device out over time. If you would get an att plan for 2 iphones and factor in $1000 discount on those 2 phone what you are actually paying for the service is not bad. What people don't realize is a device like an iphone is a really expensive piece of hardware, and soaks a lot of bandwidth, so in the end att probably make less profit on an iphone plan than the pre-pay phone with unlimited texting.
Where I think this will end up going is to a just data plan pricing that is a sliding scale based on the bandwidth you want. Just like you choose the number of minutes, you can choose the number of gigs. Att has already started it with their plans, and you I believe you will see even more as time goes by.
Contracts will not go away, no matter how the data in delivered. Contracts have become the finance vehicles for expensive devices, and looking at trends the devices just keep getting better It is going to be a while be for we see a $99 unsubsidized smart phone.
I don't know if this was new recently or what, but I just discovered while setting up my wife's Google Voice account that you can direct calls to Google Talk now (through Gmail chat). So it both sends and receives calls.
So now when someone calls my Google Voice number, it rings my home, cell, office (between 8-5 on weekdays), and Gmail voice chat.
In other words... a home phone is now entirely free to anyone with a strong enough internet connection... and a "mobile phone" is available at any wireless hotspot.
I wonder, if one were to combine this with a Virgin Mobile MiFi, would that be an effective way to do contract-free phone, internet, and mobile for only $40/month?
Yes, but I haven't yet looked up a good way to distribute the call throughout the house. Bluetooth is the answer, but I just haven't researched a good device yet.
They already make cordless USB phones for Skype, MSN, and Yahoo. Googlevoice can't be far behind. Wifi phones might also do the trick.
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Google Voice has added number porting, meaning that you can bring your old number to Google Voice, should you choose.
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