Google Voice: A Skype Alternative or More?

Long distance calls are the nemesis of every small business owner, in fact, they are not preferred by domestic users either. But since Skype and other VOIP providers joined the party, more and more users turned to internet powered solutions for their communication needs. There are obvious advantages, low cost being only one of them. The other is the ability to make phone calls from laptops, desktops, smart phones, and everything else connected to the Internet.

Google Voice is as handy as any other similar services, but its potential is much greater with its latest additions. Previously, Google Voice was only available for users in the U.S. Now, calling from Gmail is available in 38 languages, with lower rates to over 150 destinations – basically, you can expect the service to become available to many more who use Gmail outside the U.S. in the following days. You’ll be able to call any mobile phone or landline directly from you Gmail account, and not only. Google Voice integrates with Google+ as well. With this, Google Voice becomes more than a Skype alternative, being already integrated with a number of other social and communications tools.

You can now buy calling credit in your choice of four currencies (Euros, British pounds, Canadian dollars or U.S. dollars) and there are no connection fees, so you only pay for the time you talk. Google gives some cost examples as well: it’s now only $0.10 (or €0.08) per minute to call mobile phones in the U.K., France or Germany (landlines are $0.02/min), $0.15/minute to call mobile phones in Mexico and $0.02/min to call any phone number in China and India. A comparison between Google Voice and leading internet telephony providers is available here.

Note that these prices, however, do not include tax. In the EU, you will be charged the applicable VAT rate for your country on top of the purchased calling credit amount. For instance, if you purchase 10 € of calling credit in Germany, you will be charged 11.90€ since the VAT here is 19%. Still the prices are significantly lower than those provided by similar services. For the service to work, you’ll need to install the voice and videos chat plugin.