Google Voice Will Challenge Skype

I have begun using Google Voice and my current impression is that it’s the best service of all the services Google offers. And in case you are unsure what I mean by that, I use:

• iGoogle: Personal portal, Gmail: but not exclusively, Google Calendar: in conjunction with iCal, Google Apps: for wordprocessing (sometimes)
• Google Search and Image Search: in preference to alternatives, Google Maps: For maps and directions, YouTube: On occasion
• Google News: for news, Google Finance: for financial news and information, Google Alerts: For news alerts, Google Reader: for RSS
• Google AdSense and Google Analytics: on this Blog

Despite the fact that I’m impressed with many of these services, imho, Google Voice is better than any of them.

Google Voice

In case you have no idea what Google Voice is, I include a couple of screen shots. The illustration below shows the home page of Google Voice.

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It’s mostly self explanatory. Your calls are listed like emails and voice mail is transcribed directly into words so you can read without listening. Click on Contacts and your phone list is displayed. Click on a number to dial it. You can import contacts from Gmail. If you don’t use Gmail, I advise you to set up an account and import your email daetails to that account. Gmail and Google Voice are going to be sister services and currently it’s Gmail that allows you to video phone.

You can add money to your Google Voice account. This is for calls that are charged, which means International calls only. All calls in the US are free.

Click on Call to make a call to a new number. (see left side of the illustration below.) Google Voice calls you on the phone you specify and then calls the number you entered once you answer.

Click on SMS to send an SMS message. It’s free.

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You can also put a call button on a web site if you want. Here’s an example of that.

You can’t sign up and use Google Voice yet, unless, like me, you were a customer of GrandCentral before Google bought it. However if you want to register for Google Voice when it becomes available, click here. (Google didn’t sponsor this link, btw.)

Why Google Voice Will Challenge Skype

Aside from the fact that it impresses me, Google Voice is unified communications for the consumer and Skype is not. So there are several factors in play:

• Google offers free calls in the US and low cost International calls.
• Skype offer the same, but also free calls to Skype users, which is a network that’s over 300 millions strong (about 16 million concurrent users). It will take a long time for Google to catch up with those numbers.
• Both Google and Skype offer video phone. The service is subject to interruptions and poor quality in both cases (that’s my experience).
• Google’s unified communications includes the following:
  Number control: One number for all callers to phone. Answer on any phone, make any phone number you have the active phone.
  Phone routing: Specific callers can be directed to specific phone numbers you have.
  Forwarding: Add new numbers as desired and change which is the primary number (e.g. when you check in to a hotel room)
  Voice mail with Call screening: Callers are announced and can be screened or you can listen in before takign a call or simply block some callers.)
  SMS: Send, receive, and store SMS

Skype has no unified communications capability. It will inevitably add such capability in time. Google has the advantage of a huge customer base and the ability to converge the Gmail and Google Voice service. There may be a tussle for dominance between the two, but it’s highly likely that both will prosper. The companies that are really under threat here are the traditional telcos.