An exciting news from Gmail is that they have extended their free calling facility for all of year 2011. This free offer from Google voice was initiated on 25th August 2010, and provided an interesting edge to by attracting great number of users in the VoIP market towards it. The offer said “Gmail users can make free calls to US and Cananda for the whole of year 2010”. The marketing gimmick from Google voice worked and now to keep the holiday spirit going, they have extended it for the upcoming year 2011. But I am wondering what about other millions of people living else where? Can’t they get any free offers from Google voice?
Gmail
In a recent article I covered and compared the pricing of all top 6 VOIP service providers here Rates comparison of top 6 VoIP apps – Choose the BEST! and since price comparison is not enough without comparing the app features and other value added services. So here I will focus on feature comparison of top 6 VoIP apps including Skype, Google, Vopium, Truphone, Nimbuzz and Rebtel. All of these providers are using VoIP technology to provide users with cheap or almost free calls, competing fiercely with each other in grabbing the market share and attracting maximum customers. Google Voice’s latest entry in the market is seen as a positive move where everyone is forced to offer competitive rates and benefits in order to sustain in the VoIP market. Here we will quickly rush through the features provided by each and their current positioning and offerings in the market.
Looking at the interest of people in our previous post “Google Voice call rates compared with Skype & others.The winner is??”, we now bring in a detailed analysis of top 6 VoIP app providers competing aggressively with each other in providing the cheapest rates, newest features and high call quality. The latest announcement of Google Voice (Free calls to US and Canada in year 2010) has shaken the competitors to bring down their calling rates. Just after this interesting news, we see Truphone coming up with an announcement of slashing their call rates upto 60% in 30 destinations, luring the customers to keep their ties attached to Truphone. Well whatever the scene is, we have analyzed the entire calling rates offered by Google voice, Skype, Vopium, Truphone, Nimbuzz and Rebtel which are among the top 6 VoIP apps.
Google has finally announced the Google Voice calling for Gmail inbox with which you can make VOIP calls to anywhere in the world on landline or mobile. With this announcement Google has officially stepped into the world of cheap VOIP calls. What does it mean for Skype ( the market leader ) and other VOIP call and services providers( Vopium, Vonage, Fring, Truphone and Nimbuzz ), well in my opinion Google is going to give them tough time.
In my previous post on the Nexus One I wrote that that the Nexus will take sometime in beating the ever present iPhone, I still maintain this. But let me for a change say this that the way things are going (in the Google world) competitors need to feel threatened. What made me think so? well to begin with was the Google’s new approach to buying a Mobile Phone which gives one the ability to explore a mobile phone in ways that were previously unimagined.