Google Voice finally available for Apple iPhone

by Steven Mostyn - Nov 17 2010, 12:38

Forget the iTunes fanfare currently surrounding a certain four-piece musical combo from Liverpool, a better slice of iTunes-related news uncovered today concerns the long-awaited availability of Google Voice on the iPhone handset.

While AT&T is likely grinding its corporate teeth at the prospect of watching the erosion of its iPhone service revenues, handset owners across the United States should be thrilled to learn that the VoIP application provides cheap rate international calls and completely free text messaging throughout the country.

And that’s not all. Indeed, Google’s native app also delivers voicemail transcription, Google Voice caller ID, push notification for voicemails and text messages, multiple device calling, and quickly placed calls thanks to a reliance on Direct Access Numbers.

It’s taken some 18 months for Google Voice to finally arrive on the iPhone, after Apple initially refused to grant the app iTunes approval on the grounds that it conflicted with core iPhone functions—a move that led to the FCC stepping in to measure the situation and ultimately push Google Voice through the process. 

Google Voice for iPhone—which is completely free, by the way—will presently only work on U.S. handsets running iOS 3.1 or later, and all users will require a valid Google Voice account in order to access the service.

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