Google Voice

Google Voice, the company’s seldom mentioned VoIP service, is going to be on the receiving end of some updates soon. News of the updates first arrived via a link some users were seeing when they visited Google Voice. The link and notification encouraged users to click to see the new Google Voice, but the related web page isn’t live at this time. Having accidentally revealed its efforts, Google has since confirmed that yes, it is working on some new updates.

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Your mother has sent you and your sister a photo of their dog, and expects you to reply with a positive note back. But you have an Android device and you're using Google Voice. You get the message, but you don't get the photo. Your mom gets mad that you've not replied. You say it's because she's using iMessage and photos and videos won't be sent to devices unless they also have iMessage. She tells you to get iMessage. You can't get iMessage, you have an Android device. You see where this is going.

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Google's dream MVNO service was proven to be real and the invites have started to trickle to some early testers, or at least for one lucky users in Los Angeles. But perhaps "lucky" is a relative term, as the sign up process for Project Fi reveals some wrinkles that Google's announcement conveniently left out. While the promise of an affordable and fair network service might be drool-worthy for most, for the subset of those who have grown attached to their Google Voice accounts, that dream is quickly turning into a nightmare.

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Just yesterday, Google rolled out an update to Hangouts on Android that added a bit of whimsical fun via stickers. While not as cute as that, the desktop version of Hangouts is now also seeing its fair share of updates. The latest version of the Hangouts Chrome browser app has been updated not just to match the Android version's Material Design but also adds a similar Phone tab to the user interface. It also got its own desktop notifications to alert you to new messages.

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Still using google Voice? There’s good news today, especially if you are on Verizon, or regularly chat with someone who is. An update to Voice adds native MMS support on Verizon, bringing MMS to all four major carriers in the US. Additionally, Voice is also getting native MMS support for photo messaging, so you can send and receive messages from anywhere, via any carrier. Though we’re not out of the multiple-platform woods yet, an update to Voice does have some cross-app functionality.

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Perhaps you don't make international calls too often and so you don't bother paying for international service on your phone. Or, alternatively, maybe Hangouts is your voice communication service of choice. Regardless, Google is encouraging Hangouts users to make their international calls with the service, doing so by offering a single free minute that'll get you 60 seconds of talk time with a pal across the globe. The bonus minute is only going to be around until the strike of the new year, however, so don't dally.

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With the update to Hangouts that rolled in yesterday, users got a bit of what they’d been asking for in Voice integration. In finally giving us the ability to make a voice call via Hangouts, Google also continued to pull a service away from their social layer, Google+. Users no longer need to have a Plus account to use features in Hangouts.

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Last night, rumbles of a Google Voice transition into Hangouts began surfacing, with many users seeing an option to migrate the former service into the latter. Google has made an official announcement about it this morning, ushering in a Hangouts update that includes Voice integration.

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Google might have just started the ball rolling that would signal the end of its voice call and voicemail service. Some Google Hangouts users have reported being prompted in both Android and Gmail to switch over from Google Voice to Hangouts, a transition that would formally mark the end of another Google product.

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Google Voice may be a solid way to be contactable across multiple phones, but woe-betide if you miss a call, with voicemail transcription that has so far tended toward the embarrassingly inept. Thankfully Google is aiming to change all that, with a new project aimed at improving accuracy via anonymous crowdsourcing.

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Google Voice could be next on the company's consolidation chopping block, according to recent word that has surfaced, with the app being nixed in favor of integration with Hangouts, following the lead set by Talk and Google+ Messenger. Such a change, should it take place, reportedly won't happen for months.

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Earlier this week, Google announced a Hangouts update that brings SMS functionality, which is nice but unfortunately comes with a snafu. According to Nikhyl Singhal, who took to Google+ today, there are some issues to be ironed out with Google Voice, and for the time being neither of the two aforementioned Google services will be able to exchange SMS with each other.

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