Google merges Google Voice into Google+ Hangouts - How to make Free US and Canada Calls with Google Voice in Hangouts App

“We want to make Google Voice as secure as possible. There are a few third-party applications that provide calling and SMS services by making unauthorized use of Google Voice. These apps violate our Terms of Service and pose a threat to your security, so we’re notifying these

app developers that they must stop making unauthorized use of Google Voice to run their services and transition users by May 15, 2014”.

Google+ Product Manager Nikhyl Singhal announcing the demise of Google Voice

While the VoIP World is expanding, Google’s slowly withdrawing themselves from that world since the First Quarter of 2014 as stated in “Google plans to kill Google Voice in coming months, integrate features into Hangouts”, published March 18, 2014 / 6:39 am by SETH WEINTRAUB, 9 to 5 Google.

Simply put, no more Google Voice App, which will be integrated into the Hangouts iOS and Android Apps. In essence, Google Voice will end up like the Google+ Web version; you'll be able to actually make (and receive) VoIP via a web interface. This is similar to Skype in the Clouds as I like to call it as detailed in my Geezam blog article entitled “Skype clocks 2 Billion Minutes per Day worth of VoIP Calls driven by the Mobile Computing Revolution”

That last bit is important, as Google Voice is going to be rolled up into Google+ and shut down Third-Party implementations of Google Voice in other Apps as Google was so nice to remind us in April was coming on Thursday May 15^th 2014 as stated in the article “Reminder: Third-party Google Voice apps shut down in 20 days”, published Apr 25 2014, 12:10pm EST by Ron Amadeo, ArsTechnica.

Telecom Providers and Apple may not like this, as it'll ruin their Voice Calling Revenues. This coming “dispute” may be very similar to the ongoing dispute that Telecom Provider Digicel or Telecom Provider LIME have with VoIP apps Viber, Nimbuzz and all their relatives as explained in my blog article entitled “LIME and Digicel blocking all VoIP Services - How Telecom Providers can make money from Regularizing Paid VoIP Services”.

The OUR (Office of Utilities Regulation) is deliberating on what decision to take as explained in my blog article entitled “Telecom Providers await OUR’s Judgement on VoIP Bypass – Viber is on the rebound but USF Revenue for GOJ means they’ll win”.

How to make free US and Canada Calls with Google Voice in Hangouts App – International Calling Plan

So how do you make International Calls with Google Voice in Hangouts without having to directly sign up for a Google+ Account? If you’re in the US of A or Jamaica and you want an alternative to Skype or ooVoo on your Desktop or Laptop, you can use Google Voice to make Free US and Canada Calls.

Otherwise use Free Calls with Free Calls with MagicJack on Apple iTunes or Free Calling with MagicJack on Google Play on your smartphone as described in my blog article entitled “How to make Free USA and Canada Calls with Free Calls with Magicjack - MagicJack Stock buoyed by the coming of WhatsApp to VoIP Calling to Mobile and Landlines”.

First you need to set up either Proxy Sites or VPN (Virtual Private Network) as described in my blog article entitled “How to find Free TV online and how to Stream from Hulu or Netflix in Jamaica - Jamaican Pirate of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides Streaming Restricted US Content”.

A Proxy service routes your traffic through a series of Servers, hiding your true location whereas a VPN is similar, except it involves logging into a different ISP (Internet Service Provider) and encrypting your Data traffic. BOTH have the effect of making you appear to be in the US of A when in fact you’re in Jamaica.

You also need to have a Gmail Account, which is fairly easy to set up by going to the website http://www.mail.google.com/mail. Once you’ve got that set up, then the instructions are as easy as pie:

1.      Log in to Google Voice on the Web using your Gmail Account Login and password.

2.      In the call or text box on the left, enter the number

3.      Choose Hangouts from the drop-down menu as the Phone to call with

4.      Click Connect and a new Hangouts window will appear

5.      Press the Call button and you'll be connected to the number you provided

Good to note that there’s one perk to Google Voice; you can make free Calls to US or Canadian numbers, except for Emergency Numbers as I’d discovered in my blog article entitled “Google and Google Voice - The World is Not Enough”.

Since you'll be logged in via a Proxy or VPN, you can basically call any US or Canadian number for Free, with calls to any number outside of these areas being as little as US$0.15 per minute in most cases based on the Google Voice Calling Rates Table.

So get your PayPal Account or your Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card ready to pay for International Calling at rates lower than local Calling Plans provided by Telecom Provider Digicel or Telecom Provider LIME as explained in my Geezam blog article entitled “How to set up an International Calling Plan for Digicel or LIME Prepaid and Postpaid”.

Happy Free Calling with Google Voice…that is, until you have to have a Hangout App to make Google Voice Calls!