Doesn't seem to be available for iPod Touch even though many of the features would work fine on it.
It appears number portability and iPod Touch support is not on their priority list. I have no clue why. With those two features, personally, I would be free from cell phone carriers.
To my understanding, it doesn't implement calling functionality -- you have to have a number for the Voice service to call to. It isn't a VOIP client like Skype, so I wouldn't expect this to support the iPod touch any time soon -- unless you were planning on using it to forward to a Skype number or something like that.
It's really more of a telephony abstraction than a client.
There are some rough edges (like the SMS sending screen, yuck) but what I'm impressed by is how performant the app is on my old-ass 3G. It seems to open faster than the SMS or Dialer apps do. Probably 'cause it was developed back when the 3G was cutting-edge!
It's ironic that Apple might have changed their app store rules to allow a Google product (GV) into the app store in order to counter another Google product (Android)
My understanding is that this change in policy was directly in response to pressure from the EU and FTC probes.
It's interesting the extent to which apple is pre-emptively trying to avoid anti-trust actions by allowing apps like opera and gv and backpedaling on ad network competition. I assume that's because they see it as a real possibility that an EU remedy could be something like forcing them to natively support competing app stores. That would be a huge blow to apple revenue.
I'm struck that it appears to do very little local caching. In that sense it feels like a highly polished web app, always at the mercy of an available network. Also, it's iPhone-only. Following the direct download link from an iPod or iPad yields an error. Guess I'm sticking with Boxcar for iPad push notifications.
The inbox is incredibly slow to load up ("refreshing conversations...") compared to the native SMS app or even Whatsapp (iPhone 4, 4.2, 3G 3 bars). And while it loads up, it doesn't seem to be possible to switch from the inbox to the dialer or the "Menu"...
It's also crashed twice when opening after receiving a text notification.
(disappointed sigh).
This long-awaited arrival throws quite the wrench into the Android v. iOS platform wars. Google was obviously already on the iPhone (with search, its popular native app, gmail, etc.), but Google Voice is clearly different in that in competes with the core functions of the phone. What do you guys think the impact of this will be? Could Google use this as a Trojan horse to hook people on GV then try to upsell them to a…
I think its yet another killer Android application that is now available on iPhone. While I can see their logic in this instance I still don't understand why Google insists on porting all of their good Android applications across, removing any competitive advantage they give to Android.
Because Google isn't in the business you think they're in.
My understanding is that this change in policy was directly in response to pressure from the EU and FTC probes.
It's interesting the extent to which apple is pre-emptively trying to avoid anti-trust actions by allowing apps like opera and gv and backpedaling on ad network competition. I assume that's because they see it as a real possibility that an EU remedy could be something like forcing them to natively support competing app stores. That would be a huge blow to apple revenue.
are you suggesting they make a notable amount of direct money off the app store?
Or are you suggesting the more indirect: more app stores->less confidence, more confusion, less sales->less device sales->less revenue