Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts

#1

Post by Anon84 » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 3:05 PM UTC

Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts
googleblog.blogspot.com

Re: Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts

#2

Post by gk1 » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 3:08 PM UTC

This is great and comes just in time for me. I'm close to my monthly minutes limit and have resorted to using Hangouts and Skype, where I still have some credits remaining. Now it'll be a no-brainer, if the calls are free.

Re: Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts

#3

Post by smeyer » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 3:20 PM UTC

Is this still possible from gchat? That used to be (and possibly still is) an option if I recall correctly.

Re: Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts

#4

Post by vmarsy » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 3:22 PM UTC

Weren't the calls already free on Google Voice for years?

Re: Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts

#5

Post by davidw » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 3:22 PM UTC

Didn't this used to work fine with Google Voice and Google Chat? Then they broke it, and now it's fixed?

Lately, Google Hangouts has been giving me abysmal results when talking to my parents in the US. The video freezes every minute or so, and even voice only doesn't work so well. It used to work much better.

Re: Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts

#6

Post by untog » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 3:23 PM UTC

According to /r/android this also finally brings Google Voice into Hangouts: http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/2fz6hh/hangouts_and...

I haven't seen the update yet to try it, but am hoping I do soon. This is long, long overdue.

All this said - Hangouts on desktop is still so much worse than GChat was - and GChat had free calls too. I'd type a number, two seconds later it would be ringing in the bottom right corner. Now, a Hangout window opens, the Hangouts plugin loads, my CPU goes haywire...

Re: Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts

#7

Post by AdmiralAsshat » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 3:24 PM UTC

Finally. Now when I'm in my basement I can at least wifi-call my family from my cellphone instead of having to open up my damn laptop to call from a Chrome gmail browser tab.

Re: Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts

#8

Post by abcdefidk » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 3:26 PM UTC

So.....

Why are we paying for ginormously expensive cell phone bills again? With a wifi connection, you can now:

Talk

Text

Send MMS (think Snapchat)

Do everything else smartphone-wise.

I know a few things that might run into issues - you can't take a call while on the road without cell service. GPS would be a no-go. Things like Google Maps and Nike Running wouldn't work.

But aside from that.... what good reasons still exist for having a cell phone bill?

Re: Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts

#9

Post by xhrpost » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 3:27 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #5

Didn't this used to work fine with Google Voice and Google Chat? Then they broke it, and now it's fixed? Lately, Google Hangouts has been giving me abysmal results when talking to my parents in the US. The video freezes every minute or so, and even voice only doesn't work so well. It used to work much better.

The Google Voice app still did a traditional cellular call to my knowledge. You had to get a third party app like GrooVe IP in order to make a data call via the Google Voice system.

Re: Introducing free voice calls from Hangouts

#10

Post by jacquesm » Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 3:29 PM UTC

abcdefidk wrote: post #8

So..... Why are we paying for ginormously expensive cell phone bills again? With a wifi connection, you can now: Talk Text Send MMS (think Snapchat) Do everything else smartphone-wise. I know a few things that might run into issues - you can't take a call while on the road without cell service. GPS would be a no-go. Things like Google Maps and Nike Running wouldn't work. But aside from that.... what good reasons stil…

> But aside from that.... what good reasons still exist for having a cell phone bill?

Coverage. Cell phones are much longer range than wi-fi.

For instance, you couldn't make a wi-fi call out of your car without using the cell network. So if your cell phone is connected to the net in your car then you're using the cellular modem, not the wifi one.