At last! Google listened to us and just updated the Google Voice app (version 0.4.2.38) with two of the best features we’ve seen in a while. One of them we’ve been requesting for a long time.

Yes, my friends. We can finally send a text message to multiple recipients, simultaneously. Just keep adding those contacts [...]]]>

At last! Google listened to us and just updated the Google Voice app (version 0.4.2.38) with two of the best features we’ve seen in a while. One of them we’ve been requesting for a long time.

Yes, my friends. We can finally send a text message to multiple recipients, simultaneously. Just keep adding those contacts to the recipient box, write your message, hit “send,” and you’re good to go. It’s that simple.

To make things even better, Google has also added another feature with this update. Until now, it hasn’t been possible to listen to voicemails without an internet connection. It’s hard to find yourself without internet, but it happens. We can now ease our minds, since we’ll be able to get our voicemails even without a data connection. Google Voice can now pre-fetch voicemails, allowing you to listen to them later on while on the road (without internet).

This is nifty, but we’re most excited about multiple recipient texting. Sure, this has been something Google took a long time with, but better late than never. Right? Go ahead and update/download Google Voice if you haven’t yet. And be sure to let us know what you think. How many of you guys have been waiting for this feature to show up?

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One of the most heavily requested features for Google Voice has undoubtedly been MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) support. The Google Voice app for Android has been tackling voice and text with ease for quite some time now, but pictures have always been an issue for the service. Thanks to a clever workaround from the Google [...]]]>

One of the most heavily requested features for Google Voice has undoubtedly been MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) support. The Google Voice app for Android has been tackling voice and text with ease for quite some time now, but pictures have always been an issue for the service. Thanks to a clever workaround from the Google Voice team, that’s becoming a thing of the past.

From now on, when someone tries to send an MMS to your Google Voice number, the MMS will be forwarded to your email. In order for this to work, you just have to follow one easy step. Log into your Google Voice account online and enable text to email forwarding in the settings. That’s it.

Right now, the official Google Voice Blog is saying that MMS to email forwarding will only work with Sprint customers. However, Life Hacker is reporting that it’s working fine for Virgin Mobile and T-Mobile customers as well. In my personal experience, that is not the case. I have a Nexus S on T-Mobile, and any picture messages I tried to send myself were stuck on “sending.” The Google Voice team says they’re working on bringing MMS forwarding to more carriers, so it shouldn’t be long before all Google Voice users can utilize the feature.

If you have service with Sprint and use Google Voice, let us know how it works for you.

The things Google manages to accomplish with voice never cease to amaze me. Today, the Google Translate app for Android has been update with an enhanced Conversation Mode that works with a total of 14 different languages.

If you haven’t tried Conversation Mode in the Google Translate app, it’s truly amazing. All you have to [...]]]>

The things Google manages to accomplish with voice never cease to amaze me. Today, the Google Translate app for Android has been update with an enhanced Conversation Mode that works with a total of 14 different languages.

If you haven’t tried Conversation Mode in the Google Translate app, it’s truly amazing. All you have to do is select the language you want your voice translated into, press the “enter Conversation Mode” banner near the bottom of the screen and say whatever it is you need translated. The Conversation Mode display looks similar to an instant message box. Bubbles of text pop up offering the the original spoken language, along with a text and audio translation. On the bottom of the screen in Conversation Mode, there’s a button you can press to speak that changes languages depending on who’s turn it is in the conversation.

In my short time with the latest version of Conversation Mode, using both Spanish and Japanese, it works great. The translated voices are really impressive. If the quality of translation and voice technology built into Google Translate is any indication of where voice commands are headed in Android, it’s going to be wild. To download the latest Google Translate for Android, just use the widget below.

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Google Voice is one of the best services the Search Giant has to offer. With free texting, visual voicemail and call-forwarding on all your phones, along with cheap international calls, Google Voice has been saving us all quite a bit of cash. Not only does this service save users money, but it also provides [...]]]>

Google Voice is one of the best services the Search Giant has to offer. With free texting, visual voicemail and call-forwarding on all your phones, along with cheap international calls, Google Voice has been saving us all quite a bit of cash. Not only does this service save users money, but it also provides a convenient, multi-platform environment. Like other great services, though, Google Voice is limited to the US. Google is now looking to change this.

Google’s European Director of Business Development, Jens Redmer, made a surprise appearance at the European Pirate Summit in Cologne, Germany. After holding a Q&A session, Redmer mentioned that Google is taking “concrete work” on making Google Voice available to European nations. (And, we assume, other continents/countries, as well).

As expected, no dates or time frames were given. (Google does not tend to talk much about services/products ahead of announcements). Redmer did clarify, however, that the delay is not only due to the work it takes for Google to port the service over. It was explained that telephone services have to go through certain legal hoops, which can be a bit time-consuming.

While the service is not yet available, Martin Bryant (from The Next Web) got some good news after the session was over. Redmer told him that, while the service is not available in Europe yet, it is actually working already. Google has been “dogfooding” (internally testing) this service in the European nations. Redmer has been using it personally, and it seems like his favorite feature is the Visual Voicemail (voicemail transcription).

Since Google Voice is all set to work in Europe, the service should be coming out as soon as they go through the legal processes. This shouldn’t take too long, but you never know. When do you think this service will start hitting other countries? What other markets do you think Google is planning to release this service in? Are any of our international readers excited to check out Google Voice?

Google takes the ownership of your data very seriously. If you’ve ever taken the the time to read Google’s general privacy statement, you’ll know they have no problem admitting what kinds of data they obtain and exactly how they use it. The same can be said for all of Google’s services. Google also believes [...]]]>

Google takes the ownership of your data very seriously. If you’ve ever taken the the time to read Google’s general privacy statement, you’ll know they have no problem admitting what kinds of data they obtain and exactly how they use it. The same can be said for all of Google’s services. Google also believes that if you want to obtain your own information, you should be able to. Which is why they launched Google Takeout.

Google Takeout is simple. You over to Google.com/Takeout, sign in, and download your data. You can organize your data by service, check your previous downloads or grab an archive of everything. The information you can download with Takeout includes +1 button clicks, data from Buzz, contacts, circles, Picasa web albums, your profile information, Google+ stream data and, starting today, archived information from your Google Voice account.

Along with the ability to download voicemail messages and greetings as .mp3 files from Google Voice, you can also obtain text messages in HTML and any forwarding phone number as a vCard.

As Google and their services continue to evolve, so will Takeout. The Big G wants to make sure you always have access to your data, and adding Google Voice to the list of available services in Takeout is certainly a step in the right direction. If you’d like to see what Takeout is all about, hit up Google.com/Takeout today.

Sprint is the first [...]]]> Today Sprint announced that integrated Google Voice services were coming to all of its CDMA phones. Google Voice was previously available to Sprint customers, but now they can set their existing Sprint wireless phone number as their Google Voice number and avoid the hassle and fees associated with porting their number.

Sprint is the first carrier to offer this new integrated Google Voice experience, so I’m guessing that Google made them a special deal for agreeing to launch the Nexus S 4G.

Google reports on their blog that the integrated Google Voice features will be available soon, but it does not specify an exact launch date. They also note that once it is launched, it will be rolled out gradually to all Google Voice users.

When you enable Google Voice on your Sprint phone, you’ll get:

• One Number for all your phones – Pick the phones you want to ring (home, work, etc.) when your Sprint number is dialed, so you’ll never miss a call.
• Online Voicemail – Check your messages by phone, email, or on the web and keep them for as long as you’d like. Plus, your messages will be converted into text and sent to you via text message or email.
• Customization, control & low-priced international calling – Create and assign personalized voicemail greetings based on who’s calling you, block unwanted callers, mark telemarketers as spam and make international calls at very low rates.

To learn more, watch the video below and visit google.com/voice/sprint.

From Sprint: Google Voice makes it easy for people to manage and access most of their voice-based communication. It lets users manage up to six different devices through one phone number with intelligent call routing and advanced features like call screening, blocking and recording using the phone’s dial pad. Sprint subscribers will be able to use their Sprint number across their office, home and wireless phones, and personalize settings so calls from friends ring their wireless device and home phone, while calls from the boss only ring at the office. Google Voice users can receive transcribed voicemails and read or listen to them online. They can also read, send and search text messages and call logs online.

The Google Voice Inbox Widget allows you to view your Google Voice voicemail and text messages right from your homescreen without needing to launch [...]]]> Just days after the leaked Google Voice application from Tmobile’s upcoming G2 phone, Google Voice received an official update in the Android Market. The updated application brings two new homescreen widgets.

The Google Voice Inbox Widget allows you to view your Google Voice voicemail and text messages right from your homescreen without needing to launch the application.

The Settings Widget allows you to quickly launch the Google Voice application, compose a new text message, change your Google Voice dialing preferences, and immediately put you into “Do Not Disturb” mode so that all your Google Voice calls will go straight to voicemail.

You’ll also be able to see your credit balance at the bottom of the widget.

Widgets are one of the main things that make Android stand out against its competitors, and the Google Voice widgets are both handy and very well done. We encourage you to head over to the market and update your Google Voice application to the latest version.

As always, let us know what you think about the update in the comments.

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If [...]]]> Google Voice is now open to anyone in the U.S. – no invitation is required. The free service provides one number to ring all your phones, voicemail transcriptions, and a ton of other things your carrier probably doesn’t provide. Check out the official Google Voice overview page for a complete list of features.

If you have never checked out Google Voice, I would suggest at least installing the Android client and see how it works first hand. The voicemail transcriptions are my favorite feature and the main reason I switched over from my carrier’s voicemail. Additionally, you can send SMS text messages using your Google Voice number without charges from your carrier. The latest update also allows for better inbox synchronization which allows for instant notifications.

Visit the official Google Voice site and just sign in with your existing Google Account to get started.

Google Voice is a fantastic service and if you have an Android phone you should [...]]]> Perhaps not the most significant Google Blog post of the day, but if you’ve got an .edu email address and an Android phone then this is definitely something you are going to want to take a look at.

Google Voice is a fantastic service and if you have an Android phone you should definitely be using it. The one big problem is that it remains invite only, but starting today students are getting moved to the front of the invite line.

You can sign up right now by just entering your .edu email address right here. There will probably still be a bit of a wait after you sign up, so don’t worry if you don’t get anything immediately.

Here’s a quick list of notable features of Google Voice for mobile followed by Google’s own video on the Android app. Additional information on Google Voice itself can be found here.

• One number – You can select a number when you first sign up and this is your Google Voice number which you can receive and make calls or text messages from.
• Voicemail transcription – One of the best (and sometimes funniest) features is that it will do its best to transcribe and send any new voicemail messages to you via email.
• Free text messages – Much as it sounds, you can send and receive text messages for free using the Google Voice app. Check here for a description of how to set this up to be sure they are free.
• Cheap international calls – Make low-priced international calls directly from your phone.
• Integration – Google Voice integrates with your Google Contacts.
• Custom greetings – You can set up a special greeting for different callers.

Like most things Google this is a free service so if you have an .edu email address just trust me that you want to head over right now and sign up.