Google Voice update adds short code support, warns you when you text 911

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An update to Google Voice today brings a useful, if not earth-shattering, new feature: support for SMS short codes. If your primary phone number is the one associated with your Google Voice account, this means you’ll finally be able to use these codes for online banking and other services without your message showing up as sent from your carrier number. Today’s update also adds a warning message whenever you type the 911 short code — a handy safeguard, if you ask us. Nab the Android app update via the source link below.

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Via: Android Central

Source: Google Play

Hangouts upgrade disables outbound Google Voice calls in desktop Gmail, company promises it will return ‘soon’

Hangouts upgrade disables outbound Google Voice calls in desktop Gmail, company promises it will return 'soon'

Anyone who’s tried out the new Hangouts feature in Gmail in place of the traditional Google Talk option got a bit of surprise when they went to make an outbound call from their computer. That feature gets disabled when the new Hangouts replacement is switched on, leaving folks looking to make calls with no other option than to revert to the old Google Talk in Gmail or seek out another alternative. That’s apparently just a temporary change, though, as Google’s Nikhyl Singhal has now confirmed that both outbound and inbound calls will “soon be available.” Unfortunately, he’s not getting any more specific than that for the time being. He did, however, reiterate that “Hangouts is designed to be the future of Google Voice,” and that “making/receiving phone calls is just the beginning,” further adding that “future versions of Hangouts will integrate Google Voice more seamlessly.”

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Source: Nikhyl Singhai (Google+)

Gmail phone calls remain free of charge in 2013 for US and Canada

Gmail phone calls remain free of charge in 2013 for US and Canada

It may be an expected holiday gift, but it’s still a nice one: Google’s VoIP service in Gmail will remain free of charge for calls within the United States and Canada in 2013. A note on the Gmail Blog announced as much today; the news ushers in a thrilling third year of free Google Voice service for US and Canadian customers, right through the standard Gmail interface. Of course, we prefer the retro-inspired phone booth that Google showed off back in 2010 when the service was first announced, but free is free. Now, what to get for the megacorporation that has everything. We’re thinking … Furby? Probably a Furby.

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Source: Google

Google Voice update cures Android 4.2 compatibility woes

Google Voice Android crash

Google Voice callers who lean heavily on the Android app got an unwelcome side dish of predictable app crashes if they upgraded to Android 4.2 very quickly. Thankfully, the developers in Mountain View have been quick to get us back to the main course: a newly available update patches the relevant bug and lets us get back to messaging as usual. Anyone who held off on a firmware upgrade (or a Nexus purchase) for fear that they’d miss an important call has just been given the all-clear signal.

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Google Voice update cures Android 4.2 compatibility woes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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D’oh: Google Voice force-closing text messages for Android 4.2 users

DNP Google Voice force closing text messages in Android 42

The growing pains associated with being an early adopter can sometimes be brutal, as Android’s latest software bump doesn’t appear to jibe too well with one of Google’s most popular in-house apps. Prior to the Nexus 4’s official release, word of a Google Voice texting bug began to circulate, but was written off as pre-release jitters. However, it appears that the issue is expanding beyond the search giant’s newborn smartphone, as owners of the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus loaded with Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) are also experiencing crashes when attempting to compose a text message within Google Voice. While the app still works for phone calls, text messages are completely off limits. Hopefully, this issue can be fixed with an app update as opposed to a new Android software version altogether. In the meantime, if you’re a heavy Google Voice user with Android 4.2 in your crosshairs, we suggest that you hold fire and wait until Google officially sorts things out.

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D’oh: Google Voice force-closing text messages for Android 4.2 users originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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