Google voice finally launches much anticipated Google Voice application for iPhone and other iDevices

Last month we blogged about the unofficial Google voice application GV-Mobile +, when it was available in the App Store for free. We received good feedback from our readers on that post as they were able to download it to their iPhones and iPod touches just in time. Using GV Mobile +, one can make free phone calls to anywhere in the USA and Canada. Moreover, you can send and receive text messages for free.

Now since Google Has released its own application for iPhone, it seems it is going to throw that application out of app store as the official Google application is free while for the other application you need to pay $2.99. However, there are some cool features in GV Mobile + which are missing in the official application.

How to download Google Voice application for iPhone

This application can be downloaded from App Store, to download it you can search for it on your App store or download it from Google Voice Official Application.This application is free but you need to have an Apple Id to download it. If you are registered with iTunes then the same ID can be used for all things Apple. If you visit your App Store on your phone and search for Google Voice, you will see this application. Click (tap) on that link and you will be presented with the screenshot shown on the left. Click on Free and Click on Install to install this application. It will take some time to install it. Please make sure that you are on wi-fi or it might cost you some data charges to download this application.

Free Calls and Free Text using Google Voice application

To use this application, after you have downloaded it, tap on its icon and it will open, giving you a link to sign in. In order to use this application you need to have an active Google Voice account. To learn more about what is Google Voice and how to get it please refer to our earlier blog post on Google Voice. Once you click on sign in, you will see the screen shown below where you can enter your username and password (no need to use @gmail). Once you tap on signin you will see the third screen below. If you have existing phone numbers attached to your Google Voice account, GV will list those phones in the list or you will have the option to add a number now.

To add a new phone number click on custom and give your phone a name, and specify the phone number. You are now good to make phone calls using Google Voice (using GV number as ID). If you want to have calls forwarded to this number you just added, you will have to verify this number by logging into the Google voice account from your laptop.

To make a free phone call to USA or Canada, tap on Dialer icon below and dial your number using the dial pad. If you want to add some contacts from your iPhone's address book to your quick dial list for GV, tap on Contacts, select the contact and tap again to call. You will see three options - to call, to text and to add (or remove) this contact to your quick dial list.

If you want to send a text, dial the number on the dialer and tap on Text. Alternatively, you can use the second option of the three described above. GV shows all your messages in the Inbox, if you tap on the inbox icon at the bottom you will all the SMS grouped by contacts.

The Pros and Cons of Official and Unofficial Applications

The pros of official application is that it is free and it is from Google. You do not need to worry about submitting your account information to a third party. Moreover, it saves you money. The cons of the official application is that you need to use your wi-fi or 3G connection. You can not make calls in offline mode. On the other hand, the unofficial application lets you make calls using your phone by dialing your Google Voice number automatically. You can always do the same but we all can use a little bit of automation. Hey, it is 2010 :).

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