Googlephones?
November 17th, 2006I discovered Google’s new Click-to-Call feature quite by accident, while looking for coffee shops on Grand Ave in St. Paul. The feature silently appeared as a ‘Call’ link next to the phone number of the business, and clicking this brought up an option to have Google connect me to the business instantly.
A really good feature is the fact that Google blocks your number so that the business cannot see it. Of course, there is the minimal convenience of not having to manually dial the business’ number (and Google temporarily remembers your number over a certain window of time).
To prevent abuse and prank calls, there is a system in place to reject suspect calls from the same user within a reasonable period of time.
The best feature of all? Google pays for all costs of the service, both local and long-distance (excluding airtime charges for a cellphone of course). This means that calling a business anywhere in the US is now virtually free over the internet to any user. I can very easily see this feature being incorporated into Google Talk, an instant messaging program, to compete with equivalent options provided by VoIP companies like Skype today.
Google Click-to-Call FAQ
