Gizmo5 will be rolled into Google Voice, to create a very interesting alternative to normal home phone service.
(Joel Saget/AFP)Photos (1 of 1)
How Gizmo5 is both good and bad for Google
Gizmo5 lets Google act like a phone company. But now it might need to, well, act like a phone company.
By Chris Gaylord | 11.13.09
Gizmo5 stands as one of Google’s more interesting recent acquisitions.
Hungry Google has marched down the tech sector buffet line, ladling several delicious services onto its plate. The $750 million AdMob deal will extend the giant’s reach into mobile-phone advertising. ReCAPTCHA will aid security and its digital book project. On2 could help video encoding.
But Gizmo5 seems most like a boon for us users. The online calling service – very similar to Skype – lets people ditch phone companies and make calls through the Internet.
Google plans to roll the service into Google Voice, which is currently a suite of added phone functions. Users can have incoming calls ring multiple phones at the same time – e.g. home, office, and cellphone. Google Voice will also transcribe voicemails and then email or text the messages to you. However, these services require that you have an existing phone line.
No longer, thanks to Gizmo5. Now that Google can tie the two together, it starts to look like a full-fledged phone company – one with fun features that AT&T and Verizon don’t offer. When the two truly merge, maybe it will be time to rethink your home phone bill.
But the conversion also raises problems for Google. Already under increased scrutiny from federal regulators, Google is now pushing itself into a “different class of regulatory oversight from agencies like the FCC,” writes PCWorld. “In response to an AT&T complaint to the FCC regarding Google blocking some calls on Google Voice, Google countered by stating that it does not actually provide the calling backbone so it should not be subject to those same communications rules. That is about to change…. With Gizmo5, Google may now find itself on both sides of the net neutrality debate–both wanting an unrestricted public Internet and looking for ways to manage and restrict traffic for the services it provides.”
Excited by Gizmo5? Well, it seems newcomers will need to wait to try it out. Google reports that the service has closed its doors to new users while it merges the two technologies.
Also check out:
Google now dishing out Voice invites
––
Hungry for more tech news? Follow us on Twitter.
<< 1080p YouTube videos? Um, sure. | MainComments
2. Rosewater | 11.14.09
It’s going to be interesting if the FCC rules that google really is a phone company, akin to the government ruling that paypal is a bank. Which introduces all sorts of non-internet-friendly regulations.
3. Sanjaya Yogi | 11.14.09
For starters, I am a big fan of Google´s vision, both in terms of services, products, and the Internet. I am also a former resident of the United States, and now a permanent resident of Brazil. One thing I can see for example: Gizmo5 does not accept PayPal only Google Checkout, and MoneyBookers, neither of which allow me to make a AMEX payment of purchase more minutes for my Gizmo5 account. Brasil is the largest economy in South America, and is currently the 8th largest economy globally.
I hope that Google does not only intend to focus on the United States as a market, but truly has a vision of providing services to all countries.
Google Wave integrated with Google Voice and now Gizmo5 could really help us here in Brazil where the cell phone companies, telephone companies, and cable companies are known for high prices and poor services. Please let me pay my account without needing a bank account in another country.
4. Ed | 11.14.09
You know they broke up AT&T many years and it came back worse than ever.
I won’t be upset if the worse phone company EVER goes down! We shouldn’t be paying so much for all this media.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
1. About gizmo5 voip, gizmo5 calling, calling software, phone company, gizmo5 acquisition, voice, voip company gizmo5 | Find me About | 11.14.09
Leave a Comment
We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. The comments feature is a forum to discuss the ideas in our stories. Constructive debate - even pointed disagreement - is welcome, but personal attacks on other commenters are not, and will not be published.
Tip: Do not write a novel. Keep it short. We will not publish lengthy comments. Come up with your own statements. This is not a place to cut and paste an email you received. If we recognize it as such, we won't post it.
Please do not post any comments that are commercial in nature or that violate copyrights.
Finally, we will not publish any comments that we regard as obscene, defamatory, or intended to incite violence.
1. Regicide Smitty | 11.13.09
Awesome! Google continually pushes the advancement of technology and has already left numerous casualties in its wake.
Google cannot be stopped. Schmidt, Brin, and Page know exactly what they are doing. They have LONG TERM vision. AT & T will simply be known as another monopoly that Google has taken down.
Their TRUE GOAL is to slowly and methodically democratize the world. Just look at Google’s 10^100 Project. These are lofty goals indeed… BRAVO! I say! BRAVO!