Gmail users in the U.S. and Canada will get free calling for another year, Google announced Wednesday.
"You'll continue to be able to make free domestic calls through 2013," Mayur Kamat, a product manager at the company, said in a blog post.
Users with Internet connection and a microphone can make calls to any
phone from within the email client. An option to "Call phone,"
indicated by a phone-receiver icon, is part of Google Chat's menu; when clicked, a pop-up with a dial pad appears.
Google debuted voice calls in August 2010, and extended free calling at the end of every year-- through 2011 and 2012 -- since then.
While international calls are not free, users can dial to another
country from Gmail "at insanely low rates," Kamat wrote. Rates for the
calls start at $0.02 per minute, according to Google.
In the first 24 hours after its launch, Google Voice saw 1 million
class placed. At the time, commentators said the service could be a Skype-killer.
Will you be taking advantage of Google Voice's free domestic calls?
Do you use the service in Gmail? Tell us in the comments below.
