TechCrunch broke the news today that Google has bought Gizmo5, the popular VoIP SIP provider, for $30 mil cash (not confirmed officially yet). The company was led by Michael Robertson, known for his times on mp3.com and Lindows. What does this mean for Google Voice? Read on.
As some of you might know, I am a big VoIP head, and I use it exclusively (now through Google Voice) to call my family in Greece. Interestingly enough, a few months ago, right after I got invited on Google Voice, I sent a pretty “get off your butt” feedback message to Google Voice, suggesting that they should either buy Gizmo5, or at least create their own VoIP SIP service — since I am not always interested in using Google Voice via my landline or cellphone, in order to cut down costs.
So when I read the news today that Google bought Gizmo5, I rejoiced. This is what it’s needed to bring tele-communications to the 21st Century: the free/cheap prices of Google Voice, by way of an internet connection.
Of course, there have been many VoIP providers so far, but none offers completely free US calling, with so cheap international calling (which has the potential to also become completely free in the future when-and-if Google spreads their Google Voice project to other countries too).
The only stinky point for me with Gizmo5 has been that there was some lag in the audio every time I used it (my mom keeps complaining about it). Lag that doesn’t exist with the Skype service. I keep hoping that Google will fix whatever technical difficulties Gizmo5 has had.
Another interesting point is that if there’s a new version of the “Google Voice” application for iPhone and Android that incorporates a VoIP SIP stack, then Apple will have NO legitimate reason to reject the app again, because with a VoIP stack incorporated, the app won’t be different than Skype or other SIP apps found on the AppStore.
In conclusion, this is a great day for consumers, especially those who have family abroad. This is a huge blow for cell carriers, of course, but what can you do? Technology evolves, and just like in the music business, the companies must adjust to new realities. And Google just adjusted to them. AT&T, it’s your turn.
I don’t understand this. I googled SIP, and found this: http://www.sipcenter.com/sip.nsf/html/What+Is+SIP+Introduction. If google didn’t already have a SIP protocol, how did calls work before? Or does this add another way to make a call?
I’ve never used VoIP; so this article didn’t really make sense to me since it seems to assume the reader already understands VoIP basics.
SIP is the protocol used. Like, let’s say, “Jabber”.
Gizmo5 is one of the many providers for that protocol. Skype is the only one that uses its own protocol, and it’s not compatible with the so-many SIP providers.
You create an account with Gizmo5 or other SIP providers, and then you can receive and make calls through the internet. The calls are free between the same provider, most of the time free between most SIP providers, but they do cost some money if you want to call Skype, or “real” landline/cellphone numbers.
Now, Google Voice is a “pairing” and “patching through” system. What it does is this: you create an account with them, and they give you a local phone number. Then, you “pair” that number with your real landline/cellphone number. When people are calling you on the GV number, you REAL landline/cellphone number will ring! See, if someone is calling you from Mongolia, and calls your GV number, because it’s your GV number that patches you through to your real number, your telco only sees that local GV number, not the Mongolian one. And so you don’t pay anything in your monthly bill! And you can initiate calls too, after you go to the GV web site and tell it “call this number, and make my real number ring”. If the number you dialed is in the US, you pay nothing. If it’s international, it’s very cheap, about $0.2 per min. You can pair many “real” telephone/devices with GV, so it can ring all of them: your landline, your cellphone, your wife’s cell etc. So no matter where you are, you are always going to receive the phone call, and it will always be seen as a local call.
Now, where it gets interesting is that you can “pair” GV with Gizmo5, which is an internet-only VoIP application. With this, you will get completely free calls, so you won’t even be paying for local calls (e.g. as it is true in most cell contracts). And you can get someone on the other side of the planet, call your Gizmo number instead of your GV/landline/cellphone — which will be free for him/her if he also uses Gizmo5 — and then have it ring on any of your devices. Or, if you are vacating in Brazil, and you happen to have WiFi on your hotel, you will still get your calls, you won’t miss a beat! You can use a Nokia S60 Symbian smartphone that has VoIP SIP support for example (since the iPhone doesn’t support background apps, just PUSH doesn’t work well with VoIP alerts)!
It’s a bit complicated, I know. But take this with you: all this makes phone calls very cheap internationally, with the potential of becoming 100% free in a few years. Just like they don’t pay anything on Star Trek to call each other, we won’t either.
Edited 2009-11-10 00:37 UTC
Thanks for the reply. That cleared things up a bit.
unless goverments buy out all the telcos i can’t really see that 100% free calls happening ever, and even if you think they’re free you’ll still be paying for them, maybe just not by the minute…
do you really get charged different in the US if the calls comes from within the US or abroad? or is that just on cellphones since i think both parties pay for the calls over there, which would make more sense to me as to why google would need a SIP stack for google voice.
here in guatemala all the advantages you laid out would be moot since the calls are paid by whomever is making them only, so i wasn’t seeing why would google need gizmo5
the thing i don’t get is, considering how “cheap” it is to build a voip tisp why would they go out and buy one? what does gizmo5 have that no one else has or can’t be build?
<rant>
I don’t think it’s going to be a huge blow for mobile phone carriers servicing Perth (and probably the rest of Aus) since Wifi hotspots are a bit of a joke here.
Unless you’re in MacDonalds, or smack bang in the centre of the CBD, you can pretty much forget it. And using your mobile data service to use VOIP here is too slow, and too expensive.
</rant>
Maybe right now…. but give it a few months and you’ll be able to use this service (or any other VoIP provider), on your 4G WiMAX network that’s getting rolled out over Perth..
http://vividwireless.com.au/
No need to use the mobile or a landline then 🙂
Nice!
Where have they been all my life.
The only thing gizmo5 seemed to have that I missed from a real VoIP service was the ability to encrypt calls between SIP users. However, since I also call abroad, and I primarily, or rather only, regular landlines, that’s really moot. I personally use vitelity.net with an ATM to be able to use my regular phones. Vitelity is just fine, and I wonder if Google is really going to do something which could improve my service/pricing from what I enjoy now.
Hi, I use http://www.rebtel.com which is great for me, Can you tell me which is a good difference between this service and vitelity.net?
Any idea?
Greetings
This message was sponsored by Moogle, turning humans to drones. There was nice small clip in Techflash website where some old guy told difference between Microsoft and Google, one is run by cold businessmen and other by cold engineers. It’s funny, Fragerz, gamerz chocolatebar, filled with cocaine substance, keepz you frezh that in future we will be bombarded with ads on everywhere. Wanna read book online with ads in every second page, you wanna make call thru internet and you listen some voice ads, you wanna read news you get ads, you wanna navigate to home well you get tons of ads blocking satnav view, but hey atleast it’s free. Does your dog suffer anal bleeds… SHUT UP!
You must be living in dreamland… In my world that already has been happening since decades.
If Gizmondo and Google Voice want do do it right, then there should be no per client restrictions – i.e. anyone using Ekiga.net or DIY SIP-server or whatever other SIP-provider then there should be no restrictions which other SIP-clients he/she can connect to.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but until now Gizmondo and Google Voice didn’t allow to call to/from SIP-clients in other networks.
SIP is like e-mail – wherever your account is then you can mail other e-mail accounts. Can you imagine that if you have gmail account and your one friend has yahoo account and other friend has ibm account, you cannot email them?
I sincerely hope this isn’t true. The thought of any money going to Michael Robertson (a lying, thieving, scumbag) is disconcerting. See: http://kevincarmony.blogspot.com/2009/11/gizmo5-sipphone-shareholde…