google voice

Communication is increasingly moving off the grid and into the cloud. For cellphone users -- especially ones with smartphones -- there are a host of online tools and apps that can help reduce usage on carrier plans and save money. Here are a half dozen easy options.

Internet phone provider Skype and Facebook Inc are in discussions to join forces on communications services, The Wall Street Journal said. As part of a partnership to be announced in the next few weeks, Facebook users will be able to sign into Skype using Facebook Connect accounts. Once signed...

The conventional wisdom gaining strength these days is that Google is past its hot-growth prime. But unnoticed by many investors are at least three businesses that could give the search giant's stock the kick it's looking for.

Google Voice is now available to the public. The free service comes with a new phone number which directs incoming calls to your mobile, home and office numbers. Shortly after the release, Google was slapped with a patent lawsuit over the service.

As we become more mobile and have unlimited or high-minute cell phone plans, the traditional landline has given up its role as our connection to friends and become instead a connection to our wallet, sucking out a monthly stipend for the simple act of sitting there waiting to be put to work. Still,...

In a recent post on WalletPop, Aaron Crowe warned us of five details wireless companies don't want you to know. The one that stood out to me was that most customers are paying an extra $2 to $3 a bill to listen to voicemail. Thanks to the decision of most cell phone carriers to include useless...

On Thursday I left my phone on the nightstand. After sharing this fact with friends a few wished me the comfort of a phone-free day but the rest realized how much I depend on my smartphone -- because they do too. To compound matters I have multiple points of contact that I cannot miss calls from....

Search giant Google (GOOG), which looks increasingly like a phone company, paid $30 million for Gizmo5, the Web-based calling startup, DailyFinance has confirmed with people familiar with the matter. The deal is done and the startup's staff has begun work integrating into the Google Voice team in...

Phones are ringing off the hook at businesses that facilitate making calls over the Internet. With the apparent resolution of the spinout of Net calls pioneer Skype several days ago has come frenzied dealmaking in the VoIP -- short for voice over Internet protocol -- space. First, Google bought...

According to the Google (GOOG) Voice sign-up page, users now need just one phone number for the service. Previously, users were required to have both a number with a telephone carrier and a second one issued by Google. The search company says that it now offers "a single phone number that rings all...