Just yesterday at Windy City Strategies, we blogged about the release of Google Voice through Gmail. In less than 24 hours from the release, more than 1,000,000 free calls had been made.
All signs point to this being a game changer. Not just a new convenience. But changing the entire telecommunications profit model. Because unlike Skype, which currently costs 2.1 cents a minute to make outgoing phone calls to non-Skype users, Google Voice through Gmail is free. You can call anyone in the world on their own phone line…free of charge.
Now, you’re probably thinking, that’s great but I don’t want to have to sit down in front of my computer every time I make a call. The thing is, you can access Gmail through your smart phone.
Imagine that every call you make from your cell phone no longer costs you a single minute of air time. Instead of traditional wireless plans, we would move to a strictly data plan environment. I love it when things get better and freer all at the same time.
Google is also planning on releasing phone booths in universities and airports that utilize the Google Voice through Gmail platform. However, if day one tells us anything, this thing is going to spread like wildfire without any advertising or PR push on their end.