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Last updated: Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Google has launched a new version of Google Voice for mobile handsets running Palm’s webOS and iPhone OS 3.0 and higher. The new browser-based offering is immediately available to owners of compatible iPhones and Palm Pre handsets who also have Google Voice accounts. The functionality delivered by the new Google Voice app is largely the same as it would be on a native mobile app like the one available for Google’s Android-powered smartphones. “The main difference is that the web app uses your Google Contacts, which are stored in the cloud, rather than using the phone’s local contacts,” a Google spokesperson said. Disruptive Effects The release of Google Voice on Tuesday follows Google’s rollout Monday of the latest version of its Chrome web browser, which incorporates advanced HTML5 capabilities. According to Google, one of the benefits of HTML5 is that it allows running faster, smoother and richer web-based applications in the browser by significantly reducing load times and network requests. “The new web app also lets you display your Google Voice number as the outbound caller ID, so return calls come back to your Google Voice number,” wrote Google Software Engineer Michael van Ouwerkerk in a blog. Additionally, users can “send and receive text messages for free, and place international calls at Google Voice’s low rates.” Certainly it’s no secret that Google intends to be very disruptive in the mobile space, noted Lisa Pierce, an independent wireless analyst at the Strategic Networks Group. “Although many observers have been focused on what Google might do from the perspective of the big carriers, it is also clear that Google has Apple in its sights,” Pierce said. Apple’s App Store has not approved Google’s free Google Voice application for the iPhone as submitted. Apple appeared to leave the door open for a modified version to be offered. Google’s…

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Google Voice Slips Onto iPhone, Palm Pre Via Web

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