If you are a Windows Phone user and a Google Voice user, your life is about to get a bit more difficult. Google is dropping their XMPP support on the 15th of May. This means the majority of 3rd party Apps, ones like GoVoice, MetroTalk and Free Talk, will lose their ability to route calls through the Google Voice system to your device. This will really impact those that have been using the service to replace their cellular service or make low cost international calls.
Google is doing this in conjunction with rolling their Voice services into their Hangouts App for the web, iOS and Android. For Windows Phone users, there has never been an official Voice App from Google, so there is not much of a chance that Hangouts will make it’s way to the OS either. That said, all is not lost.
If you are using your Google Voice number as a business line and having it forwarded to your cellular device, home phone or other phone number, your service will continue to work properly and you won’t notice any changes. You can also use the callback service via the web to save money on international calling or dial your Google Voice number from your device to route calls through Google.
While this is a heartbreaking issue for those that depended on Google Voice for free Wi-Fi calling from home, remember, Skype gives you unlimited calling to the US for only $2.99 a month. You can link this to your Google Voice number and use them in tandem to keep those savings in your pocket.
For me, this is end of my using my Nokia Windows phone. It was a very difficult decision, but the benefits of a somewhat integrated Google Voice 3rd party app vs the outstanding Nokia phone and battery life. Back to the mothballed HTC sensation. Seems like this happened with Google and Apple a few years back, but they have worked out their issues. Is there any hope for Windows and Google to do the same?
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Charles and I have to agree with losing MetroTalk or some of the Google Voice VoIP functions is going to hurt those switching over to Windows Phone. I can say after using the HTC One for a week now, Android has come a long way since that Sensation hit the market.
ReplyDeleteThat said, do I personally think that Google and Microsoft will play nice? No, I don't. The biggest difference between the Google/Apple thing and the Google/Microsoft thing is that Google and Apple aren't really competing. Sure, they both sell phones and OS's, but Apple doesn't sell VoIP services which compete with Google Voice directly. They also don't have an email service that competes directly with Gmail or a search engine that competes with Google's.
Microsoft has positioned itself in Google's crosshairs with the Skype acquisition, with Hotmail (even if it was first) and Bing. These are the products that keep Google funded to make things like a free mobile OS. You can see how terrible the relationship is between these two by looking up the "YouTube" controversy that Microsoft and Google went through.
For now, if Google Voice is so important, make sure you read up on the limitations of calls from Hangouts and make sure that trade is worth it. If I were to have to choose between my Nokia 925 or my older HTC Evo 4G - the Lumia wins hands down. Choosing between the 925 and the HTC One however is a toss up as Kit Kat is smooth and the Apps for Android just work better than their WP counterparts. That said, I've had to install quite a few third party Apps to get back to all the functionality that I had with Windows Phone that were baked right into the OS.
Good luck on the decision though - and remember, Microsoft has some amazing Android Apps as well. Their Outlook mail app is fantastic, the OneDrive App is every bit as good as the Windows Phone version and Bing actually lets you participate in their Bing Rewards program from Android!