Google Voice without using minutes?

[this is funah]

I've searched these forums for a while now, and posted in other threads only to be ignored on this issue, an issue I'm sure other people would like solved...

Is it possible to dial out on Google Voice on the iPhone without using minutes? as in the same way to "call phone" from google talk in Gmail? I'm living in Germany and using google voice simply as a "way to store contacts" is really useless, especially when i know the capability is there in Gmail.

I've been using Whistle Phone in combination with GV Mobile+ and it's been the only workaround I can find, however the call quality is horrendous, even on a good wifi connection.

Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[this is funah]

i cannot believe that i'm alone in this issue.

does nobody else really want free phone calls with google voice?

 

[forcetactic]

not possible yet

 

[DeuceDeuce]

i cannot believe that i'm alone in this issue.

does nobody else really want free phone calls with google voice?

Sure we do but its not possible yet from what I understand

 

[bripab007]

If your cell phone company does not charge you for minutes from other mobile users on the same carrier, then you might be able to set your calling method (in an app look GV Mobile+ or GV Connect) to Call Back using your own cell phone number as caller ID. This has the potential to save you money on outbound calls only.

 

[Carlanga]

not possible yet....

 

[Sixth Street]

Here's how I do it. Not free, but reliable and cheap.

1. Buy Acrobits Softphone or Groundwire for your iDevice - http://www.acrobits.cz/products/

2. Buy a "Dirt Cheap DID" from Callcentric @ $2.95/month. Per their website, described as "Dirt Cheap DID's include unlimited incoming calls with no per-minute incoming call fees." - http://www.callcentric.com/dids/phone_number_sale

3. Configure Softphone or Groundwire to dial out using GV which forwards the call to your Dirt Cheap DID. Everything is done within the Softphone/Groundwire app. Completely integrated. Here's a youtube video demonstrating setup and usage - http://www.virtualida.com/2010/10/lets-talk-free-5-acrobits-one-app-to.html

4. The video left out talking about how to add the forwarding number in GV and verifying it. Just add your DID number in GV and to verify it, leave Softphone/Groundwire open and hit verify in GV. Your Softphone/Groundwire should now ring and you can punch in your verification code.

Note, in the video, where the user is putting in sipgate detail, you will put in your DID details. You can also use a free sipgate account if you have one, but if you want reliable quality calls using this method, I'd HIGHLY suggest paying. The free methods like sipgate and gizmo5 really have worthless quality over 3G. I have and tried both.

So again, not free, but cheap and saves a ton of minutes. There are also ways to get incoming calls using GV and your data connection, but I've found all the push methods within Softphone/Groundwire to be a big battery drain so I choose not to utilize them.

 

[coasterswim]

If your cell phone company does not charge you for minutes from other mobile users on the same carrier, then you might be able to set your calling method (in an app look GV Mobile+ or GV Connect) to Call Back using your own cell phone number as caller ID. This has the potential to save you money on outbound calls only.

Or, if you're on an AT&T plan that has A-List, add your GV# to your list and set the caller ID to display your GV# on incoming calls; using this method all calls involving GV use unlimited free minutes.

 

[ridx]

Here's how I do it. Not free, but reliable and cheap.

1. Buy Acrobits Softphone or Groundwire for your iDevice - http://www.acrobits.cz/products/

2. Buy a "Dirt Cheap DID" from Callcentric @ $2.95/month. Per their website, described as "Dirt Cheap DID's include unlimited incoming calls with no per-minute incoming call fees." - http://www.callcentric.com/dids/phone_number_sale

3. Configure Softphone or Groundwire to dial out using GV which forwards the call to your Dirt Cheap DID. Everything is done within the Softphone/Groundwire app. Completely integrated. Here's a youtube video demonstrating setup and usage - http://www.virtualida.com/2010/10/lets-talk-free-5-acrobits-one-app-to.html

4. The video left out talking about how to add the forwarding number in GV and verifying it. Just add your DID number in GV and to verify it, leave Softphone/Groundwire open and hit verify in GV. Your Softphone/Groundwire should now ring and you can punch in your verification code.

Note, in the video, where the user is putting in sipgate detail, you will put in your DID details. You can also use a free sipgate account if you have one, but if you want reliable quality calls using this method, I'd HIGHLY suggest paying. The free methods like sipgate and gizmo5 really have worthless quality over 3G. I have and tried both.

So again, not free, but cheap and saves a ton of minutes. There are also ways to get incoming calls using GV and your data connection, but I've found all the push methods within Softphone/Groundwire to be a big battery drain so I choose not to utilize them.

Use sipgate as your viop provider instead of callcentric. sipgate is already preconfigured in acrobits. sipgate allows free incoming calls which is what gv will call to connect a call. works great in the us, but i've seen setting in other sip clients to suggest that you can get numbers in Germany.