Google Gmail Logs 10M Calls in First Week

Launched August 25, Call Phones from Gmail lets users place calls to contacts directly from Gmail. Calls placed from Gmail in the U.S. and Canada are free and start at 2 cents per minute outside those countries.

The tool, which requires Google's voice and video plug-in, lets users click a Call Phone link. This opens a window with a dialer keypad. Users may began typing the names of their contacts to call, or enter a number and click to dial the contact's mobile phone or landline.

That pace picked up, with over 10 million calls lodged in the first 7 days since the VOIP tool's release, Google Voice Product Marketing Manager Michael Bolognino said.

Google Voice users using Call Phones from Gmail have their personal Google Voice number displayed as their caller ID, thanks to Gmail's integration with that phone management application.