Google Voice Makes Faster Calls on Android, Blackberry

Google July 22 moved to accelerate calls placed on Android and Blackberry smartphones through its Google Voice for mobile application, the latest in a string of changes the company has made to its phone management tool.

Free Web calling

Google Voice is a free Web calling and phone management application. The program, which is used by more than 1.4 million people in the world, gives users one number to ring their home, work and mobile phones.

The mobile version for Google Voice Android and Blackberry phones, available to those who already have a Google Voice number, now allows users to place calls much faster.

To this point, when people used the the Google Voice app to make a call, the app logged a request with the Google Voice server to send the phone number the user wished to dial. The call would be connected via a Google Voice access number.

Feature called direct access numbers

Google is now using a feature called "direct access numbers." Google now assigns a unique phone number to every person a user calls, essentially bypassing the data network to access the server each time a user places a call.

Users with Android and Blackberry devices may download it and a Web version is available for Apple iPhone, Microsoft Windows Mobile and Nokia smartphone users. However, these platforms aren't accorded the same faster calling access.

He also said the biggest thing barring him from using Voice as his primary phone number is the lack of multimedia messaging service support. Patrick chimed in:

"If there is no desktop app, then I will not use it. I don't use web access on my smartphones, only because it is not integrated into the cellphone agreement for my contract with AT&T. Until the issue of web access being a standard integrated function at no extra charge per month, I will not use it."