Now you can phone people using Gmail

Gmail is constantly gaining new features, but the latest one is completely unprecedented. Google released a voice calling feature that brings instant VoIP calls to the Gmail interface.

Google has made it possible to not only call other computers over VoIP (VoIP allows users to place calls over an internet connection rather than a traditional landline), but other phone numbers as well, all from the Gmail inbox.

The usefulness of Gmail as a communications hub

This sort of functionality dramatically increases the usefulness of Gmail as a communications hub. The Google Chat window, on the left side, is used as a simple contacts list for calling.

Google already has a desktop VoIP service called Google Talk. This new service makes VoIP calling even more accessible, though. It also means a faster way to make free calls to numbers in the U.S. or Canada.