Google rolls out VoIP application for Google Talk

With Google rolling out a Google Talk chat app yesterday for Gmail, Google chat has finally got its own voice, which is basically a plug-in that lets users surface a dial pad to allow for the launch of VoIP calls from the Gmail.com in-box or from iGoogle. However the feature is only being offered to US Gmail users.

According to analysts such a development was on the cards since Google picked up VoIP company Gizmo 5 last November. Google made the VoIP news official yesterday.

The VoIP interface is by itself quite plain in keeping with Google tradition with only a dial pad at the bottom right of the screen and an extra tab that shows the user's call history.

The new VoIP chat feature can be integrated with users' address book and users need only to type a contact's name to get their number to appear.

According to experts who tested the new application, the call quality on the whole, during tests, sounded good with other US callers on landlines and mobile phones. Calls were mostly loud and clear with some moments of garbled voices on multiple calls and there was also, at times, a persistent buzz, that though noticeable, did not detract from the quality of the call.

They said the experience was nearly on par for VoIP calls, that are known for breaking up due to variable conditions with the callers' hardware, integrity of internet connection, and the telecommunications channels that process the voice data.