Make Free VoIP Calls from Google Voice

Google Voice is great, but it isn't an entirely free voice-over-internet service if you have to pay a phone bill to use it. With a few tweaks, though, you can make completely free internet phone calls with Google Voice. Here's how.

Note: Gizmo5's desktop software once offered great free VoIP calling through Google Voice. So great, in fact, that Google bought the maker, closed sign-ups, and now sits on it. Here's the new, up-to-date, and completely free way to make free internet calls with Google Voice.

When you've got Sipgate set up as one of your Google Voice numbers, you can, basically make and receive calls from your computer as if it were just a large and awkwardly designed cellphone. You can still pick up calls to your main number on your cellphone or other lines, or just pick it up on your laptop or desktop, with a good headset or just your built-in mic and speakers. You'll save yourself cellular minutes, possibly experience better call quality, and record calls with ease.

Not quite sure what Google Voice does, or why you'd want it? We've been there ourselves. Skim through our takes on whether you'd actually need Google Voice, how to ease your transition to Google Voice, or simply skim through Google's comprehensive video guide, the introduction to which is below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOZU7BOeQ58&feature=player_embedded

What You'll Need

• Google Voice account: Google Voice is a free service that, as of June 22nd (today if you're reading this when it published), is available for everyone in the U.S. and Canada. All you need to use it is your Google account, so head to the Google Voice homepage and sign on in to get started (if you haven't already).
• Sipgate account & phone number: Both are free—even the real phone number that folks can call you on all they want. Sipgate has many neat services to recommend it beyond its free Sipgate One service-with some cheap hardware, you could set up what amounts to a very cheap digital phone network, in your house or with a small telecommuting team. For now, though, we're just going to hook up a Sipgate One phone account and number up to Google Voice.
• Audio tools for computer calls: You can make and take phone calls using your laptop's microphone and speakers, but if you're going to be talking regularly, you'll probably want to upgrade to a decent USB headset with microphone.
• Cellphone with text messaging: Just for a verification code that Sipgate sends. You won't need the cellphone to actually use your free VoIP setup.