Google is now allowing users to make multiple calls at once from Gmail, thanks to improvements in its Google Voice phone management application. The feature also pauses and resumes calls.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) July 20 rolled out a service to augment its phone calling capability in Gmail by letting users make
multiple calls at the same time.
The search giant surprised
users last August when it
launched
calling capability in Gmail, which leverages the company's Google Voice
phone management application and voice and video plug-in.
Google lets U.S. users call
anywhere in the U.S. and Canada for free and make international calls for
pennies per minute. Gmail users took up the service with gusto, logging 10
million calls through the first week.
To this stage, the service
only allowed users to make or receive one call at a time. Google is relaxing
that restriction to enable multiple call making or reception. Moreover, it has
added buttons to let users pause and resume calls.
Here's
how it works. If a user is in the middle of a Gmail call and opts to make a
second one, the initial call will be placed on hold while the user switches
over to the second call. Users may switch between calls by pressing the Resume
button on the call they want to talk on, and hold the previous call.
Users who receive a call
while on another call will see a notification of the incoming call, and accept
it or ignore it. Naturally, if a user takes the new call, the previous
conversation will go into hold mode.
While this multiple calls
feature works across all voice, video and phone calls, Google said only up to
two outgoing calls may be placed at once to physical phones.
While Gmail has roughly 200
million users worldwide, Google has declined to say how many users are
currently enjoying the Gmail calling feature, which is limited to U.S. users
only.
The company has done little
to market it outside of
announcing
last December that the service would be free to U.S. users for the remainder of
2011.
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